SMS and Mobile Messages Are Revenue Leaders

According to ABI Research – SMS will continue to maintain its lead as the highest revenue generator across all messaging categories, providing global service revenues of $177 billion in 2013. But in a recent report from ABI Research, regional differences will determine the success of messaging expansion into the Web, advertising, and the incorporation of mobile messaging within social networking media.

“Innovative companies are exploring opportunities for expanding mobile messaging access to Web sites as well as targeting customers with content and ads,” says principal analyst Dan Shey. “To be successful with these enhanced services, companies that supply mobile messaging products and services must understand the regional distributions for customer type, payment preferences, message delivery method, and usage.”

For instance, developed regions of North America and Europe have the highest messaging ARPUs, and send the most messages from the computer to the mobile device using IM; Asia-Pacific subscribers sign up for the most SMS alert services; and Latin Americans are heavy SMS users, but prefer pay-as-you-go for all messaging services.

Additionally, these regional differences will cause established messaging suppliers to reevaluate their business models.

“Device vendors and messaging platform suppliers serving the global market will have to manage across markets where growth is king – and other markets where product differentiation is king,” continues Shey. “This is a great time for smaller companies to develop new products and services individually and in partnerships to serve the niche needs of a region or country.”

AT&T Changes the Way it Packages and Sells Broadband

BOSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AT&T this week announced plans to change the way it packages and sells broadband services to consumers. Rather than marketing speeds “up to” a certain point, the Telco will instead propose to customers tiered offerings, with clearly stated minimum and maximum transmission rates. A new report by Strategy Analytics, “AT&T’s Tiered Service: Taking a Bite Out of Fraudband,” applauds this move.

While the new tiers don’t necessarily represent an actual performance improvement, the transparency it provides to the customer will serve to enhance the overall Quality of Experience (QoE), the report says. It is a step in the right direction, and one that customers will welcome.

“The ‘up to’ marketing strategy has drawn the ire of broadband customers for years,” notes Ben Piper, Director of the Strategy Analytics Multiplay Market Dynamics service. “It is widely perceived as a classic ‘bait-and-switch’ technique, analogous to a supermarket advertising a six pack with ‘up to six cans.’”

There are clearly service issues beyond the Service Provider’s control, including customer equipment and distance from the central office. However, the policy shift ensures that customers get a better understanding of the types of speeds they can reasonably expect. This alone could help AT&T differentiate itself in the market.

David Mercer, Vice-President of the Strategy Analytics Digital Consumer Practice, welcomes AT&T’s move. “We have long urged Service Providers to move toward a tiered pricing model, and are pleased to see AT&T take this step.”

Telepacific Expands Footprint

Telepacific is a competitive carrier that services small to medium sized businesses in California and Nevada.

Today they announced that it has expanded its Nevada service area to include the state capital, Carson City. TelePacific now serves all major cities in Nevada.

From MarketWatch:

“Our experience working in northern Nevada showed us that expanding our coverage area to Carson City was essential in order to successfully serve Nevada customers,” said Dick Jalkut, TelePacific’s CEO and president. “Part of TelePacific’s success is due to the focused geographic areas we serve. The expansion allows us to better serve our customers and reinforces TelePacific’s commitment to provide excellent local service.”

Verizon Wireless Invested $75M in Florida Cell Phone Sites

Verizon Wireless announced an investment of nearly $75 million on new cell sites, network facilities and other technologies to enhance services and coverage throughout Florida in the first six months of 2008.

Since 2000, the company has spent more than $1.8 billion on network enhancements in Florida, and more than $45 billion throughout the nation. Last year, Verizon Wireless invested more than $178 million in its Florida network.

The new technology (EVDO) provides access to services such as V CAST – which allows customers to stream video clips, play cutting-edge 3D games and download full song tracks over the air, and VZ Navigator – a location-based service offering maps, audible driving directions, traffic updates, gas station locations and pricing, and more.

EVDO technology also allows the highest speed wireless connection to BroadbandAccess, the company’s business data service, which offers average download speeds of 600 kilobits per second (kbps) to 1.4 megabits per second and upload speeds of 500-800 kbps. BroadbandAccess customers can wirelessly access their e-mail and calendars, the Internet and other information anytime, anywhere via a high-speed secure connection.

“We take pride in providing our tech-savvy customers with the latest and most advanced wireless products and services,” said Pam Tope, Florida region president for Verizon Wireless. “The continuous investments we make across the state ensure that Floridians can enjoy the most reliable wireless service every day.”

The installation of new transmission sites also is a key part of the ongoing network enhancement to ensure the most reliable wireless coverage for residents. Nearly 50 new wireless transmission sites have been activated in Florida so far this year. About 85 percent have their own on-site generators and new expanded fuel tanks to extend power-generating capacity.

Additional highlights of the Verizon Wireless network enhancement include:

• Verizon Wireless began construction of a high-tech $50 million switching facility in South Florida that will expand and reinforce wireless network capacity and help enhance services for customers throughout the region. The 45,000-square-foot Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO), to be located on five acres in west Broward County, will serve as the main call-processing hub for South Florida, serving an area from Key West to Broward County. It will also serve as the company’s emergency operations center for South Florida during and after significant events like hurricanes.
• Verizon Wireless completed a $20 million enhancement to the company’s Tampa Bay switching facility, which doubled its traffic capacity and back-up power redundancies. The MTSO handles all wireless traffic within the core Tampa Bay area, as well as surrounding areas such as Sarasota, Lakeland and Citrus County. The upgraded facility was built to withstand a Category 5 storm and equipped with large-scale back-up power generation for hurricanes and other special circumstances.
• Verizon Wireless deployed two high-tech COWs (Cells On Wheels) outside of the Daytona International Speedway to boost wireless coverage for the hundreds of thousands of visiting race fans, news media, local residents and businesses during this year’s Daytona 500. The COWs, each with a 75-foot telescoping antenna, 10 dedicated voice channels and two high-speed data channels, strengthened the network during the spike in wireless calls, text messages, picture and video messages, internet connections and other wireless traffic related to the race and other speedway events in February.
• Verizon Wireless network technicians (who serve as the inspiration for the famous TV Test Man) traveled more than 500,000 miles across the state so far this year in special vehicles equipped with phones, wireless data devices and computers to measure the quality of voice and data calls on Verizon Wireless and other carriers.