Next-generation wireless services driven by youth, new Ericsson research says

Canadian youth between the ages of 15 and 24 are driving the adoption of next-generation wireless services, according to new research from Ericsson Canada Inc. The research, done in conjunction with Ericsson Consumer Lab and Starch Research, says that within this demographic, there is a sub-group dubbed the explorative youth and it is consuming wireless data services at a very high rate. Nearly half of this group, according to the research, uses text messaging on a weekly basis. Additionally, there is an emerging trend within the explorative youth demographic for using multimedia messaging services (MMS) and the data shows that 10% of this group are using MMS every month despite the services only becoming available last year. "Camera phones have strong growth potential and represent the next stage in enriched communications," reads an advisory announcing the research. Vishnu Singh, senior marketing manager at Montreal-based Ericsson Canada, explains that for this demographic the mobile handset is more than just a device for voice communications. "The explorative youth is really driving the expansion of next-generation service offerings beyond voice, like music downloads and gaming. The mobile phone has become for them about expressing and asserting their individual identity. Similar to the clothes they wear, the mobile phone service is about making a statement," he tells Report on Wireless. Singh goes further to state that the handset is now emerging as a visual communications device. He relates a story of being at an Avril Lavigne concert where fans were holding up their cell phones with the screen lit up and even the artist was calling on fans to hold up their cell phones. "So the behaviour of youth is starting to move away from using the device for (just voice communications) into a visual communications device," he adds. Wireless data services continue to grow as a share of a wireless operators’ average revenue per user (ARPU). Most Canadian operators are now reporting wireless data ARPU in the 4% to 5% range of total ARPU, and they say this is a result of continued strong text messaging use with MMS services gaining some momentum, according to Singh. According to Ericsson Canada’s research, SMS usage has doubled since 2003,and 23% of all Canadian mobile phone users surveyed report sending or receiving text messages on a monthly basis. The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association estimates ) that there are more than 2 million text messages sent per day in the country. In addition, since inter-carrier interoperability was introduced in April 2002, mobile-originated monthly SMS has grown from about 10 million to almost 60 million per month. The prospect for more revenue from wireless data services is good as a significant number of the explorative youth demographic is interested in using more advanced data services. The research indicates 43% of this demographic are interested in downloading games, 47% are interested in downloading music, 44% are interested in sharing a picture while talking, and 50% are interested in sending emails from their mobile phone.

Next-generation wireless services driven by youth, new Ericsson research says

News | 12/02/2004 5:00 am EST

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