ROW International News Briefs

Awareness of hotspots healthy, market needs to shift gearsMarketing and awareness campaigns promoting public hotspots have been successful in targeting both the enterprise market and business professionals, says In-Stat/MDR in a research brief, and now it’s time for operators to shift gears and promote the utility of the service, not just the existence of it. “A greater sense of value must be created, as well as increasing the occasion for usage. This may be through greater availability of the service or by using hotspots services under new circumstances (such as from a handheld in a café or fast food venue, or for personal use),” reads the October 28 market alert. The research firm suggests that hotspot operators should take the time to gain a better understanding of the particularities which exist among the various types of uses. Despite the success of the awareness and educating campaigns, the hotspot market is still plagued by a number of factors limiting its future success at least in the near term. The research firm found that: There appears to continue to be a general unwillingness to pay for the service with research showing users are willing to pay about US$8 per month, on average, for the service; Individual usage levels continue to be low with about 40% of survey respondents, who use hotspots, only accessing them once every couple of months or even less; and Hotspot availability is a concern for companies as national coverage is a key criteria before they decide to implement a hotspot service. Virgin Mobile offers Bridgewater contractVirgin Mobile USA has awarded a contract to Bridgewater Systems to provide support and management of its high-speed data service offering. Bridgewater will provide the wireless operator with its AAA Service Controller, a product designed to enable user authentication, authorization and account management. Wi-Fi Alliance certifies new dual function devicesThe Wi-Fi Alliance has certified the first round of devices and other products offering both Wi-Fi and cellular communications. “These certifications, along with the large number of similar products under development, point to a rapidly evolving trend toward a range of products that enable both Wi-Fi and cellular communications,” reads a news release. The association has, in response to this growing trend, initiated a Wi-Fi/Cellular Convergence task group, which will have for a focus of identifying and meeting the cellular industry’s unique certification requirements for Wi-Fi function in converged devices. Devices recently certified and those on the docket for certification in the near future are: iPAQ Pocket PC h6315, the Nokia 9500 Communicator, the Motorola MPx, among others. Success for MVNOs in Asia in the cards: Yankee GroupNew research from the Yankee Group says that mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) can succeed in the Asian market, despite recent high-profile failures of some including Virgin Mobile in Singapore. After only nine months of service and approximately US$100 million spent, Virgin closed the operation having secured only 30,000 subscribers. The Yankee Group says Virgin failed for a number of reasons including launching in a market where wireless penetration was already at 75% and introducing pre-paid startup fees and rates that were higher than the competition. The best opportunity for MVNOs in Asia is to partner with the third- or fourth-place operator and focus on the low-end of the market. “Given their lower cost base, MVNOs represent the cheapest and fastest way to bring affordable mobile communications to more people. Network operators also generally cater to a mass market, leaving niche groups underserved…Selecting the right MVNO partners will enable carriers to tap these markets,” reads a news release announcing the research. Landline usage fallingAccording to new research from MORI, there is a strong trend in at least four countries to use mobile handsets for all voice calls. The research, conducted for Nokia, shows that upwards of 45 million consumers are now estimated to be making all voice calls from their mobile phones.

ROW International News Briefs

News | November 4, 2004

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