The document summarizes the results of a market study on demand for mobile value-added services (VAS) conducted in Finland.
The study found that those most interested in mobile VAS tended to own more advanced phones, have greater technical experience and internet usage, send more SMS messages, be younger (under 35), male, from higher income households, and engage in hobbies involving mobility. These characteristics comprised the lead segments for mobile VAS.
The study provides insight into existing and potential demand for various mobile VAS categories and services based on user characteristics and usage conditions. It identifies adolescent entertainment service users, student practical service seekers, and business transactional service users as leading demand segments.
The document summarizes the future of mobile application storefronts. It predicts that smartphone sales will grow significantly between 2009 and 2013, driving growth in the mobile applications market from $4.66 billion in 2009 to $16.60 billion in 2013. It states that mobile operators will need to adopt dual app store strategies using both app stores and browser-based stores to address fragmentation and better serve the mass market. It also anticipates that Apple will face increasing competition from alternative app store providers as operators introduce multichannel app store strategies.
The Future Of Mobile Application Storefronts Wireless Expertise Report 2009Anuj R KHANNA
The document summarizes the future of mobile application storefronts. It predicts that smartphone sales will grow significantly between 2009 and 2013, driving growth in the mobile applications market from $4.66 billion in 2009 to $16.60 billion in 2013. It states that mobile operators will need to adopt dual app store strategies using both app stores and browser-based stores to address fragmentation and better serve the mass market. It also anticipates that Apple will face increasing competition from alternative app store providers as operators introduce multichannel app store strategies.
The document summarizes an MVNO seminar presented by The Besen Group. The seminar covers various topics related to starting and operating a successful MVNO business, including evaluating MVNO business models, market segmentation, negotiating agreements with host network operators and MVNEs, developing partnerships, and customer relationship management. The seminar uses case studies of 58 current and potential MVNOs to illustrate different strategies. It aims to help clients maximize their knowledge of the MVNO industry.
This document is a project report submitted by Subhadip Ghosh to the University of Burdwan in partial fulfillment of a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. The report studies customer perception of Nokia's performance in the Burdwan mobile phone market. It includes an introduction, company profile of Nokia, objectives of the study, description of the data collection methodology used, findings from data analysis, limitations of the study, conclusions, suggestions, bibliography and questionnaires. The report analyzes customer opinions of Nokia handsets to evaluate their benefits and limitations and determine Nokia's market share in the area.
This document provides an overview of the mobile phone industry and Nokia's position within it. It discusses the history and evolution of mobile phones from the 1980s to present day, including the transition to smartphones. Key features of modern mobile phones are described such as cameras, internet access, apps, and standardization of charging ports. The mobile phone market is growing as prices decrease and new models are released regularly. Nokia was once the dominant player but is now facing challenges from competitors like Apple and Samsung. The document aims to analyze Nokia's strategy and market share in this evolving industry landscape.
Consumer perception towards smartphones.Mayanksng07
This document provides an introduction and overview of smartphones. It discusses the history and evolution of smartphones from early devices that combined mobile phones and PDAs in the 1990s to modern operating systems like Android and iOS. It profiles key features of smartphones like touchscreens, mobile broadband, apps, and advanced computing capabilities. The document also outlines objectives and methodology for a research project on consumer perceptions and preferences for smartphone brands.
This document provides information about a seminar on the US MVNO market presented by The Besen Group. The seminar will cover topics including an overview of the US MVNO market size and trends from 2020-2024, wholesale pricing benchmarks for major carriers, and case studies of 47 current and potential MVNOs. It will help attendees develop innovative strategies and build compelling business cases to succeed as an MVNO. The seminar spans multiple sessions and includes workshops on strategy, business case development, and case studies. It is aimed at providing a comprehensive overview to help new and established MVNOs.
This document presents a study on customer attitudes towards smartphones in Madurai District, India. It begins with an introduction on the importance of smartphones today. It then describes the objectives and methodology of the study, which involved collecting primary data from 250 smartphone users through questionnaires. Several tables and charts present the findings of the study, which analyzed customers' demographic information, mobile brand and operating system used, and common usage purposes of smartphones. The key findings were that most respondents were male, aged 17-26, used Android operating systems, and chat/browse as their main smartphone usage.
The document summarizes the future of mobile application storefronts. It predicts that smartphone sales will grow significantly between 2009 and 2013, driving growth in the mobile applications market from $4.66 billion in 2009 to $16.60 billion in 2013. It states that mobile operators will need to adopt dual app store strategies using both app stores and browser-based stores to address fragmentation and better serve the mass market. It also anticipates that Apple will face increasing competition from alternative app store providers as operators introduce multichannel app store strategies.
The Future Of Mobile Application Storefronts Wireless Expertise Report 2009Anuj R KHANNA
The document summarizes the future of mobile application storefronts. It predicts that smartphone sales will grow significantly between 2009 and 2013, driving growth in the mobile applications market from $4.66 billion in 2009 to $16.60 billion in 2013. It states that mobile operators will need to adopt dual app store strategies using both app stores and browser-based stores to address fragmentation and better serve the mass market. It also anticipates that Apple will face increasing competition from alternative app store providers as operators introduce multichannel app store strategies.
The document summarizes an MVNO seminar presented by The Besen Group. The seminar covers various topics related to starting and operating a successful MVNO business, including evaluating MVNO business models, market segmentation, negotiating agreements with host network operators and MVNEs, developing partnerships, and customer relationship management. The seminar uses case studies of 58 current and potential MVNOs to illustrate different strategies. It aims to help clients maximize their knowledge of the MVNO industry.
This document is a project report submitted by Subhadip Ghosh to the University of Burdwan in partial fulfillment of a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. The report studies customer perception of Nokia's performance in the Burdwan mobile phone market. It includes an introduction, company profile of Nokia, objectives of the study, description of the data collection methodology used, findings from data analysis, limitations of the study, conclusions, suggestions, bibliography and questionnaires. The report analyzes customer opinions of Nokia handsets to evaluate their benefits and limitations and determine Nokia's market share in the area.
This document provides an overview of the mobile phone industry and Nokia's position within it. It discusses the history and evolution of mobile phones from the 1980s to present day, including the transition to smartphones. Key features of modern mobile phones are described such as cameras, internet access, apps, and standardization of charging ports. The mobile phone market is growing as prices decrease and new models are released regularly. Nokia was once the dominant player but is now facing challenges from competitors like Apple and Samsung. The document aims to analyze Nokia's strategy and market share in this evolving industry landscape.
Consumer perception towards smartphones.Mayanksng07
This document provides an introduction and overview of smartphones. It discusses the history and evolution of smartphones from early devices that combined mobile phones and PDAs in the 1990s to modern operating systems like Android and iOS. It profiles key features of smartphones like touchscreens, mobile broadband, apps, and advanced computing capabilities. The document also outlines objectives and methodology for a research project on consumer perceptions and preferences for smartphone brands.
This document provides information about a seminar on the US MVNO market presented by The Besen Group. The seminar will cover topics including an overview of the US MVNO market size and trends from 2020-2024, wholesale pricing benchmarks for major carriers, and case studies of 47 current and potential MVNOs. It will help attendees develop innovative strategies and build compelling business cases to succeed as an MVNO. The seminar spans multiple sessions and includes workshops on strategy, business case development, and case studies. It is aimed at providing a comprehensive overview to help new and established MVNOs.
This document presents a study on customer attitudes towards smartphones in Madurai District, India. It begins with an introduction on the importance of smartphones today. It then describes the objectives and methodology of the study, which involved collecting primary data from 250 smartphone users through questionnaires. Several tables and charts present the findings of the study, which analyzed customers' demographic information, mobile brand and operating system used, and common usage purposes of smartphones. The key findings were that most respondents were male, aged 17-26, used Android operating systems, and chat/browse as their main smartphone usage.
A project report on brand preference of mobile phonesProjects Kart
This document is a project report on brand preference of mobile phones. It includes an acknowledgement, preface, introduction on cellular/mobile phones and the telecom industry in India. It discusses the key players in the Indian telecom market like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson. The document also includes sections on research methodology, data analysis, findings and recommendations.
Acision Seizing the Opportunity in Mobile Broadband - Brasil Perspective-09 m...24x7 COMUNICAÇÃO
The Acision's report "Seizing the Opportunity in Mobile Broadband" brings new data about the mobile broadband market in Brazil and other countries: the challenges and the potential for this value added service in the mobile business.
This summary report document is a word document format of the much larger report that Analysys Mason and IAMAI have prepared. The detailed report is available for purchase on IAMAI’s website – www.iamai.in and is an
in-depth guide to each of the specific sub-segments within the mobile value added services ecosystem.
Dr. Subho Ray, President IAMAI stated, " This is the first ever study in India which charts the evolution of the mobile value added services industry, maps the future growth potential and makes practical suggestions on what needs to be done by various stakeholders set this industry on a ‘take off’ mode. We are confident that this will become the industry's guide for the next 10 years"
This report has focused on the following:
• The Indian Mobile VAS Opportunity
• Policy and Market Enablers
• Key Trends in the Mobile VAS industry in India
• Key Growth Areas in Services and Applications
• Mobile VAS Industry Growth Forecasts
Profiles of the report sponsors are also included at the end of the report, along with profiles of 40 leading players in the Mobile VAS value chain.
The key findings of the report are as follows:
• Carriers are increasingly focusing on non-voice services to drive revenue growth as voice services become commoditized. During the next five years, VAS ARPU will increase by 48%, which will compensate for the 14% decline in voice ARPU. As a result, overall ARPU will stabilize and decline by only 4.5% between 2011 and 2015.
• Mobile data will emerge as the next ‘killer application’, accounting for 32% of total incremental wireless revenue – primarily driven by the latent demand for connectivity, which wireline broadband has been unable to address because of availability issues.
• Mobile commerce will represent an INR20 billion revenue opportunity by 2015.
• Utility services that can provide a scalable, technology-enabled solution to issues around access to information, opportunity and infrastructure (for example, healthcare, education and agricultural/husbandry advice) can add significant value and, as a result, enhance the value proposition for users – particularly those in rural areas.
• Mobile video has been promoted as the key differentiator on 3G networks, but the limited amount of allocated spectrum (5MHz) and associated capacity constraints will limit video-based services in specific segments and geographies.
The document analyzes value added services (VAS) worldwide and in Latin America. It finds that VAS continues to grow as a share of total revenue for major carriers globally, now representing 25-54% of revenues. In Latin America, VAS grew 40% year-over-year in Q3 2011 and now makes up 25% of service revenues. SMS remains a key driver of VAS growth in developing markets like India, while mobile internet is more important in markets with higher smartphone penetration. The future of VAS lies in new messaging services and IP-based services as carriers respond to over-the-top competitors.
As we see the number of connected devices and technologies continue to increase, the phenomena of the once spectatorial culture is now rapidly evolving into a participatory culture. Key drivers such as mobile, social and digital OOH have created a constantly connected consumer who has high expectations and more control over what he/she is willing to listen to, take away
and act upon. This has forced a collaboration of OOH with mobile, creating a new communication ecosystem that is revolutionizing how we interact with media while out of home.
Here we discuss how mobile technologies such as QR, SMS, AR, Bluetooth and NFC are changing the OOH advertising landscape, allowing brands to engage with consumers on a platform that never leaves their side.
This document discusses mobile advertising and its growth as a marketing medium. It explores the types of mobile devices, how consumers use mobile devices, and different formats for mobile advertisements. The document also covers trends in mobile advertising such as geo-location targeting and growth in mobile video. It predicts that the future of mobile advertising is bright and will be driven by technology enabling better targeting, location capabilities, and more content delivery opportunities.
This document is an introduction to the Enterprise Mobility Guide 2011 published by Sybase, an SAP Company. It discusses how mobile applications and tablets are transforming businesses by allowing employees to work from anywhere using powerful smartphones and tablets. The guide contains articles written by industry experts on topics like managing a highly mobile workforce, adopting tablets in the enterprise, and building a successful mobile ecosystem through collaboration between technology providers.
Speech Recognition Technology Enabled Mobile Phone In Indian Summaryardubeysumeetrony
This document summarizes a presentation about the potential for speech recognition technology (SRT) in the Indian mobile phone market, particularly in rural areas. The presentation covers research conducted surveying 200 rural residents in 12 villages about their mobile phone usage and openness to SRT features. Key findings include that most mobile owners are aged 16-35, and this age group represents the best potential target market for SRT devices and services. Non-mobile residents gave high ratings to proposed SRT call and SMS features but were more price sensitive, suggesting SRT could help expand rural mobile access if offered at affordable prices. The presentation concludes SRT could succeed in rural India if focused on the needs of younger residents and paired with popular value-added
This document discusses opportunities and challenges in the ICT industry from the perspective of the chairman and CEO of a major telecommunications company. It notes that the ICT industry is experiencing solid growth rates again after a period of decline. Growth is being driven by increasing smartphone adoption, the development of mobile broadband networks, and the digitalization of the real economy. However, capturing opportunities will require significant investments in both fixed and mobile networks to support the exponential growth in broadband traffic. Telcos play a key role in the ICT ecosystem by providing network infrastructure and platforms for applications and services.
Influence of brand management on rivalry for consumers in the mobile telecomm...Alexander Decker
1) The document discusses brand management in the mobile telecommunications industry in Kenya. It focuses on how mobile operators invest in brand management to differentiate themselves, gain market share, and benefit consumers through competition.
2) It provides background on the telecommunications industry and major mobile operators in Kenya, including Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom Kenya, and Essar Telecom Kenya.
3) The purpose of the study was to examine how brand management influences rivalry between mobile operators and how consumers benefit from this competition.
18083 GSMA Report for Shanghai LR FINALGareth Davies
This document discusses the changing landscape of mobile communications and the rise of IP-based messaging services. It finds that while SMS is still widely used globally, services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are gaining popularity, handling 60 billion messages per day combined. A survey found 64% of internet users send SMS daily compared to 75% using instant messaging. The document also discusses the business case for mobile operators to deploy Rich Communication Services (RCS) and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) to offer advanced messaging and calling services to remain relevant as communications moves to IP-based apps and services.
mobile PHONE INDUSTRY COMPANY’S MARKETING STRATEGYMr Nyak
N CELLULAR PHONE INDUSTRY
COMPANY’S MARKETING STRATEGY Keywords - Competition, Porter. M analysis of 5 forces, Marketing strategy, market leader,
market challenger, market follower
I. INTRODUCTION
However it’s been only over 10 years since cellular phone industry has developed in
Mongolia, marketing activities have already been formed and considered as a very
special market. Customer satisfaction level, firm’s effectiveness and to be considered as
a market leader are all dependable on marketing management activities. The bitter the
rivalry is the more demanding the consumers are and their expectations’ level will be
higher. According to that, firms’ customer retaining policy and finding new consumers’
have intensified. Thus, studying about competitor’s activity and strategy theoretically
and using the information about competitors in own company’s activities have become
very important issue to marketers.
A need for peer to-peer strong local authentication protocol (p2 pslap) in mo...IJNSA Journal
Mobile phones are considered to be the most common devices in history of humankind. They have involved
in financial transaction such as mobile banking and mobile payment, which include sensitive information.
Public key cryptography is the proven solution that can provide secure transaction at every point of
interaction in mobile banking value chain. This paper proposes a need for peer-to-peer Strong Local
Authentication Protocol (p2pSLAP) for Mobile Banking Transaction that implements a peer-to-peer
architecture to provide local authentication mechanism between the customer and the agent. It employs
public key infrastructure (PKI).
Conducting Mobile Surveys: A Hands-on Introduction to an Innovative Research ...QuestBack AG
The document outlines an agenda for a workshop on conducting mobile surveys. The workshop aims to provide theoretical background on mobile research and practical instruction on designing optimal mobile surveys. The agenda includes sections on current mobile research challenges, theoretical considerations and case studies, and a practical introduction to mobile survey design and administration. Mobile surveys offer advantages like instant feedback and high mobility but also have technical requirements and restrictions to consider for content display and usability.
This document provides an overview of the out-of-home advertising industry in the UK as of December 2012. It shows that OOH revenue has increased year-over-year in 2012 with quarterly growth. Digital OOH spending and screens continue to expand rapidly. Major advertisers and categories are analyzed as well as trends in consumer behavior that influence OOH effectiveness. New data sources are highlighted to provide deeper consumer and audience insights for OOH planning.
The document discusses Finland and Nokia's situation in 2001. For Finland, it highlights increasing unemployment, declining GDP growth, and shortage of skilled workers. For Nokia, it notes its leadership in mobile phones and infrastructure but also challenges like slowing revenue growth and foreign worker reliance. The document evaluates alternatives and recommendations for both Finland and Nokia to address challenges through education initiatives, R&D spending, globalization, and demand incentives.
The OTT digital content provider for example Amazon Prime Video, Sony Liv, Zee 5, Voot, Jio platforms, Netflix,
etc. comes under subscription based content providers in which customers can watch a variety of web series, Tv
shows, sports, movies, drama, etc. In today’s scenario, the fate of these digital content providers is changing in a
positive manner because of lockdown worldwide and the closure of theatres. It led to the boom in this industry as
people had no option to go outside and watch new content and these platforms released new series and movies
which increased their revenue. In the 21st century digitalization is the new normal and it has impacted a larger
chunk of the population. An increase in reach of high-speed internet and cost effective electronic devices in the
hands of people led to an increase in purchase intention of customers when it comes to watching paid digital content.
Due to digitalization now customers want variety and fresh content in their regional language which too on demand
meaning they want to watch at the comfort of their place and without censorship and advertisement. Henceforth the
digital content providers are using this as an opportunity via developing their user interface and attractive
subscription plans.
A project report on brand preference of mobile phonesProjects Kart
The document discusses the history and development of the telecom industry in India, from its beginnings in 1851 with landline services to the modern mobile phone industry. It describes how the industry was initially state-run but has since opened up to private operators. Major players in the current mobile market include Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Reliance, and Tata, with the industry experiencing rapid growth in subscribers.
1. The document compares the business models of Nokia/Navteq and Waze for traffic monitoring. Nokia focused on developing a physical sensor infrastructure while Waze leveraged existing GPS sensors on smartphones.
2. The release of the iPhone disrupted Nokia's strategy of competing against smartphone developers. In contrast, Waze benefited from exponential growth by accessing data from user phones without needing to build new infrastructure.
3. Waze's founder showed innovative skills like associative thinking by integrating user data and networking to create an interactive social mapping application that crowdsourced real-time traffic information.
This document discusses opportunities for newspapers in the growing mobile industry. It notes that mobile usage is rising globally as infrastructure expands and smartphones proliferate. The mobile platform allows newspapers to reach wider audiences, including in developing areas. While mobile represents a small portion of digital revenues currently, its share is expected to increase as adoption grows. The document outlines strategies for newspapers to engage audiences and generate revenue through mobile advertising, microtransactions, and mobile tagging with barcodes.
This document provides a summary of a master's thesis that proposes a business model for mobile operators to reach emerging market middle classes with affordable mobile internet. The thesis conducted an end user analysis of needs and demands in emerging markets and a marketing analysis. It identified two middle class segments - a lower segment earning $2-12/day living rurally, and a higher segment earning $12-50/day living urbally. The thesis calculated average monthly ICT service prices of $10.83 and $46.85 for these segments respectively. The business model proposal suggests tailored local services and IT learning for the lower segment, and international services like Facebook for the higher English-speaking segment.
A project report on brand preference of mobile phonesProjects Kart
This document is a project report on brand preference of mobile phones. It includes an acknowledgement, preface, introduction on cellular/mobile phones and the telecom industry in India. It discusses the key players in the Indian telecom market like Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson. The document also includes sections on research methodology, data analysis, findings and recommendations.
Acision Seizing the Opportunity in Mobile Broadband - Brasil Perspective-09 m...24x7 COMUNICAÇÃO
The Acision's report "Seizing the Opportunity in Mobile Broadband" brings new data about the mobile broadband market in Brazil and other countries: the challenges and the potential for this value added service in the mobile business.
This summary report document is a word document format of the much larger report that Analysys Mason and IAMAI have prepared. The detailed report is available for purchase on IAMAI’s website – www.iamai.in and is an
in-depth guide to each of the specific sub-segments within the mobile value added services ecosystem.
Dr. Subho Ray, President IAMAI stated, " This is the first ever study in India which charts the evolution of the mobile value added services industry, maps the future growth potential and makes practical suggestions on what needs to be done by various stakeholders set this industry on a ‘take off’ mode. We are confident that this will become the industry's guide for the next 10 years"
This report has focused on the following:
• The Indian Mobile VAS Opportunity
• Policy and Market Enablers
• Key Trends in the Mobile VAS industry in India
• Key Growth Areas in Services and Applications
• Mobile VAS Industry Growth Forecasts
Profiles of the report sponsors are also included at the end of the report, along with profiles of 40 leading players in the Mobile VAS value chain.
The key findings of the report are as follows:
• Carriers are increasingly focusing on non-voice services to drive revenue growth as voice services become commoditized. During the next five years, VAS ARPU will increase by 48%, which will compensate for the 14% decline in voice ARPU. As a result, overall ARPU will stabilize and decline by only 4.5% between 2011 and 2015.
• Mobile data will emerge as the next ‘killer application’, accounting for 32% of total incremental wireless revenue – primarily driven by the latent demand for connectivity, which wireline broadband has been unable to address because of availability issues.
• Mobile commerce will represent an INR20 billion revenue opportunity by 2015.
• Utility services that can provide a scalable, technology-enabled solution to issues around access to information, opportunity and infrastructure (for example, healthcare, education and agricultural/husbandry advice) can add significant value and, as a result, enhance the value proposition for users – particularly those in rural areas.
• Mobile video has been promoted as the key differentiator on 3G networks, but the limited amount of allocated spectrum (5MHz) and associated capacity constraints will limit video-based services in specific segments and geographies.
The document analyzes value added services (VAS) worldwide and in Latin America. It finds that VAS continues to grow as a share of total revenue for major carriers globally, now representing 25-54% of revenues. In Latin America, VAS grew 40% year-over-year in Q3 2011 and now makes up 25% of service revenues. SMS remains a key driver of VAS growth in developing markets like India, while mobile internet is more important in markets with higher smartphone penetration. The future of VAS lies in new messaging services and IP-based services as carriers respond to over-the-top competitors.
As we see the number of connected devices and technologies continue to increase, the phenomena of the once spectatorial culture is now rapidly evolving into a participatory culture. Key drivers such as mobile, social and digital OOH have created a constantly connected consumer who has high expectations and more control over what he/she is willing to listen to, take away
and act upon. This has forced a collaboration of OOH with mobile, creating a new communication ecosystem that is revolutionizing how we interact with media while out of home.
Here we discuss how mobile technologies such as QR, SMS, AR, Bluetooth and NFC are changing the OOH advertising landscape, allowing brands to engage with consumers on a platform that never leaves their side.
This document discusses mobile advertising and its growth as a marketing medium. It explores the types of mobile devices, how consumers use mobile devices, and different formats for mobile advertisements. The document also covers trends in mobile advertising such as geo-location targeting and growth in mobile video. It predicts that the future of mobile advertising is bright and will be driven by technology enabling better targeting, location capabilities, and more content delivery opportunities.
This document is an introduction to the Enterprise Mobility Guide 2011 published by Sybase, an SAP Company. It discusses how mobile applications and tablets are transforming businesses by allowing employees to work from anywhere using powerful smartphones and tablets. The guide contains articles written by industry experts on topics like managing a highly mobile workforce, adopting tablets in the enterprise, and building a successful mobile ecosystem through collaboration between technology providers.
Speech Recognition Technology Enabled Mobile Phone In Indian Summaryardubeysumeetrony
This document summarizes a presentation about the potential for speech recognition technology (SRT) in the Indian mobile phone market, particularly in rural areas. The presentation covers research conducted surveying 200 rural residents in 12 villages about their mobile phone usage and openness to SRT features. Key findings include that most mobile owners are aged 16-35, and this age group represents the best potential target market for SRT devices and services. Non-mobile residents gave high ratings to proposed SRT call and SMS features but were more price sensitive, suggesting SRT could help expand rural mobile access if offered at affordable prices. The presentation concludes SRT could succeed in rural India if focused on the needs of younger residents and paired with popular value-added
This document discusses opportunities and challenges in the ICT industry from the perspective of the chairman and CEO of a major telecommunications company. It notes that the ICT industry is experiencing solid growth rates again after a period of decline. Growth is being driven by increasing smartphone adoption, the development of mobile broadband networks, and the digitalization of the real economy. However, capturing opportunities will require significant investments in both fixed and mobile networks to support the exponential growth in broadband traffic. Telcos play a key role in the ICT ecosystem by providing network infrastructure and platforms for applications and services.
Influence of brand management on rivalry for consumers in the mobile telecomm...Alexander Decker
1) The document discusses brand management in the mobile telecommunications industry in Kenya. It focuses on how mobile operators invest in brand management to differentiate themselves, gain market share, and benefit consumers through competition.
2) It provides background on the telecommunications industry and major mobile operators in Kenya, including Safaricom, Airtel, Telkom Kenya, and Essar Telecom Kenya.
3) The purpose of the study was to examine how brand management influences rivalry between mobile operators and how consumers benefit from this competition.
18083 GSMA Report for Shanghai LR FINALGareth Davies
This document discusses the changing landscape of mobile communications and the rise of IP-based messaging services. It finds that while SMS is still widely used globally, services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are gaining popularity, handling 60 billion messages per day combined. A survey found 64% of internet users send SMS daily compared to 75% using instant messaging. The document also discusses the business case for mobile operators to deploy Rich Communication Services (RCS) and Voice over LTE (VoLTE) to offer advanced messaging and calling services to remain relevant as communications moves to IP-based apps and services.
mobile PHONE INDUSTRY COMPANY’S MARKETING STRATEGYMr Nyak
N CELLULAR PHONE INDUSTRY
COMPANY’S MARKETING STRATEGY Keywords - Competition, Porter. M analysis of 5 forces, Marketing strategy, market leader,
market challenger, market follower
I. INTRODUCTION
However it’s been only over 10 years since cellular phone industry has developed in
Mongolia, marketing activities have already been formed and considered as a very
special market. Customer satisfaction level, firm’s effectiveness and to be considered as
a market leader are all dependable on marketing management activities. The bitter the
rivalry is the more demanding the consumers are and their expectations’ level will be
higher. According to that, firms’ customer retaining policy and finding new consumers’
have intensified. Thus, studying about competitor’s activity and strategy theoretically
and using the information about competitors in own company’s activities have become
very important issue to marketers.
A need for peer to-peer strong local authentication protocol (p2 pslap) in mo...IJNSA Journal
Mobile phones are considered to be the most common devices in history of humankind. They have involved
in financial transaction such as mobile banking and mobile payment, which include sensitive information.
Public key cryptography is the proven solution that can provide secure transaction at every point of
interaction in mobile banking value chain. This paper proposes a need for peer-to-peer Strong Local
Authentication Protocol (p2pSLAP) for Mobile Banking Transaction that implements a peer-to-peer
architecture to provide local authentication mechanism between the customer and the agent. It employs
public key infrastructure (PKI).
Conducting Mobile Surveys: A Hands-on Introduction to an Innovative Research ...QuestBack AG
The document outlines an agenda for a workshop on conducting mobile surveys. The workshop aims to provide theoretical background on mobile research and practical instruction on designing optimal mobile surveys. The agenda includes sections on current mobile research challenges, theoretical considerations and case studies, and a practical introduction to mobile survey design and administration. Mobile surveys offer advantages like instant feedback and high mobility but also have technical requirements and restrictions to consider for content display and usability.
This document provides an overview of the out-of-home advertising industry in the UK as of December 2012. It shows that OOH revenue has increased year-over-year in 2012 with quarterly growth. Digital OOH spending and screens continue to expand rapidly. Major advertisers and categories are analyzed as well as trends in consumer behavior that influence OOH effectiveness. New data sources are highlighted to provide deeper consumer and audience insights for OOH planning.
The document discusses Finland and Nokia's situation in 2001. For Finland, it highlights increasing unemployment, declining GDP growth, and shortage of skilled workers. For Nokia, it notes its leadership in mobile phones and infrastructure but also challenges like slowing revenue growth and foreign worker reliance. The document evaluates alternatives and recommendations for both Finland and Nokia to address challenges through education initiatives, R&D spending, globalization, and demand incentives.
The OTT digital content provider for example Amazon Prime Video, Sony Liv, Zee 5, Voot, Jio platforms, Netflix,
etc. comes under subscription based content providers in which customers can watch a variety of web series, Tv
shows, sports, movies, drama, etc. In today’s scenario, the fate of these digital content providers is changing in a
positive manner because of lockdown worldwide and the closure of theatres. It led to the boom in this industry as
people had no option to go outside and watch new content and these platforms released new series and movies
which increased their revenue. In the 21st century digitalization is the new normal and it has impacted a larger
chunk of the population. An increase in reach of high-speed internet and cost effective electronic devices in the
hands of people led to an increase in purchase intention of customers when it comes to watching paid digital content.
Due to digitalization now customers want variety and fresh content in their regional language which too on demand
meaning they want to watch at the comfort of their place and without censorship and advertisement. Henceforth the
digital content providers are using this as an opportunity via developing their user interface and attractive
subscription plans.
A project report on brand preference of mobile phonesProjects Kart
The document discusses the history and development of the telecom industry in India, from its beginnings in 1851 with landline services to the modern mobile phone industry. It describes how the industry was initially state-run but has since opened up to private operators. Major players in the current mobile market include Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Reliance, and Tata, with the industry experiencing rapid growth in subscribers.
1. The document compares the business models of Nokia/Navteq and Waze for traffic monitoring. Nokia focused on developing a physical sensor infrastructure while Waze leveraged existing GPS sensors on smartphones.
2. The release of the iPhone disrupted Nokia's strategy of competing against smartphone developers. In contrast, Waze benefited from exponential growth by accessing data from user phones without needing to build new infrastructure.
3. Waze's founder showed innovative skills like associative thinking by integrating user data and networking to create an interactive social mapping application that crowdsourced real-time traffic information.
This document discusses opportunities for newspapers in the growing mobile industry. It notes that mobile usage is rising globally as infrastructure expands and smartphones proliferate. The mobile platform allows newspapers to reach wider audiences, including in developing areas. While mobile represents a small portion of digital revenues currently, its share is expected to increase as adoption grows. The document outlines strategies for newspapers to engage audiences and generate revenue through mobile advertising, microtransactions, and mobile tagging with barcodes.
This document provides a summary of a master's thesis that proposes a business model for mobile operators to reach emerging market middle classes with affordable mobile internet. The thesis conducted an end user analysis of needs and demands in emerging markets and a marketing analysis. It identified two middle class segments - a lower segment earning $2-12/day living rurally, and a higher segment earning $12-50/day living urbally. The thesis calculated average monthly ICT service prices of $10.83 and $46.85 for these segments respectively. The business model proposal suggests tailored local services and IT learning for the lower segment, and international services like Facebook for the higher English-speaking segment.
Tns Mobile Life 2013 - Strategie Mobile per la crescita del businessGabriella Bergaglio
Mobile Life analizza motivazioni e comportamenti di 38.000 individui in 43 Paesi nel mondo, per individuare priorità ed insight di crescita per la marche.
An expanded view by data plan size, OS, device type and LTEDavid Martin
A report demystifying data usage trends on cellular and Wi-Fi networks with an expanded view by data plan size, OS, device type and LTE. Know more at: http://goo.gl/ZQaZMU
Shippers Warehouse, Inc. is a provider of supply chain services (3rd party logistics or 3PL). The Company operates over 4.5 million square feet in 8 facilities in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and 500,000 square feet in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Georgia facility packaging operations ships out over 3 billion bags per year. Shippers Warehouse is one of the largest co-packers in the Southeast. Shippers operate 9 packaging lines with a ready room that is a showcase for reducing any type of foreign matter. The facility handles a variety of food products, is a leader in recycling, & distribution of products.
Shippers Warehouse, Inc. also has the distinction of having all of its locations ISO 9001:2008 certified. (ISO 9001:2008 certified by Management Certification of North America, an ANAB-accredited certification body.)
Regards,
Bill Stankiewicz
Vice President & General Manager
Shippers Warehouse
Office: 678.364.3475
williams@shipperswarehouse.com
www.shipperswarehouse.com
Incorporating Mobile Commerce in your Multi-Channel strategy IBM Software India
This whitepaper understates the importance of incorporating mobile commerce in your multi channel strategy. The authors of this whitepaper are Luis E Rodriguez and Michael Au respectively who are IBM experts.
This document is an executive summary of the Deloitte Open Mobile Survey 2012. It finds that the mobile industry is undergoing rapid changes as new entrants rewrite the rules of competition. Nearly half of respondents believe internet companies will dominate mobile in 5 years, while carriers will focus on connectivity. Most companies must transition from closed to open models. The summary also notes that mobile cloud, machine-to-machine technologies, and mobile payments show the most potential for future revenue. Gaming is seen as the most lucrative app category long-term.
Impact of mobile marketing on youngsters for buying electronic gadgets.RahulSingh297288
This report is based on the rapid evolution of mobile technology, and the enthusiasm with
which it has been embraced. These developments have transformed mobile as a
marketing channel. Mobile marketing spend across the world is starting to rise
significantly. In the right circumstances, mobile can be a powerful tool. The rise of
smartphones and tablets has deepened the relationship between consumers and their
devices. The connectivity and technology they give to consumers are helping to drive
several consumer trends, including ‘smart boredom’ and ‘gamification’. They also
transform mobile as a marketing channel. Mobile had always had reach (the sheer number
of handsets in circulation) and location (the fact that phones go wherever the consumer
goes) in its favour. Now it has much more besides. One of the iPhone’s achievements was
to abolish the idea that the ‘mobile web’ had to be a different, lower-grade experience
compared to the PC-based web. Smartphones have opened up areas like mobile search
and mobile social networking like never before. Added to this is the bundle of technology
that comes in a modern phone – cameras, voice and image recognition, QR code readers,
GPS, and a host of new features.
1. The document discusses mobile commerce (m-commerce), including its history and future growth potential. M-commerce allows people to access information and make purchases from mobile devices like smartphones.
2. It outlines the m-commerce value chain, including major players like device manufacturers, application providers, content providers, and service providers. It also discusses enabling technologies and considerations for m-commerce applications and business models.
3. The document covers both opportunities for and challenges facing m-commerce adoption. Opportunities include personalization and convenience for users. Challenges include developing mobile-friendly websites and apps and addressing limitations of small screens and data speeds on mobile networks.
Mobile Phone Practices & The Design of Mobile Money Services for Emerging Mar...Jan Chipchase
This paper applies the lessons learned from of a number of qualitative research studies into communication practices, mobile phone use to the design of mobile money services.
More on Nokia Money can be found here:
http://www.nokia.com/about-nokia/new-business/finance/nokia-money
For more information see: http://www.janchipchase.com/designing-services-for-financial-inclusion
A Brief Study on Usability Principles of Mobile Commerceijceronline
International Journal of Computational Engineering Research (IJCER) is dedicated to protecting personal information and will make every reasonable effort to handle collected information appropriately. All information collected, as well as related requests, will be handled as carefully and efficiently as possible in accordance with IJCER standards for integrity and objectivity.
An exploratory study on what the content, the structure, consumption and the execution of videos being created for the mobile platform in Sub-Saharan Africa is.
The major players in the global GSM network industry include Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Huawei and ZTE. Nokia was one of the early leaders in GSM technology and equipment, helping drive the worldwide adoption of 2G networks. Samsung, Ericsson and Huawei have also become top equipment suppliers. On the network operator side, major GSM service providers globally include Vodafone, China Mobile, AT&T and Verizon, among others. These companies have built out extensive GSM networks over decades to serve billions of mobile subscribers worldwide.
Whitepaper: Over-The-Top (OTT) Services: How Operators can overcome the Fragm...tyntec
The result of extensive interviews and research by analyst firm mobileSQUARED and sponsored by mobile interaction specialist tyntec, this whitepaper features new figures and forecasts drawing upon data from 68 countries. It forecasts that OTT communications will generate termination and interconnect fee-based revenues for mobile operators of US$ 3.7 billion in 2012 rising to US$ 8.4 billion in 2016. The implications of this figure are clear: there is a big opportunity for forward-thinking operators to generate revenue through OTT. This whitepaper outlines the variety of operator OTT strategies deployed so far and uses the data to illustrate what will work best in the future.
The document solicits manuscripts for an upcoming special section of the Journal of Advertising dedicated to mobile technology and advertising. It provides background on the growth of mobile devices and mobile internet usage. The document notes that while mobile advertising offers opportunities for novel targeting and creative strategies, the topic remains under-researched. The special section aims to address gaps and extend knowledge on the complexities of mobile advertising. It provides guidelines for submissions and lists potential topic areas.
GMEI 2017: Global Mobile Engagement IndexFilipp Paster
The document summarizes key findings from the GSMA Intelligence 2017 Global Mobile Engagement Index (GMEI). The GMEI measures consumer engagement with mobile services across 56 countries based on usage and frequency of 29 mobile use cases. South Korea ranks first in mobile engagement. Understanding differences in engagement levels and how consumer behavior will evolve over time is important for anticipating industry growth. Regional trends show engagement increasing the most in South Asia as consumers shift from basic voice/text use to utilizing mobile internet services.
One of the most prominent mobile payment technologies of interaction paradigms is Near Field
Communication (NFC), which provides simple and secure two-way communication between electronic devices.
However, NFC-based services have not increased as expected. In this paper, the NFC payment ecosystems are
introduced and reasons to why their use has not rapidly become more prevalent are discussed. The presented
research results are summarised from business case studies that were carried out in various Finnish companies
during the period 2012-2015. The results showed that the sustainable and feasible solutions are based on
recognised standards and open ecosystems; national, proprietary or otherwise restricted solutions do not work.
Accordingly, it was recommended to start with Value Added Service (VAS) systems as these involved fewer
security requirements. Finally, the analyses pointed out that tokenisation offers light security version for most of
services in the business and it was experienced a remarkable way for promoting the mobile payment services.
This document discusses the growth of the cell phone industry in India. It provides background on the development of cell phone technology over time. The statement of the problem outlines how India has become one of the fastest growing cell phone markets in the world, with over 800 million subscribers. The objective is to understand customer brand preferences and factors influencing their purchase of branded mobile handsets. The study uses a sample size of 115 people to examine branding preferences among cell phone users in India.
This document provides an overview of mobile phones and their history. It discusses the evolution of mobile phones from early radio telephone technology to modern smartphones. Key points include:
- Mobile phones originated from two-way radios in vehicles and were developed by Bell Labs in the 1940s-1960s.
- The first commercial mobile phone was introduced in 1983 by Motorola. Early mobile phones were large and installed in vehicles.
- Modern smartphones emerged in the 2000s, combining mobile phone and computing capabilities.
- Mobile phones now have numerous features like cameras, internet access, apps and more.
- Standardization on technologies like SIM cards, charging ports, and networks enabled global adoption of mobile phones.
1. The Demand for
Mobile Value-
Added Services
Study of Smart Messaging
Market Study
2. MARKET STUDY
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
INTRODUCTION 2
CONDUCTING THE MARKET STUDY 2
THE RESULTS OF THE MARKET STUDY 2
General overlook of potential users of VAS 2
Characteristics of the mobile VAS favorable person 3
Mobile phone experience 4
Technical background 4
Age, gender, income, and mobility 4
Existing long-run demand for mobile VAS 5
How are different services seen by end users? 7
Basic service categories 7
Important service characteristics 9
Lead demand segments and services 10
Adolescent segment: Heavy users of entertainment services 12
Student segment: Actively searching for services that add value 13
Business segment: Practical, transactional services 13
The usage conditions for mobile VAS 14
Possible psychological and technological barriers 14
The total user experience 15
Usability 16
Packaging 16
Price 16
Reliability 17
Availability 17
Timely cost 18
CONCLUSIONS 18
3. MARKET STUDY
Executive summary
Mobility and virtualization are two trends that are changing the way people can access information while
on the move. People are learning that mobile phones can be used for more than just making phone calls.
Already now, mobile phone users can access a variety of useful value-added services (VAS) for data. The
future of telecommunications also promises diversified usage of mobile phones. Innovation of future
mobile applications is limited more by the imagination than by technology.
There are value-added services that are available already today and enabled by Smart Messaging
technology and the Nokia Artus Messaging Platform. Messaging Platform utilizes the Nokia Artus Short
Message Service Center (SMSC) to create a link between mobile phones and the Internet via short
messaging. The fundamental idea behind this is to see the Internet as a standard resource for information
content that can be utilized with mobile phones. The Internet is increasingly making it possible to publish
information on a global scale through the World Wide Web and within restricted company networks
called intranets. Messaging Platform acts as a medium to provide mobile subscribers with Internet or
intranet based value-added services.
As we are just starting to understand the possibilities of VAS we need to investigate the market to find out
the true extent and nature of demand of mobile VAS. The more that is known about what end users
demand the better operators will be able to meet those demands now and in the future.
This paper discusses the results and implications of a Nokia conducted market study. The driving
assumption of the study is that without lead users the diffusion to mass markets and thus standardization
of new technology will not take place. The lead users are thus extremely important. Even while the
technology matures and the initial purpose of the innovation may change, it is still worthwhile to
understand the lead users. Being successful among innovators in the lead markets provides a basis for
eventually being successful in the mass markets. The technology has a good chance of taking root in daily
use in mass markets, just as with normal short messaging in Finland today.
1
4. MARKET STUDY
Introduction
Mobility and virtualization are two trends that are changing the way people can access information while
on the move. People are learning that mobile phones can be used for more than just making phone calls.
Already now, value-added services (VAS). The future of telecommunications also promises diversified
usage of mobile phones. Innovation of future mobile applications is limited more by the imagination than
by technology.
Already today, mobile phone users can access a variety of useful value-added services enabled by the
Smart Messaging technology and the Nokia Artus Messaging Platform. Messaging Platform utilizes the
Nokia Artus Short Message Service Center (SMSC) to create a link between mobile phones and the
Internet via short messaging. The fundamental idea behind this is to see the Internet as a standard
resource for information content that can be utilized with mobile phones. The Internet is increasingly
making it possible to publish information on a global scale through the World Wide Web and within
restricted company networks called intranets. Messaging Platform acts as a medium to provide mobile
subscribers with Internet or intranet based value-added services.
Due to the fact that VAS on top of mobile communications poses a relatively new type of business for
operators, the focus is put on lead demand for mobile VAS. The arguments presented in this paper derive
from a market study conducted by Nokia. The area of the market study concerned the extent and nature of
demand for mobile VAS. Answers were sought for the following questions: Who comprises lead-
segments of mobile VAS? What are the actual services and service characteristics in demand? What are
the specific usage conditions for the demand of these services? The market study was conducted in
Finland, which can be seen as one of today’s leading geographical areas for mobile adoption of
technologies.
Conducting the market study
In the market study concerning demand of mobile VAS, the driving assumption was that without lead
users the diffusion to mass markets and thus standardization of new technology would not take place. The
empirical market study was conducted in three phases. The preliminary study was performed to collect
existing market information and experience. That is, all commercially available or potential VAS,
including those by Nokia, were identified and characterized according to their nature. Then to identify the
early adopter segments for mobile VAS and their source of demand, a quantitative questionnaire was
circulated within a sample group of 155 persons that were selected as they purchased a new mobile phone
subscription. This sample gave a better chance to study the potential market for VAS. Finally, a
qualitative group interview was performed among identified lead users to identify those factors that act as
mobile VAS diffusion barriers.
The results of the market study
Following are the results of the questionnaire and group interview.
General overlook of potential users of VAS
We first took a general overlook at the data collected from the end-user questionnaire. As intended with
the selected sampling method, merely looking at the sample itself should tell us something about the
mobile VAS target group. Namely, we wanted our sample to consist of people, who would already belong
to the lead group of potential mobile VAS. For instance those, who do not carry a mobile phone
(altogether about 50% of Finnish population), were by default not included in the sample.
2
5. MARKET STUDY
Everyone in the sample carried a mobile phone and nearly 90% lived in the urban capital area. The first
stunning result from the potential target group shows there to be the lack of Smart phones in the potential
target markets. To be exact, 77% of the target population carried a legacy phone. If we calculate both the
new Nokia 6110 mobile phones and legacy mobile phones, the amount of legacy phones in the target
population rises to 89%. None within the sample carried a Communicator and only 11% a Smart phone,
the Nokia 8110i. This being the case in the market, the first general finding is thus that markets today are
technically not in a very advanced phase concerning mobile VAS. The amount of legacy phones is still
large and increasing in the market. This merely means that highly advanced mobile VAS solutions can not
yet be offered at least to mass markets.
Our sample was on average purchasing their second mobile phone. This figure makes sense, since about
four years ago, in Finland, mobile phones started to dramatically increase and their product life has been
approximately three years. Only 20% of the whole sample were purchasing their third or later mobile
phone.
A large figure, 73%, had a PC at home. A total of 45% had Internet at home, where a corresponding 67%
had Internet at work. Since 60% stated that they use Internet less than 30 minutes a day, heavy Web
surfing was not a hobby of those in our sample. Up to 77% mentioned use of SMS, which means less of a
need to educate markets technically for SMS based mobile VAS usage. Especially due to the amount of
legacy phones in the market, the existing knowledge of SMS usage may be seen as a positive thing. The
amount of SMS sent, at first glance, was not very high. During one week, 60% said that they send 3 or
less SMS. This figure is, however, very high when we compare it to Germany, for instance. Mannessman
Mobilfunk announced average usage of SMS as being 3 mobile originated SMS/month/subscriber. Our
sample’s weekly average was 2.46, resulting in 10 mobile originated SMS/month/subscriber, more than
three times the average in Germany. The real heavy users of SMS turned out to be the young people. Of
the heavy users, that is those sending more than 8 SMS a week, 65% were under 25 years. In fact, 71% of
those under 18 sent more than 8 SMS a week. In addition, those of both genders sent an almost equal
amount of SMS.
In the sample itself, age did not play a big role. All the age groups were nicely represented, with 10%
under 18 years, 25% 19-25 years, 23% 26-35 years, 25% 36-50 years, and 16% over 50 years. Of the
sample 60% were men, whereas 40% were women. The number of persons per household was also rather
divided. The mean was 2,83. Half of the sample stated that their household’s annual income exceeded
FIM 150,000. The presence of the highly educated was clearly visible, at 62% of the sample. The amount
of unemployed and retired were nearly non-existent. The sample also seemed to be quite mobile since
60% of the sample traveled abroad more than once a year and 75% had hobbies that involved mobility,
namely sports.
25%
14%
Characteristics of the No Interest In Very much Interested
In Mobile VAS
Mobile VAS
mobile VAS favorable
person
Of the entire sample, 86,8% stated that
34%
they are at least a little interested in Quite Interested
mobile VAS. This is an important group 27% In Mobile VAS
since it is from this potential target A Little Interested
group of people that we will find our In Mobile VAS
lead segment. We can remove the 13,2%
of the sample who show no interest,
since it is the opinions and backgrounds
of the remaining 86,8% that we are Figure 1: A total of 86% of the whole potential target
interested in. On the whole, the sample group shows at least a little interest towards mobile
VAS.
was quite positive with 25% being very
interested and 34,2% quite interested in
3
6. MARKET STUDY
mobile VAS. Those that were very interested in mobile VAS are termed as the high interest segment.
The idea was to study the increase in general interest in mobile VAS and spot those characteristics typical
of a person in favor of mobile VAS.
Mobile phone experience
Of the whole sample, 77% carried a legacy phone, whereas 12% carried a Nokia 6110 and 11% a Nokia
8110i. However, when we examine those who are very interested in mobile VAS, that is the high interest
segment, the figures change quite dramatically to 52% legacies, 16% Nokia 6110, and 32% Nokia 8110i.
Quite basically this means that those people, who are very interested in mobile VAS tend to own more
advanced handset. In fact, the amount of Smart phones tripled within this high interest segment.
Similar results are identifiable among some other background characteristics. In the whole sample, 42%
of the people purchased their first mobile phone. While, among the people who were stated to be very
interested in mobile VAS only 21% were purchasing their first handset. On the other hand, the relative
percentage of people purchasing their third handset rose from 12% for the whole sample to 32% for those
very interested. Likewise the relative percentage of people purchasing their third or more handset rose
from 25% to 42%. The result implies the underlying reason for buying a new handset. It can be said that
the reason to purchase one’s first handset is not to subscribe to mobile VAS. When purchasing one’s first
handset, it is more crucial that the device contain more generic level utilities, namely coverage and
connectivity. The demand for the mobile VAS type of augmented product level services tends to rise with
the shift to newer handsets. It is from the new handset that more value is sought.
Technical background
Similarly, the technological background profile tends to be different among high interest segments than
with the others. Of the whole sample, 73% had a PC at home, whereas 89% of the high interest segment
had a PC at home. Likewise 45% of the whole sample had Internet access at home, compared to 61% of
the high interest segment, and 67% of the whole sample had Internet access at work, compared to 83% of
the high interest segment. The usage of the Internet tended to increase as one moved toward the high
interest segment. Familiarity with information technology and the Internet seems to affect strongly to
interest in GSM technologies. The more experience, the more interest there is in combining similar
services to GSM. The initial idea of linking GSM to the Internet may thus be even seen as an inevitable
and unavoidable outcome.
The usage and experience of SMS seems to correlate with the interest in mobile VAS as well. The whole
sample included 77% of SMS-users, whereas the high interest segment included 83%. This rise was not
that significant. However, the actual amount of SMS that high interest users send brings more
perspective. The non-SMS senders decrease from 26% in the whole sample to 12% in the high interest
segment, and in addition, the very heavy users (more than 15 SMS/week) increase from 10% to 30%. In
general this means, that prior knowledge and experience of SMS affects one’s interest in mobile VAS.
The less aware and the less active a person is in the field of technological innovation, the less that person
is inclined to be interested in further, more advanced technologies of the same field.
Age, gender, income, and mobility
Among high interest segments the amount of those 18 and under and those between 26-35 years more
than doubled. The presence of the 18 and under age group rose from 10% to 22%, and the 26-35 years
age group from 23% to a significant 50%. Interestingly, the presence of the 19-25 years age group
decreased from 25% to 17%. This brings up the question: "Who pays the bill?" It is likely that those 18
and under do not care about their SMS usage, for instance, because their parents pick up their bills. It may
also be that those 26-35 years have company mobile phones that they utilize even in their private life. So
they may not worry about their usage of SMS either. On the contrary the 19-25 years are quite likely to be
4
7. MARKET STUDY
students and as such, they could be low on money. Value-added services may be seen as extra and
unaffordable and are therefore not that interesting. The presence of the 36 and over age group shifted
strongly downwards as well. Perhaps their existing ways to accomplish daily tasks have already become
routine to a greater extent than with the younger generations. It seems like the younger segments play a
bigger role in relation to mobile VAS. These are the same segments that today show heavy use of SMS.
The gender of respondents, as well, indicated some interesting results. The whole sample was almost
equally divided into men and women. At first glance it seems that those of both genders purchase mobile
phones, and is thus perfect target groups for mobile VAS. However, when we take only the
representatives of the high interest segment, 83% of the sample are men and only 17% women. Even
though women send SMS, they may not see the value of SMS in connecting to the Internet.
Income seems to also play a role in interest of mobile VAS. Of the whole sample, 76% of households
reported earning more than FIM 150.000 annually. In the high interest demand segment the
corresponding figure is 83%. The implication may be again the question: "Who pays the bill?" The less
monetary issues distract one’s lifestyle the more there is interest for value added things such as mobile
VAS.
Some more interesting figures are found when we study the mobility of the sample. The sample itself, as
intended, consists of rather mobile people. As mentioned earlier, 60% of the sample travels abroad more
than once a year. The corresponding figure among the high interest segment is 88%. Further, when we
study the hobbies of the high interest segment, the presence of persons interested in outdoor activities
rises from the whole sample’s 40% to 73%. So mobility itself affects the demand for value-added services
independent of time and place.
Those mobile subscribers consisting of these characteristics pose appealing target groups to mobile VAS
operators. Typically, the mobile VAS lead-segments consist of these high interest characteristics and
segments just discussed. We are still to specify the detailed niches that form the mobile VAS lead-
segments.
Existing long-run demand for mobile VAS
At this stage we start identifying the services in demand. The purpose is to first reveal existing longer run
demand. Since answers of the whole potential target group are considered, the results implicate longer run
demand that is most likely to occur in mainstream segments. The idea is to study what are the typical
services in demand among subscribers.
The following table 1 illustrates the demand for the services of the questionnaire. The services are
presented in the favored order of demand. The percentage presented in the table is the cumulative
percentage containing "would use" and "would be likely to use" answers for the particular service. The
table is divided into three sections depending on the respondents general interest level over mobile VAS.
This is, the general interest level 1 includes the opinions of everyone, who is interested in mobile VAS a
little or more. The general interest level 2 includes the opinions of everyone that is interested in mobile
VAS quite a bit or more. The general interest level 3 includes only the answers of the highest interest
level segment.
5
8. MARKET STUDY
Table 1: Demand of mobile VAS depending on the level of interest
Level 1 % Level 2 % Level 3 %
1. Bank 86,4 Bank 93,3 (+6,9) Bank 94,7 (+1,4)
2. Phonebook 81,5 Phonebook 88,9 (+7,4) Remote Control 94,7 (+16,9)
3. E-mail 80,0 E-mail 84,4 (+4,4) Phonebook 89,5
4. City navigation 73,8 Ringing tones 77,8 (+4) Weather 89,5 (+13,9)
5. Remote Control 72,7 Dictionary 77,8 (+6,6) Dictionary 84,2 (+6,4)
6. Ringing tones 72,3 Remote control 77,8 (+5,1) Ringing tones 84,2
7. Dictionary 71,2 City navigation 75,6 E-mail 84,2 (-0,2)
8. Weather 67,7 Weather 75,6 (+7,9) Travelling 78,9 (+16,7)
Businessman
9. Pizza Order 59,1 Pizza order 66,7 City navigation 68,4 (-7,2)
10 News Items 55,4 Travelling 62,2 Pizza Order 68,4
Businessman
11 Travelling 52,3 News Items 55,6 Stock info 68,4 (+28,4)
Businessman
12 Big event 37,9 Big event 44,4 Stock portfolio 63,2 (+27,6)
13 Gambling 33,8 Gambling 42,2 (+8,4) News Items 63,2
14 Sports 33,3 Stock info 40 Gambling 57,9 (+15,7)
15 Stock info 32,3 Sports 37,8 Big event 52,6
16 Grocery store 31,8 Stock Portfolio 35,6 Sports 42,1
17 Stock portfolio 30,8 Grocery store 35,6 Leisure time 36,8
18 Leisure time 27,3 Jokes 26,7 Jokes 31,6
19 Jokes 24,2 Leisure time 24,4 Grocery store 31,6
20 Sunrise 19,7 Sunrise 20,0 Sunrise 26,3
21 Daily biorhythm 10,6 Daily biorhythm 11,1 Daily biorhythm 15,8
No matter how one looks at the results, the banking services always score the most points. Even by
comparing the means of demands with different interest levels, the banking services always score best.
That is, at the highest interest levels almost everyone would demand banking services. From the whole
potential target group 86,4% would demand banking services, and from the target group containing lead
characteristics, a stunning 94,7% would demand banking services.
From the table it is quite obvious what kinds of services are desired and in demand. As the demand for
mobile VAS generally rises, the demand for particular services usually also rises. Some services, for
example, stock related services, face significant growth in demand in the high interest segment.
In addition to banking services, phonebook access and e-mail types of services seem to be very
successful. The demand for these seems to be on a very high level throughout the whole potential target
group. Also, ringing tones and futuristic services such as remote control seem to appeal to the potential
markets. Such services as dictionary queries and weather updates seem to appeal on a rather good level,
and city navigation services on a moderate level.
Some services generally face poor demand. For instance, only 24,2% of the whole potential target group
say they want joke services. Sunrise information is feasible for only 19,7% of the potential target group
and daily biorhythms would appeal to only 10,6% of the target population.
6
9. MARKET STUDY
How are different services seen by end users?
By further studying the characteristics of the services in demand, we can see in the broader meaning what
characteristics and attributes the exact services represent. This is crucial for making marketing
implications. Beneath in table 2 are attributes of three very different in demand services: the banking
services that belong to the most in demand services, the news items that belongs to the rate level demand
service category, and jokes that belong to the level demand service category. The percentage figure
presented in the table refers to how strongly that attribute contributes to the image of the service. For
instance, 89% of the allowed sample (that is everyone who shows a little or more interest towards mobile
VAS) says that banking services are personal, whereas 89% reports joke services as belonging merely to
leisure time.
Table 2: The service attributes
Bank services
Personal 89%
Useful 86%
Both work and leisure time 56%
Pragmatic 83%
Joke Service
Mass service 58%
Useless 69%
Leisure time 89%
Entertaining 99%
News
Customizable 41%
Useful 73%
Both work and leisure time 55%
Pragmatic 77%
Basic service categories
Services can commonly be categorized as entertainment (for example a random joke service),
infotainment (for example a news service), or transactions (for example banking, e-mail, phonebook, and
remote control services). The first two can be held as pure content provision services. Transactional
services are typically services that involve a functionality, that is, an event that occurs as a result of
service execution.
Typically entertainment services facing lowest overall demand are the services that are interpreted as
being mass services. Most importantly, these are the services that are reported as being the most useless.
Their function is merely to provide entertainment for leisure time usage.
In turn, infotainment services facing moderate level demand are reported as being quite the opposite of
entertainment services. They are seen as pragmatic and quite useful services. The distinction between
mass and personal service is no longer so clear. The source for the interest is the personal component of
content. For instance, one may request for the stock quote of one’s personal portfolio, a weather forecast
of the city where one’s summer cottage is located, or the translation for a Finnish word in the language of
the country where one happens to be. The distinction between user role is not that clear either since these
services can be used for both work and leisure time.
7
10. MARKET STUDY
Transactional services face the highest level of overall demand. These services are used to perform a
routine daily task. For instance, a banking service may be used for personal money transfer, a remote
control service may allow one to control personal devices of interest, and a phonebook service may be
utilized for initiating a call. Transactional services are mostly seen as very useful, personal services. The
utilization of these services does not know the limits between work and leisure time. Further, different
types of people use these services for customized purposes. The transactional services are thus very
feasible for mass customization. The entertainment here may be seen as creativity. Downloading a
personal ringing tone to a mobile phone is but useful also creative and thus entertaining. Transactional
services are the kind of services where mobility adds most value. The daily tasks need to be performed
somehow, and sometimes the mobile phone provides the most feasible means.
The following figure 2 summarizes characteristical differences between entertainment, infotainment and
transactional services.
Figure 2: Characteristical differences between service categories
Mass Customization
Personal component
Pragmatism
Usefulness
Creativity
Service related
to time and place
Requirement for
increased packaging
Technological
complexity
Entertainment- Infotainment- Transactional- Services
Towards transactional services the weight and importance of those characteristics illustrated on the left
hand side of the figure grows. These are overall the most valued characteristics of the value-added
services.
There exist naturally services that do not quite fit any of these three categories above in terms of demand.
For instance, the grocery store service faces very poor demand, but could still be categorized as a
transactional service.
Table 3 represents the services of the questionnaire in the three different service categories. When
comparing table 3 with table 1, the correlation between service nature and overall service demand is quite
well visualized.
Table 3. Service categories by service nature
Entertainment Infotainment Transactional Outcasts
Big event Dictionary Bank Gambling
Sports Weather Phonebook Grocery store
Leisure time Travel Remote Control
Jokes City navigation Ringing tones
Sunrise News E-mail
Biorhythm Stock Pizza Order
Stock portfolio
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11. MARKET STUDY
The services in the Outcasts category of the table actually belong to transactional services. These services
are presented, however, separately since they a face different type of overall demand than the other
transactional services. In fact, in terms of overall demand they are similar to entertainment services. The
biggest reason for these services not facing such large overall demand is their inability for efficient mass
customization. Instead, their usage occurs more or less on a narrow niche level.
Important service characteristics
From the results discussed above we can draw several marketing implications.
The personal component of the services seems to be a very important one. Those services in demand the
most are those that are personal; a banking service to control one’s personal accounts and money matters,
an e-mail service to control one’s personal messages, and a remote control service to control one’s
personal devices. The ringing tone service, on the other hand, turns one’s mobile phone into a personal
device that can be recognized from the masses.
Mass customization can’t be separated from personal services. The most in demand services enable a wide
range of mass customization. Different people, for instance, may utilize E-mail, quite divergently and for
different purposes. There may thus be identified several subscriber groups that utilize the same technical
solution for rather different purposes. The usage of services is not limited to the "one person, one role".
The same service may be accessible in one’s private life as well as at work.
It seems to be very important that common, every day services are accessible independent of time and
place. This means that the really in demand services are such, where mobility actually adds value. For
instance, it may be very important to have access to e-mail all the time without having to carry a laptop.
On the sea or at a leisure home it may be important to find out the weather forecast. In a restaurant it may
be important to check the translation of a word. While on the move if you do not remember your friend’s
or business colleague’s phone number, the best way to get it might be with your mobile phone.
Closely related to the importance of mobility is the importance of information tied to time. People do not
see it crucial to have a piece of information, when it is not crucially important. Results show that certain
services may not seem as appealing, for instance news items, sports results, stock updates, and the
purchasing of groceries. Such things one may as well handle at a later time. The information that is most
in demand is that information that is personal and that one needs at a certain moment regardless of where
one is. This is especially important when there is a lack of a better way to get information or handle a
matter.
Importance of communications related services is clearly visible. E-mail and phonebook services relate
directly to communications, whereas banking in the form of transactions may also be seen as
communications. The concept of unified messaging is thus extremely interesting especially in meeting
long run demand. The concept and underlying idea of unified messaging is to integrate e-mail, fax, voice
mail, and SMS services. Our results on the popularity of communication related services encourage this
direction.
The technological complexity of these services in demand varies a lot. Those services most desired would
seem to require quite advanced technologies. Although a variety of services in demand can already be
implemented with existing technologies. Nokia Artus Messaging Platform and Smart Messaging, namely
TTML, may be utilized already today for advanced services such as ringing tones, phone catalogue
service, as well as versatile travel-, weather- and dictionary services. The menu structures and
understanding of various message formats enable reasonable usage convenience. Unfortunately, in terms
of technical background, most of the subscribers of the sample may not quite yet utilize these services.
The amount of Smart phones is so small that in terms of technological complexity services, concentrating
on the legacy phones while preparing for the future is the only recommendable option. This sets the
marketer of the VAS into a quite awkward position. On the other hand, there would seem to exist long-
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12. MARKET STUDY
run demand for several services that could be implemented right now, but the markets lack the technology
to efficiently utilize the services.
There are, however, some services, even among those most in demand, which may well be applicable to
legacy phones. For instance, dictionary and weather services may be implemented with legacy phones as
well. This requires, however, reducing the menu hierarchies and thus compromising on service
functionality.
Those services that offer real value are most in demand. Merely entertainment is not seen as that
appealing. Merely entertaining services scored the lowest scores in the whole study. Low scorers were
joke services, leisure time service packages, sport results, and lottery numbers, all of which to some
extent serve almost no other purpose than entertainment. On a mobile phone, entertainment is more or
less seen as time consuming instead of as a convenience. So, using mobile phones for services needs to
offer some degree of real personal value.
The need for mobile entertainment services should not be completely underestimated though, since
certain niche markets may well find their hobbies via mobile phones. Young people actually enjoy
playing with their mobile phones and amusing themselves with its services. Even though general statistics
do not report massive enthusiasm for mobile entertainment, there may well be an important niche of, for
example, adolescents. This is because of their massive usage of services. Further, their seeking of
entertainment is almost as if transactional. In other words, when they use entertainment via a mobile
phone, they are actually accomplishing something.
The need for operators to offer services or service packages is obvious at least in the long run. Markets
see operators as service providers. Many of the services most in demand are by nature subscribed to
separately, for example, banking, e-mail, and intranet services. Also, all services that offer reliable,
branded content (for example weather and travel info) are operator specific services. Operators offer these
services to differentiate from their competition. The subscriber utilizing these services will often become
to some extent tied to a particular operator who happens to offer an interesting service package or range
of services.
The service characteristics discussed above are typical of long-run mobile VAS demand. These services
become profitable to the operator because they allow personal, mass customized usage. Different types of
people, for example, people of different ages, use the same services for personal, customized purposes.
Further, the same people use the same services while having different roles.
Lead demand segments and services
The target groups most in favor of mobile VAS are typically young, male, technically very advanced,
heavy users of SMS, and rather mobile people. In addition to this they are not likely to pay their own
phone bills or are otherwise not overly restrained by monetary matters.
In addition, we have identified those characteristics of services that ideally appeal to markets. For
example, the markets state that they require and demand transactional services. Typical elements for
transactional services are personality, independence of usage role, pragmatism, to some extent creativity,
as well as usefulness and real added value of accessibility independent of time and place.
Unfortunately, technical complexity is also typical of transactional services. The forced, awkward
position at this point is to state that markets are not yet technically ready for their desired and announced
demand.
The lead-segments compose of technically advanced people who are aware of SMS technology. In
addition to simple SMS usage the lead-segments are already aware of mobile VAS and have already used
the services. The really heavy users of SMS within the potential market are the young people, that is,
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13. MARKET STUDY
people 35 and under. These people are also likely to carry a more advanced handset. Young people may
be divided into age groups of 18 and under, 19-25, and 26-35. Definite differences concerning the
characteristics of these age groups appear. Table 4 presents lead-segment categorization and describes
typical background characteristics for each age group and the corresponding segment.
Table 4: Lead-segment categorization according to typical background characteristics
18 years and under – The adolescent segment
Heavy SMS users (more than 8 mobile originated SMS/week)
Aware of and have used mobile VAS
Of both genders
Unlikely to be restrained by monetary issues as their parents pay the bills
Living with their parents
Quite familiar with Internet technology
Very mobile people, participating actively in sports and outdoor activities.
19-25 years – The student segment
Heavy SMS users (more than 8 mobile originated SMS/week)
Aware of and have used mobile VAS
Male
Possibly restrained by monetary issues
Students
Internet and information technology literate
Very mobile people, participating actively in sports and outdoor activities.
25-36 years – The business segment
Moderate SMS-users (1-7 mobile originated SMS/week)
Aware and have used mobile VAS
Male
Not restrained by monetary issues
Highly educated, working on the managerial level or as an expert
Internet and information technology littermates
Very mobile people, participating actively in sports and outdoor activities.
Those 18 and under and 19-25 are the really heavy users of SMS. The amount of SMS sent by these age
groups exceed 8 SMS/week. The 26-35 age group does not use SMS so heavily, in fact only about half of
the amount of those 25 and under, but still they form about 50% of the lead-segment. In terms of size the
26-35 age group forms a very appealing target group for mobile VAS. Monetary restraints are less visible
for those 26-35 than those 19-25, who as students tend to often face monetary restraints.
The 19-25 and 26-35 age groups are most likely to be male. With the 18 and under age group one’s
gender does not make a difference in interest of mobile VAS. All these segments are quite technically
conscious, and thus utilizing the Internet, for instance, has become a daily routine. Comparing the general
interest level in VAS and the type of the handset one carries shows that these segments are more likely to
carry a newer handset than the rest of the market. The segments are rather mobile and the need for mobile
VAS is thus increased.
The background characteristics of these three segments appear somewhat similar. The major difference is
the existence of females in the 18 and under age segment, whereas females are not present in the other
lead-segments. Also, money has a significant effect. The most appealing lead-segments are the ones not
paying their own phone bills. Whereas background characteristics to lead-segments are somewhat similar,
the nature of service usage and the source of demand within lead-segments varies a lot.
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14. MARKET STUDY
Adolescent segment: Heavy users of entertainment services
The relative importance of transactional services decreases dramatically for the 18 and under age
segment, the adolescent segment. Whereas, in general, transactional services were the most appealing
ones, the adolescent lead-segment does not see their value. Whereas 63% of the potential target group
stated that they would certainly use an e-mail service, only 25% of the adolescents felt similarly. Also,
25% of adolescents felt that they would not need banking services at all. The corresponding figure with
the potential target group was only 7%. Similar findings were found with almost all of the services that
we categorize as transactional services. The phone book service loses its significance, 50% sees pizza and
gambling services totally unnecessary, and no one would use a grocery store service. The transactional
services that remain appealing are the ones with personal status indicators or entertaining functionalities.
Services such as a remote control service and a ringing tones downloading service remain heavily in
demand.
Pure infotainment services do not appeal to the adolescent segment. In fact, 75% state that they have no
need for news or stock information nor services such as city navigation services. Also, 50% feel that
travel and weather services are unnecessary. The figure is high since from the whole potential target
group only 11% report weather services and 16% travel services as being totally unnecessary. One
infotainment service that actually remains in demand is the dictionary service.
There are striking results when we look at the adolescent demand for entertainment services. Typically
entertainment services face the lowest demand, but the adolescent segment reports otherwise. For
instance, 58% of the whole potential target group state that they would not use a joke service. The
corresponding figure for adolescents is 25%. In addition, about 50% of the adolescents would consider
using services related to, for example, sport results, sunrise information, and daily biorhythms.
Keeping in mind that the adolescent segment composes of heavy users of SMS and mobile VAS
conscious people, the segment poses a very appealing target group for mobile VAS operators. This
segment demands services with the entertainment component. Simple, merely entertaining services are
seen as worth trying out and spending time with. The personal component is also held important. The
entertainment services with personal status indicators are of the most in demand. So a remote control
service and a ringing tone downloading service would to a great extent appeal to this segment. Pure
pragmatic infotainment services are not seen to add value and are instead seen as uninteresting.
The demand for the adolescent segment can technically be easily met today. Adolescents already carry
phones capable of, for example, ringing tones downloading services. Only the remote control service is
technically out of range. The importance of personal entertainment may even further encourage the
purchasing of newer phone models. The adolescent segment may be seen as a "Would buy TTML"
segment. The segment reports to being technically quite advanced and using simple services with current
technologies does not pose a problem.
Those services in demand relate strongly to leisure time. By nature, the services are used separately,
instead of as part of specific "service packages". They do not offer any pragmatic solution to subscriber
needs, but merely entertainment. The services are easily customizable, and the more there is the
possibility of customization (for example, with ringing tones), the more there is a demand for the service.
The operator revenue potential from this segment is enormous. The usage of SMS is high and those
belonging to this segment are unlikely to pay their own phone bills. In addition, the status element of
those services in demand causes an interesting effect within the adolescent segment. There is a "jungle
drum" effect that often appears, for instance, after one person receives a funny joke. The joke is then
forwarded to a number of friends, who react in the same fashion. The amount of mobile originated SMS
sent multiply in the process.
As a lead-segment, adolescents open up the way for other segments to use mobile VAS. Adolescents
show how easily technology can be used and in the best case they even educate other segments in using
mobile VAS. Today it is quite common for children to teach their parents how to use a mobile phone or
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15. MARKET STUDY
related technology, or to even recommend which mobile phone to purchase. The diffusion of technology
is likely to occur via this segment.
Further, adolescents are the students and businesspeople of tomorrow, thus making use of the learned,
rooted technologies then. Tomorrow, they will continue utilizing the technology but most likely in a
different manner. In the long run, entertainment services may not be that appealing, and the shift through
infotainment services ultimately to transactional services is likely to take place.
Student segment: Actively searching for services that add value
The 19-25 year old lead-segment, the student segment, has different kinds of VAS preferences. In
general, they have a very positive attitude to those services that add direct value. In fact, their attitude
compared to the other segments seems overly positive. The results are in some cases so positive that one
has to read them cautiously. It may be that what this segment says could be a bit misleading. However
this segment is not afraid of using the technology at hand, if by doing so they are able to complete a
particular task. Transactional services face very high demand. E-mail, remote control, banking, phone
book access, ringing tones, pizza delivery and even gambling services all face very high demand. All of
the services above are meant for performing specific tasks. The tasks relate to everyday student life, no
matter if it is private, school, or work. Students are mobile people and they seek alternative ways to
perform their daily tasks. Their lifestyle seems to fit rather nicely with mobile VAS usage.
Most transactional services, as stated earlier, require a level of technology too advanced for today’s
markets. For today’s students, however, there are plenty of services already available. The student
segment reports demand of pragmatic infotainment services. Dictionary, weather and travelling types of
pragmatic services are of very high demand. These services relate to the high mobility of students.
Also, those entertainment services that offer something personal and something practical are of demand.
Examples of such services are sports services for following big events and services for new ringing tones.
Even jokes seem to appeal. For example, the sports services that we have earlier categorized as pure
entertainment services are actually quite pragmatic and personal for student segments. This relates to their
hobbies. Students are active in sports and following sports via one’s mobile phone actually relates to
following their personal source of interest. Also, the student segment seems to be the gambler segment,
thus most likely interested in, for example, mobile gambling. It might also be a very useful service to
follow sports reports in terms of gambling. So services are not used for merely consuming time and
entertaining oneself, but there is a logical and pragmatic reason.
The services that students do not request for are those services of no real value. In fact, the fact that this
segment is price sensitive adds to the requirement for real value. The services offering no real value are
typically pure entertainment services such as daily biorhythms and sunrise information. Also, 67% report
city navigation services and grocery store services as totally unnecessary for them. Actually, these
services do not add any real value for students. They most likely know their way around the city, and
grocery shopping is seldom required at a certain time. Instead, students seek value while on the move.
They seek for the easiest and most effective way to fetch a certain piece of needed information or a
certain needed service at a certain moment or place. Mobile phones make excellent means for such. Since
this segment is very mobile and not afraid to utilize technology, it offers operators a nice platform for
VAS growth. Technically, the student segment may also be termed as a "Would buy TTML" segment.
Business segment: Practical, transactional services
For our third lead-segment, the age group of those 26-35, different norms must be applied. This segment
may be called the business segment. The business lead-segment is about half the size of the whole
potential target group; that is, it is the largest lead-segment in terms of size. The adolescents and students,
in turn, were stated to be the volume users. For the business segment, pure entertainment does not seem to
add any value. So, 80% state joke services as being totally unnecessary and no one would use a daily
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16. MARKET STUDY
biorhythm service. From our lead segments, the business segment may be seen as the most "reserved" and
skeptical segment where general attitudes towards mobile VAS are concerned.
Like the student segment the business segment seems to be willing to accomplish their daily tasks via the
mobile phone. Transactional services such as banking, e-mail, and remote control are listed as high
demand. However, the same technical limitations for these services to become real lead-services apply.
The business segment places a significant amount of weight on pragmatic infotainment services. About
80-90% of the business lead-segment reports a need for city navigation services, travel services,
dictionary services, and weather services. These are the kinds of services that one requires while mobile.
Also, 80% would have a need for news items and would have use for stock services.
Like the student segment, the business segment also consists of very mobile people. The difference
compared to the student segment is that they put more weight on business-like information. Information
on leisure time related topics are of less value and pure entertainment provides the least amount of value
for this segment. Categorizing young, highly educated business people as the mobile VAS lead-segment
also implies that these persons technically meet the requirements of the "Would buy TTML" segment.
The three lead-segments defined above all have something in common. Even though most of the
transactional services are today not applicable for these markets, there are plenty of services that can very
well be provided. It seems to be a good idea to start with simple entertainment and infotainment services
and prepare for transactional services once the markets are technically aware enough. Simple services
act as educative tools to boost the later more complex and diversified utilization of mobile devices. The
lead-segments today are all young and definitely the future users of mobile VAS. Today, these segments
can already be offered something that they receive value from.
The usage conditions for mobile VAS
For new technology to be adopted by lead-segments, and eventually diffuse to mainstream pragmatist
markets, the diffusion barriers, that is, service usage conditions, need to be well addressed.
Possible psychological and technological barriers
The first diffusion barrier that is encountered is the technological diffusion barrier. Those services that are
in demand and require advanced technologies may not yet be adopted by lead-segments. Eventually,
when the technology diffuses from lead-segments towards lag-segments, it may be that the technology no
longer poses a diffusion barrier for identified demand. At the moment, however, this diffusion barrier
may be the most visible.
Typically our lead-segments composed of technologically conscious young people. They were in favor of
technology and were thus more or less willing and capable of utilizing new technological innovations.
Sometimes, it may however, appear that diffusion is hindered because markets are unwilling to utilize a
new technology. This type of diffusion barrier does not have to do with user experience or the
technological complexity of the service, but is merely psychological or social. Some people simply resist
performing old tasks in a new way.
This type of diffusion barrier seems to increase along with an increase in age. Younger people seem to
even desire new technologies and enjoy mastering them, whereas for elder segments new technologies
tend to pose some fears. In our group interviews this type of fear did not exist. Our lead-segments were
not technology reluctant. However, it was obvious that the business segment questioned the new
technology more than other lead-segments, and the student segment questioned the new technology more
than adolescents did. Older segments required more rationale and real value, and new technology was
only accepted if it proved to solve problems.
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17. MARKET STUDY
Psychological or social resistance can exist in a person, but it can also "be produced". For instance, a push
service that was activated without subscriber permission was seen extremely negatively. The strongest
opinions came from the representatives of the business segment. One comment was, "I was in a meeting
and received an SMS. I was expecting one so I went out of the room to see what it was all about. It turned
out to be a direct marketing message, which made me furious. I turned off my phone." Further, the idea of
utilizing the knowledge of a subscriber’s location for direct marketing was not received well. Becoming a
victim of location based direct marketing via SMS was said to result in the turning off of one’s mobile
phone and the changing of one’s operator. Creating technological reluctance is perhaps one of the most
efficient ways to prevent mobile VAS diffusion. In the worst case the operators themselves turn the
markets against mobile VAS by overly pushing the technology.
The total user experience
According to the results of the group interview, the total user experience is seen as highly important.
Without a doubt it was agreed in the group interview that the services with poor user experience will not
be subscribed to. The user experience was commonly seen as improving after changing from a legacy
phone to a Smart phone. The shift in technological advances thus directly affects the user experience. The
newer and more advanced the technology - SMS, TTML, or WAP - and technical device - legacy phone,
Smart phone, or WAP phone - the better the user experience is expected to be. All the technologies
required for the service affect the user experience. This means that not only the mobile handset or
technology used but also the developments of the whole GSM and Internet infrastructure have direct
effect on user experience. So the technology diffusion barrier affects almost all other diffusion barriers.
The identified layers of diffusion barriers are illustrated in figure 3, and the causes for these barriers are
discussed next.
Firstly, the degree of service tangibilization affects greatly the user experience. The lack of high-tech
service tangibilization may act as a perceptible diffusion barrier. Service tangibilization may be seen as a
combination of service usability, packaging, pricing, reliability, and availability.
Figure 3: Possible diffusion barrier layers
Barriers in
the total user
experience
Usability
Psycho Technology Value
Packaging
-logical diffusion -added
barrier barrier service
Pricing
Reliability
Availability
Timely cost
On the way to using a value-added service
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18. MARKET STUDY
Usability
It seems to be more or less a necessity that the services enable feasible usage convenience and ease-of-
use. Service usability acts thus as a possible diffusion barrier. Plenty of downsides were seen in mobile
VAS usability, mainly concerning legacy phones but also Smart phones. The parameters required by
services were stated as being very hard to know or recall. The Smart phone menu structure partly solved
this problem with usage instructions, storable menus, pre-defined selection lists, and form options.
English, as a service language did not bother the lead-segments. However, the Smart phones faced
criticism in their fixed menu names and soft key names. The concept of form was not clear to users, and
the whole logic of service usage was seen as somewhat confusing. The usage of the services also required
too much technical expertise and experience from the end user. However, after using the services a couple
of times, our lead-segments reported the services as being rather easy to use. One comment was, "Simple
mobile VAS usage with a legacy phone is easy, if one already knows how to use original SMS".
Packaging
The packaging of services was seen important to make services tangible entities. Even simple services
were better off if they were grouped into entities. Especially the Smart phones were seen well in
packaging the services into rational entities. The need for packaging increased for transactional services
that by nature are subscribed to separately. Also, those services that are available only during a pre-
defined period of time, such as sports events, were seen as services that would be nice to order separately.
For example, the on-going soccer World Cup was the kind of service that the lead-segments wanted to
order separately as a whole tournament long package. Requesting for individual bits of information was
seen not that appealing for such applications. Push functionality was typically seen to fit nicely into
service packages ordered separately. Lack of efficient packaging was seen to decrease the probability of
subscription and thus act as a possible diffusion barrier.
Price
The price of the services posed an interesting question. Too high a service price definitely acts as a
diffusion barrier. With pricing it became obvious that subscribers made a difference on whether they were
paying for service access or for service content. This derives from subscribers having been used to
Internet usage, and seeing mobile VAS as a similar solution. Internet offers mostly free content, but
access to the Internet costs. For the mobile service access they were willing to pay the price of one SMS,
thus USD 0.20. Most of the services were seen to be the kind that would only justify the spending of the
cost of access. Typically these were the services that offered no real value.
Interestingly, the mobility itself as a parameter showed to affect the service price justification. The extra
cost for content was allowed, if the service offered a relative advantage. The more important it became for
the service to be available at a certain time or place, the more there was justified an additional cost to the
service. For instance, if dialing 118 (the Finnish phone number for inquiring about phone numbers) costs
USD 1.20, our participants would be willing to pay USD 1.00 for an SMS based phone inquiry service.
Also, those services that decreased other costs (for example, time or psychological costs) were allowed an
increase in monetary cost. For instance, if the SMS-based bus schedule would prevent unnecessary
waiting time at the bus stop, there could be an increase in the cost in the service price. An interesting
finding is that services were stated to be of the same monetary value independent of the phone used. The
usage that takes place with a more advanced handset and more convenient technology does not justify a
higher price. The subscribers are thus not willing to pay for the convenience of use. Typically users would
want to pay for the services based on usage. The push services, however, could be purchased and paid for
as a whole.
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Reliability
Reliability was commonly expected from the services. Without reliability the service subscription was
seen as impossible. Reliability may be divided into security issues, service downtimes as well as the
reliability of the content itself.
The importance of security issues was relative to the type of the service. The more the service in question
required and revealed personal information, the more was expected from security. Typically our lead-
segments believed in the capabilities of technology. Therefore, what they expected was a reassuring
statement of security. They stated that they would believe that, for example, banking services were secure
if they were assured so. Without a reassuring statement of security and an emphasis on security issues,
however, they would not enter, for example, their bank account password into a mobile query. The
existence of goodwill towards technology among lead-segments helps the marketeer overcome diffusion
barriers concerning service security.
The reliability in service functionality, that is, service downtimes, was of great importance. Firstly, the
lead-segments did not care where the bottleneck was located. The network operator (or the party, from
whom the service was purchased) was to be blamed in case of service malfunction. In the long run, an
average of 95% successful queries was expected. Malfunction every now and then was acceptable,
especially if the reason is explained and understandable. Therefore, error messages such as "Data not
found for query, sorry" were seen as not understandable or helpful and thus irritating. Instead, error
messages promoting usage instructions or explaining the real reason for query failure were seen as
acceptable.
The strongest type of a reliability related diffusion barrier was the reliability of the content itself. By
default it was expected that the information given by services is correct and true. The usage of services
was not seen exactly the same way as browsing the Internet. For the information that was fetched by
browsing the Internet, nearly everyone reported that there is a known chance that the information may be
out of date or even totally incorrect. Mobile VAS, on the other hand, were seen as operator specific
services. The operator in turn was seen as a reliable party offering only reliable services. If it turned out
that the services provided by the operator contained false information, it could be a sufficient enough
reason for the changing of one’s operator. Especially the business and student segments, which tended to
request information services of real value, felt strongly this way. The knowledge of the actual content
provider was not significantly important. However, when asked, nearly everyone stated that they would
find CNN news more reliable than news by the operator or an unknown party. In addition they stated that
"it would be nice to know who provides the content, but it is not a necessity". It is thus preferable, but not
absolutely necessary for operators to provide branded content.
Availability
The awareness of service and technology availability may as well act as a diffusion barrier. Availability
has to do not only with the marketing efforts but also the start-up process of service usage.
It is fair to say that without reasonable marketing effort no diffusion will emerge. If one does not know
that a service exists, one does not use the service. If one does not know how to use the service, one does
not use the service. No one seems to be willing to read manuals to learn more about service usage. The
education on service existence and usage is thus required. Tangibilization needs to take place also in tying
the services to specific handsets. One may have heard that a new kind of VAS exists, but does not know
that they are available with one’s particular mobile phone as well. In the group interviews participants
were typically surprised to find out that the services already functioned with their existing handsets.
Once one is aware of service existence and willing to utilize the service, one has to take the service into
use. Significant problems were faced especially in the start-up adoption of the service. All kinds of
configuration were deemed unnecessary and irritating. The end-user should be shielded from all kinds of
configurative actions and should be provided with a ready-to-go solution. Interestingly, everyone still
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20. MARKET STUDY
reported being willing to set up time- or event-based triggering via a Web interface in order to subscribe
to a specific push service. On the other hand, everyone hated the idea of self-configuration. The question
is thus, what is it that they are actually configuring? Configuring access was seen negatively whereas
configuring a personal service was seen positively. There is thus a definite difference between self-
configuration and self-provisioning.
Timely cost
In addition to degree of tangibilization, other factors may also affect the user experience and thus act as
diffusion barriers. Timely manners for instance relate heavily to user experience. Very different views
concerning the appropriate waiting time for the service were reported. The answers varied from
immediate replies to a ten-minute reply delay. It was commonly agreed that as long as one is not kept
waiting it is acceptable. This would generally require a reply time of less than ten seconds. This is
relatively good news, since it usually takes from five to seven seconds to complete a query. For push
services, timely manners did not play that big a role except for those push services that were subscribed
based on a time trigger.
Conclusions
Without lead users the diffusion of mobile value-added services to mass markets and thus standardization
of new technology will not take place. Although markets today are technically not in a very advanced
phase concerning mobile VAS, this merely means that highly advanced mobile VAS solutions can not yet
be offered at least to mass markets.
Of the entire sample in this study, 86,8% stated that they are at least a little interested in mobile VAS. On
the whole, the sample was quite positive with 25% being very interested and 34,2% quite interested in
mobile VAS. Those that were very interested in mobile VAS are termed as the high interest segment. The
target groups most in favor of mobile VAS are typically young, male, technically very advanced, heavy
users of SMS and rather mobile people. In addition to this they are likely not to pay their own bill or are
otherwise not overly restrained by monetary matters.
Services can be categorized as entertainment, infotainment, and transactions. The personal component of
the services seems to be a very important one and the services most in demand enable a wide range of
mass customization. They are also those services where mobility actually adds value. Users demand
services where information is tied to time and real value is offered. Merely entertainment is not seen that
appealing. The markets state that they require and demand transactional services. Typical elements for
transactional services are personality, independence of usage role, pragmatism and to some extent
creativity, as well as the usefulness and real added value of accessibility independent of time and place.
Unfortunately, technical complexity is also typical of transactional services. The forced, awkward
position at this point is to state that markets are not yet technically ready for their desired and announced
demand. It seems to be a good idea to start with simple entertainment and infotainment services and
prepare for transactional services once the markets are more technically aware.
For the new technology firstly to be adapted by lead-segments, and eventually to diffuse to mainstream
pragmatist markets, the diffusion barriers, that is, service usage conditions, need to be well clarified and
managed.
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