Worldwide Telecommunication Developments

Asia/Pacific

Hong Kong mobile operator SmarTone is re-entering the fixed market with ST Fibre Broadband—a range of broadband plans that offer different upload/download speeds. HomeFibre 200/500/1000 are available at respective monthly costs of HKD 220.00 (US $28.39), HKD 260.00 (US $33.65) and HKD 330.00 (US $42.58) and upload and download speeds of 200 Mbps, 500 Mbps and 1,000 Mbps. Users who subscribe to the operator’s Handset Bundled SuperFast Broadband & Voice Plan or the SIM only SuperFast Broadband & Voice Plan, both with at least 5 GB of data, will pay HKD 178.00 (US $ 22.97), HKD 198.00 (US $25.55) and HKD 218.00 (US $28.13), respectively, each month for the HomeFibre 200/500/1000 plans. Plan subscribers will also be able to access the internet through more than 11,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in shopping malls and restaurants across Hong Kong.

Europe

According to a recent survey of more than 2,000 U.K. residents, a reliable mobile signal is the most important factor that young home buyers (ages 18 to 35) consider when purchasing a real-estate property. To this demographic group, signal strength (45 percent) is more important than concerns about crime (26 percent), transportation (18 percent) and schools (17 percent). Of those survey-takers aged 55 and above, 26 percent said they considered mobile signal strength as the most important factor.

Latin America

Brazilian operator Telefónica Vivo is offering the Top-Up Vivo app to its prepaid and Control plan users. Through the app Android users can top up their accounts using MasterCard, Visa, Diners and Elo credit cards. The app will soon be available for iPhone and Windows Phone users.

Middle East/Africa

Saudi operator Mobily has introduced monthly roaming bundles that subscribers can customize to fit their needs. Users can select the number of call minutes and SMS and the data allowance that they want. Voice minutes and outgoing SMS can be selected in increments of 10 up to 100 units each month. Incoming SMS are not charged. Data can be selected in 50 MB increments of up to 500 MB.

North America

Through its Network Optimization policy, Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. operator, has been limiting the data speeds on its heaviest 3G users for the last three years. The policy is expanding, and Verizon will start to throttle data speeds on its 4G unlimited plans on 1 October. The operator is capping the speeds on the top 5 percent of 4G data users who are connected to a cell site that is experiencing peak usage at a particular time. Throttling will not apply to government organizations and businesses that have major accounts with the operator.

 The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx

 

América Móvil Increases Its Stake in Telekom Austria to Over 50 Percent

América Móvil has announced that it has raised its stake in Telekom Austria to 50.8 percent. Its tender offer of 23.5 percent of the Austrian operator’s shares closed on 10 July, and its payment of €7.15 (US $9.70) per share is due by 24 July. Shareholders who did not tender their shares will have three more months in which to do so. The Austrian government will retain a 25 percent stake in Telekom Austria, under a joint shareholding pact it agreed upon with América Móvil in May. América Móvil, controlled by billionaire Carlos Slim, was declared dominant by Mexican regulators last year. While it is appealing the dominance finding, it seems that América Móvil has accepted that an appeal is very unlikely to succeed. Last week, the Mexican government approved broad regulations aimed at opening up the telecommunications and broadcasting industries. Shortly thereafter, América Móvil announced plans to divest itself of some of its operations in Mexico, which were not specified, in order to bring the company’s share of the Mexican telecommunications market below 50 percent. That could remove its dominant status and allow it to enter the TV sector.   Whether or not it ends up entering that sector, Mexico has clearly become a much less comfortable environment for América Móvil than previously. With opportunities contracting at home, and the size of its business set to contract there as well—at least for now—América Móvil is looking to expand abroad. By increasing its stake past the 50 percent mark, América Móvil will now control Telekom Austria’s management decisions and thus is set to become a player not only in Austria but in other Central and Eastern European countries where Telekom Austria has a presence.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of Tarifica's "The Story of The Week", a weekly report that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. For past issues or to learn more about The Story of The Week :  http://www.tarifica.com/storyoftheweek.aspx

Vodafone Portugal Offers New Subscription Program for Business Customers

Vodafone Portugal, in partnership with PIE Group, a company that specializes exclusively in developing solutions for management and control, has launched “Factura na Hora,” a new business management solution for its business subscribers. This new system provides complete mobility, a tablet or smartphone app for Android, automatic cloud-based backup service  and data recovery in case of loss or theft of equipment. Additionally, it allows users to check documents such as invoices and reports, manage accounts of clients and vendors, and create and remotely change information on all the equipment using the same application. There are three different subscription options available: Vodafone Factura na Hora Sync for €9.90 (US $13.45) per month, which synchronizes information from different devices, Vodafone Factura na Hora Light for €19.90 (US $27.04) per month, which allows users to issue invoices, delivery notes, reports and other documents and Vodafone Factura na Hora Pro for €24.90 (US $33.84) per month, which provides the option of managing suppliers’ accounts and inventory, as well as allowing users to issue invoices, delivery notes and reports.

Portugal’s mobile market is dominated by three operators, MEO (Portugal Telecom), Vodafone and Optimus. It has high mobile penetration, partly due to the popularity of using multiple SIM cards. The environment is very competitive, so operators have to constantly create innovative offers to attract new customers and satisfy existing ones. Vodafone’s new offer allows subscribers to choose the option that best fits their needs. As we have written previously, in order to provide specific services, very often operators create unique relationships with other companies, such as the one developed by Vodafone and PIE Group. Those partnerships are a viable source of revenue for both parties. Additionally, they help mobile operators go beyond the basic, traditional range of offerings. Even though this new program targets only business customers, we believe it is a likely source of revenue.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx

Notable Regional Developments in Telecommunications

Asia/Pacific

New Zealand mobile operator 2degrees is fostering competition in trans-Tasman roaming rates by offering a new plan to all its Pay Monthly and Business customers who are roaming in Australia. Customers who activate the operator’s 10/10/10 tariff will be charged AUD 0.10 (US $0.09) per minute for calls from Australia to New Zealand, AUD 0.10 per SMS and AUD 0.10 per MB of data. In addition, later this month 2degrees will be launching Australian 7-day data roaming packs for all 2degrees customers. Packs include 300 MB of data at a cost of AUD 10.00 (US $9.40) and 500 MB of data at a cost of AUD 15.00 (US $14.10).

Europe

Customers of the Dutch utilities group Essent can now use WhatsApp to contact the utility company’s customer service department. While this is a pilot program, Essent is the first large business in the Netherlands to use the popular messaging service. According to a recent report, WhatsApp has 9.5 million users in the Netherlands, and this exploratory program may be seen as another area in which OTT services will be used to facilitate communication.

Latin America

Android phone users with NFC-enabled phones can use their devices to recharge Single Ticket contactless smartcards used to pay fares on São Paulo, Brazil’s SPTrans transportation system. Users can put all types of credits—monthly, student, Valley Transportation and Common—on the Single Ticket option. Passengers need to download the Single Ticket mobile phone app and place their mobile phones near their smartcards to top up or check the balances on their smartcards. This mobile payment method should reduce congestion at physical recharge points, especially during peak periods.

Middle East/Africa

Namibian operator MTC is partnering with the University of Namibia (Unam) to enable students enrolled at Unam campuses across the country to access the internet via Wi-Fi. Students will be charged an annual fee of NAD 500.00 (US $46.77) for a SIM card with an internet access code. The unlimited service is available to students for 24 months and can be accessed from their homes as well as college campuses. The country’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Joel Kaapanda, says this partnership is to be commended for meeting the government’s objective of promoting e-learning in institutions of higher learning.

North America

The CEOs of several major America companies, including Adobe, Facebook, Intuit, Wells Fargo and Dropbox, have sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of its chairman, Tom Wheeler’s proposal for E-rate modernization. The letter’s contents is also supported by the EducationSuperHighway (a non-profit organization that is working to enable high-speed internet access in every classroom across America), bipartisan groups of politicians including governors, senators, congressmen and mayors and education technology innovators. E-rate modernization is a movement calling for upgrades to outdated broadband systems in schools across the country with high-speed connectivity, and the proposal will be voted on at the FCC’s 11 July meeting.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx

Sandvine to Support Smart’s Bite-Sized Data Plan Store

Smart Communications, the leading MNO by market share in the Philippines, has selected Canada-based Sandvine, an intelligent broadband solutions provider, to support its mobile internet store, PowerApp, which offers bite-sized, application-specific mobile data plans.  PowerApp, developed by Smart’s technology partner, Chikka Philippines, offers email, chat, photo and social packages in 15-minute, 3-hour or per-day increments with unlimited access.

Emerging-market operators such as Smart are increasingly adopting application-specific data pricing as a strategy. It offers a versatile means of tailoring plans according to customers’ usage, allows customers to use apps such as Facebook or YouTube without fear of bill shock and gives them a clear understanding of what they are paying for. Apart from benefiting from an incremental revenue stream, operators can also potentially upsell their customers as data usage grows and continually adapt their offerings to market needs. In emerging markets, where many users may not be able to afford a full-scale data plan, allowing them to access the apps most relevant to their needs not only encourages greater data consumption but puts mobile data within reach of a wider population. It also enables operators to attract users to data at an earlier stage of their mobile-use timeline. The success of this pricing strategy is increasingly evident—one example is Zimbabwean MNO Econet Wireless’ introduction of unlimited Whatsapp bundles, which we reported in the 22 May Tarifica Alert. Another is Facebook’s recent acquisition of Finnish startup Pryte, which enables operators to offer bite-sized data plans; the acquisition is aimed at supporting Facebook’s Internet.org initiative in emerging markets.

However, app-specific data pricing can also be relevant to certain segments of developed markets, such as the youth demographic. Since some users may utilize most of their plan allowances on certain apps only, offering an app-specific data plan may allow operators to better meet the needs of these subscribers. Furthermore, operators could offer app-specific plans or even unlimited data plans with short-term validity to coincide with popular events such as the FIFA World Cup. Operators could also price apps such as YouTube that consume a large amount of data at a different rate from apps such as Twitter that use less data. App-specific pricing also creates the possibility of allowing sponsorship of data for specific apps, which would constitute an additional revenue stream for operators. In the U.S., MVNO FreedomPop has already announced plans to launch app-specific and bite-sized data plans as well as sponsored apps in Q3 2014. These plans, currently in test mode, will be offered alongside FreedomPop’s basic service, which provides users with 500 MB of 4G data per month with no associated monthly fee.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx