Vodafone Italia Appears Set to Launch Budget MVNO

Vodafone Italia is preparing to launch a low-cost MVNO brand later this year to compete with Telecom Italia’s recent debut of its Kena Mobile MVNO and the imminent entry of France’s Iliad as the country’s fourth mobile network operator, according to a news report. Back on 8 March, Vodafone created a company called Vei SRL and informed competitors that it holds a general license for full MVNO activities.
 
The new entity would serve as the vehicle for the new MVNO brand, which could begin providing mobile number portability services as early as this September, said the report. While Vodafone sources indicated to journalists that no final decision has been taken and that the company is still evaluating its options, the creation of a new brand and the existence of a detailed roadmap point to the imminent launch of a budget service.
 
Italy’s MVNO war looks set to heat up, with some help from a foreign power, so to speak. Two months ago, TIM (Telecom Italia) began offering Kena Mobile MVNO plans. In addition, French operator Iliad (which provides mobile service under the brand Free) plans to launch as an MNO in Italy sometime between November 2017 and January 2018.
 
In this market climate, it makes a great deal of sense for Vodafone Italia to take decisive action and create its own budget-minded service to compete. The famously disruptive Iliad is known for its aggressive offers and says it is planning to grab 10 percent of the Italian mobile market quickly. Vodafone sees the need to respond in kind. At an industry conference last November, Vittorio Colao, the CEO of Vodafone, when asked about Free’s launch in Italy, said, “When you have a big warship and the pirates are approaching, it makes sense to send out the commandos in the speed boats,” referring to tactics such as price cuts and more generous data bundles.
 
Now that the time to deploy the commandos has arrived, the operator has apparently chosen the MVNO type of speed boat. The logic of that seems to be that by breaking out its budget service into a separate brand, Vodafone can more effectively and directly market itself as an alternative to Free (as well as to TIM’s MVNO), both to existing and prospective customers.
 
As for TIM, its new Kena Mobile MVNO is offering the choice of a voice-only bundle of 1,000 minutes or a bundle of 4 GB of 3G data for €3.99 (US $4.45) per month, with the cost rising to €9.99 (US $11.14) per month for 600 voice minutes, 100 SMS and 6 GB of data. We would expect Vodafone’s prospective MVNO, if it indeed comes to the market, to at least equal that.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. 

To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com 

Tarifica’s Daily Tracking Service

Tracking competitors’ promotions and pricing changes is critically important in today’s dynamic and fast-changing mobile industry, but gathering these details on a daily basis can be a difficult task that demands substantial time and resources.  Tarifica’s Daily Tracking Service addresses this challenge by providing a daily customized PowerPoint that captures and details every active promotional plan, device offer and price change in the client’s country.

Tarifica draws on its extensive experience in researching and analyzing mobile plans to highlight the most important details in an easy-to-read format so decision-makers get a clear snapshot of the market environment, thereby allowing them to react and implement new strategies accordingly.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. 


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Fjordkraft Launches MVNO Via Telenor With Discounts for Power Clients

Norwegian electricity provider Fjordkraft has begun offering mobile communication services on Telenor’s network. Fjordkraft, which is owned by network companies BKK and Skagerak as well as by the power producer Statkraft, has approximately 1 million residential electricity customers. They will be able to get mobile services at discounted rates.

Each Fjordkraft Mobil subscription includes unlimited voice calls, SMS and MMS. The data allotments can also be used when roaming in the EU and EAA. The pricing is as follows: A subscription with 1 GB of mobile internet costs NOK 199.00 (US $23.28) per month, or NOK 119.00 (US $13.92) to power customers. The 3 GB subscription costs NOK 279.00 (US $32.63) per month, or NOK 199.00 to power customers. The 5 GB service costs NOK 339.00 (US $39.65), or NOK 279.00 to power customers. The 10 GB is priced at NOK 439.00 (US $51.35), or NOK 339.00 for power customers. The 20 GB service costs NOK 539.00 (US $63.04), or NOK 439.00 to power customers. Unused mobile internet allowances can be rolled over, and there is no contractual commitment.

For companies whose core business is outside the mobile telecom sphere to offer mobile services can be a very sound strategy to bring in revenue. In addition to free-standing MVNOs and MVNOs offered by MNOs, we have seen numerous examples of virtual operators started by retail and other entities. In such cases, it is important to have a pre-existing client base that would be receptive to an offering of mobile services (at the right price, of course), in this case from Norway we see a synergy that makes sense.

Fjordkraft has a large number of customers for home electricity, and considering that—for better or worse—many customers conceive of mobile services as an essential utility akin to electricity, we can certainly envision many of Fjordkraft’s customers being amenable to signing up for mobile packages from a company that they already depend on daily and trust.

The offerings are well-designed, in our view, in that they include unlimited voice and texts as well as a tiered slate of data offerings to cater to the varying needs of Norwegian consumers. We have written recently about the increasing demand for flexibility with regard to plan features among consumers across a wide variety of markets. The pricing of the packages is relatively low to begin with, and the significant discounts across the board makes them even more appealing to Fjordkraft’s electricity clients. From the company’s standpoint, it also holds out the possibility of attracting new electricity clients who are eager to avail themselves of discounted MVNO connectivity.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance.

To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com 

Orange Poland Offers New Version of VoIP App Libon

Orange Poland has introduced a new version of the application Libon for VoIP calls to any country in Europe and North America. For 10 minutes of calls customers pay PLN 4.29 (US $1.09); 100 minutes cost PLN 30.49 (US $7.75); 200 minutes cost PLN 52.19 (US $13.26) and the biggest package of 400 minutes costs PLN 82.99 (US $21.09), i.e. PLN 0.20 per minute. National calls within Poland as well as calls from anywhere in the world to Poland are cheaper—the package of 100 minutes costs PLN 7.99 (US $2.03); 250 minutes cost PLN 16.49 (US $4.19) and 500 minutes cost PLN 24.99 ($6.35). A free package of 100 minutes is available as a bonus upon registration for the app.

Libon, launched in 2012, is a VoIP app for iOS and Android created by France-based telecom giant Orange. It represents an attempt on the part of a major multinational operator to compete with the OTT services that have been undermining the voice services of MNOs, especially when it comes to out-of-country calling. While Libon is available for download even to those who are not Orange subscribers, and even in countries where Orange has no presence, in many cases it is used as a strategy to keep customers inside the Orange ecosystem, instead of resorting to WhatsApp, Skype or other similar services. The new version launched in Poland offers services that are attractively priced. In the domestic market, the prices are especially low; the question arises, then, as to whether or not they will cannibalize the operators cellular business within Poland, and whether that would be counterbalanced by revenue increases from international calling on the part of Orange subscribers who choose Libon. 

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com

Vodafone India Offers 1 GB of Bonus Data on Pre-Booked 4G SIMs

Vodafone India has launched a promotion for its customers in the state of Haryana, where the operator plans to commercially launch its 4G services soon. As part of the campaign, customers who pre-book their Vodafone 4G SIM until 23 August will receive a 1GB 4G data bonus valid for 10 days from activation. To access the offer, Vodafone customers in Haryana need a 4G-enabled handset and an active Vodafone 3G package. In addition, Vodafone 4G customers from Haryana will be able to access 4G connectivity while roaming across all existing Vodafone 4G circles in India—Mumbai, Delhi and environs, Kerala, Karnataka and Kolkata. Vodafone has already made 4G-ready SIMs available at 250 branded stores and at over 5,000 multi-brand outlets across Haryana.   The capital investment required to launch 4G-LTE services is quite substantial, and operators will of course want to know that there will be a customer base in place to provide the return on its investment. India is a rapidly developing mobile marketplace making the transition from 2G/3G to 4G. To incentivize its existing customers to purchase a 4G-enabled handset in order to be ready for the launch of the high-speed services, and to be willing to accept the higher charges for that service, Vodafone is offering some free data. A one-time 1 GB giveaway is not particularly extravagant by developed-market standards, but for users who have not previously had the ability to consumer large amounts of data via high-speed networks, it will likely be very appealing. Most important, though, from a strategic point of view is the fact that Vodafone India is requiring customers to pre-book their 4G service in order to get the promotional offer. With enough pre-booked subscriptions, the operator will have the confidence of knowing that its new service will have enough subscribers to bring in enough revenue to make it viable. We consider this to be a very savvy approach.  Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com

Orange Spain Launches Campaign for 4G Phone Upgrades

 

Mobile operator Orange Spain has launched a summer promotion to encourage its customers to upgrade to 4G/LTE-enabled phones. Under the offer, called Plan Estrena 4G, customers who trade in an old device will receive double its usual value as credit toward a new 4G device. For example, trading in an iPhone 4s will be worth a €100.00 (US $110.00) credit toward an iPhone 6, instead of the usual €50.00 (US $55.00). The credit for the old phone can be either in the form of a discount coupon for use in Orange shops or a bank transfer. The offer is valid for all customers who buy a 4G phone with a postpaid plan by 31 August. According to Orange, over 3 million customers already use its 4G network in Spain.

 

 

Over the past several months, Orange has announced that it will invest tens of millions to over a hundred million euros in each of several Spanish regions—including Madrid, Valencia, Asturias, Seville, and La Mancha—for the promotion and development of 4G networks over the next three years. If the operator is going to spend this kind of money, it is going to need to take other steps to ensure return on the investments—specifically, it will need to incentivize customers to fully utilize the new high-speed service. Putting the right devices in their hands is an essential part of this effort—along with advertising that promotes the capabilities of 4G and the offering of value-added services that leverage 4G—and this doubling of credit seems to us generous enough to accomplish the goal. And since the most data-hungry customers, those who would benefit the most from 4G and use it the most, tend to be on postpaid plans, it is logical that the credit offer is targeted to that sector.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. Click here to contact a Tarifica Analyst.

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AT&T, Verizon Enhance Fiber Offerings for SMB Customer Base

U.S. operators AT&T and Verizon have recently enhanced their fiber offerings for the small to medium-sized business (SMB) market. AT&T is leveraging its fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) program—part of the operator’s Project VIP initiative, which debuted in 2012—by phasing in its Business Fiber Service to customers that reside in buildings where the operator has previously rolled out fiber. Considering the customer mix typically found in these buildings, AT&T’s offerings will initially  comprise a combination of asymmetrical and symmetrical speeds that range from 25 Mbps to 300 Mbps, with the intent of offering a symmetrical 1 Gbps service before the end of 2014.

For its part, Verizon is allowing its SMB customers to access symmetrical FiOS speed levels via its SpeedMatch program, which the operator launched in July. With this offer, which Verizon had already made available to residential FiOS subscribers, SMBs will be able to access symmetrical speeds at its six main tiers, which now range from 25 Mbps at a monthly cost of US $65.00 to 500 Mbps at monthly cost of US $365.00. For example, SMB customers that had 50/25 asymmetrical speed will now have symmetrical 50 Mbps. Additionally, Verizon’s existing SMB subscribers will not be required to take any action to receive SpeedMatch.

In the U.S. cable and wireline markets, the race between cable companies and fixed line operators to win over customers has become more and more intense, not only with residential customers but also in the business sector. In recent times, as cable operators made their way into the SMB market with voice and data bundles, it appeared that the U S. large fixed line operators were ignoring this development and only focusing on serving the country’s large enterprises. However, while AT&T and Verizon are maintaining their status as the top two providers in the U.S., it is becoming clear that they are experiencing pressure from cable operators to come up with offerings for the SMB market.

As telcos build out fiber, cable operators are no longer the only entities that own their own fiber in the U.S., in which there is a fiber penetration rate of over 39 percent in commercial buildings with 20 or more employees. Additionally, although Verizon and AT&T’s services are not ubiquitous, for the operators there is real value in investing in these services, as cable operators may try to gain some ground in the large-enterprise market, especially with deals such as Comcast’s acquisition of Time Warner Cable occurring. AT&T and Verizon have not indicated why they have made these services available to SMB customers; however, in a market where cable providers have the means to encroach on fixed line and even mobile operators, it is wise for the fixed line providers to use their services to woo cable customers, particularly in places where telco providers have a fiber footprint already laid down. 

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

Lower Price is the Number One Reason Consumers Switch Mobile Providers

Users Around the World Value Data Over Voice and SMS.

Demand for Mobile Data Plan Customization is High

A survey of over 500 mobile phone users in each of six markets—China, France, Germany, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.—indicates that consumers want more options to control and personalize the pricing of their data services. Sixty percent of mobile users want to be able to customize their plans, and 50 percent are interested in the ability to purchase more data directly from their devices, in real time.  Interest in plan customization is particularly strong in China (where 74 percent reported that they want it), the U.S. (67 percent) and the U.K. (58 percent). In China, interest in plan options for unlimited access to social media is especially high at 62 percent. In France, the number of users who are willing to accept continued use at lower speeds after data limits are reached is twice the number of those who would want to buy additional data. In Germany, over a quarter of mobile phone users see the appeal of buying an additional bucket of data beyond the original data cap. In Spain, mobile users are notably willing to accept continued use at lower speeds when they reach their data limit, with over half selecting throttling and only a fifth prepared to buy an additional data bucket. Forty-five percent express an interest in plans based on selecting how many minutes of browsing, video and music they use, rather than in a bucket of data.  As sophisticated markets reach saturation and mobile service becomes more and more of a commodity, competition among mobile operators is intensifying. As a result of that, consumers have more leverage than ever to demand what they want. As this study shows, what they want, by and large, is more control over their spending on data. The one-size-fits-all approach that derives revenue from charging users for data they do not use is likely a thing of the past. In the more affluent or aggressively growing economies such as the U.S., the U.K., Germany and China, the desire is more for flexibility, with users reporting that they would like the ability to add more data at will. In France and Spain, where budget-mindedness seems prevalent, users are more willing to accept throttling. In any case, in order to remain maximally competitive, MNOs are going to have to acknowledge these consumer needs and offer more customization across the board.

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

U.S. Senate Committee Passes Mobile Phone Unlocking Bill

On 10 July the U.S. Senate’s Judiciary Committee unanimously approved bipartisan legislation authored by Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) that would once again make it legal for consumers to unlock their mobile phones and transfer them to other wireless carriers.

A 2012 ruling by the Library of Congress stated that unlocking phones violated U.S. copyright laws. The proposed legislation, called The Unlocking Consumer Choice and Wireless Competition Act, would reinstate a 2010 ruling by the Librarian of Congress that said unlocking involved no copyright violation. The modified bill passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee promotes competition and improves consumer choice. It also directs the Library of Congress to consider whether other wireless devices, such as tablets, should be eligible for unlocking. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a similar mobile phone unlocking bill in February, and Leahy has been coordinating with his counterpart in the House to ensure that Congress can pass a bill in 2014.

The Library of Congress’ 2012 ruling was controversial and met with opposition from a wide range of industry observers and participants. In December 2013, Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and US Cellular pledged to facilitate unlocking of phones for their customers, after urging by consumer advocacy groups. With consumers and mobile operators on the side of unlocking, the Senate committee’s unanimity in passing the proposed legislation may well presage an unusual degree of concord when the bill comes before the full Senate. Phone unlocking encourages competition among mobile operators and clearly benefits consumers. The U.S. has been out of step with much of the rest of the world with this for a while now; the time has most likely come for that to end.

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

Zain Offers 1 TB Data Sharing Plan

Saudi MNO Zain has launched its latest postpaid plan, called Xtra. It offers a monthly allowance of 1 TB of data along with a free Mi-Fi device and three free data SIMs, thereby allowing users to share the data allowance between a maximum of four devices at the same time. The plan also provides a monthly allowance of 2,400 all-net minutes, 300 international minutes, unlimited all-net SMS and 512 MB of roaming data. The monthly subscription fee for the plan is SAR 1,000.00 (US $261.77). Subscribers can also select a “diamond vanity number” (a phone number whose corresponding keypad letters spell out a word or name), said by the operator to be worth more than SAR 100,000.00 (US $26,177.50), free with the plan.

Saudi Arabia is ranked among the top countries in the world in terms of smartphone penetration, with a rate in excess of 70 percent. Combine the increasing adoption of smartphones with the demographics of the country (70 percent of the population is under 30), and it is not surprising that mobile data use is rising rapidly. One study found that the Twitter penetration among internet users in Saudi Arabia is the highest in the world (150 million tweets sent per month in 2013), and 73 percent of Saudi Twitter users access their accounts through mobile phones. The same study also reported that Saudis watched 90 million YouTube videos per day in 2013, an average of 7 per user per day. Zain itself reported that in 2013 its 4G network saw a 600 percent increase in data traffic and a 1,400 percent increase in active user rates compared to the same period in 2012.

The three Saudi operators have been offering 4G since 2011, Zain having been the first to launch commercial services. The operators have been structuring plans to derive more revenue from data use by targeting specific customer segments and needs. While this latest plan, Xtra, may not see mass adoption due to its price point, it may appeal to a small segment of high-end heavy users, to whom it does offer value. Zain’s next-tier plan offers 10 GB of data, 1,200 minutes and unlimited SMS for a monthly fee of SAR 400.00 (US $106.61), while rival Mobily offers a postpaid data-sharing plan with unlimited data (throttled at 10 GB per month), 3,000 on-net minutes and SMS and 1000 all-net minutes and SMS for SAR 399.00 (US $106.35). If Zain’s new plan is successful, it will be able to attract a limited yet potentially profitable pool of high-quality customers. Since it is unlikely that anybody will use 256 GB on each of four devices in a month, this large data allowance as well as the inclusion of the diamond vanity number are probably symbolic in nature, and confer a premier status on those who subscribe to this plan.

 

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

Tarifica Score Launched With Ratings of Australian Postpaid Plans

Tarifica the U.S.-based telecom research and analysis firm, announced ratings for all the major Australian mobile operators’ postpaid plans, created with its recently launched comparison tool, the Tarifica Score. The highest scores were achieved by Optus and Vodafone, which ranked significantly ahead of competitors Telstra and Virgin Mobile. The top score among plans that included a phone went to Vodafone’s $100 Red Plan with Double Data Promotion, while in the without-phone category the highest score was achieved by Optus’ $60 My Plan Plus. These scores provide objective, quantitative comparisons of mobile plans, based on a consumer-value-oriented approach, and are generated by a proprietary mathematical model. Among the factors taken into account are plan allowances (voice minutes, SMS, MMS and data), network speeds and value-added elements such as data sharing, international calling allowances and roaming benefits.   

Optus’ plans received high scores because they combined large data allowances with relatively moderate prices. Vodafone’s high scores were driven by the combination of its “Double Data” promotion and its network’s fast 4G download speeds, which dwarfed that of the competition. Although it is the largest mobile operator in the market, Telstra’s plans were simply too expensive to compete with the value offered by Optus and Vodafone. The algorithm used to calculate Tarifica Scores awarded a high number of points to Telstra’s plans because of the operator’s wide geographic coverage, but even with this bonus, its plans did not include anywhere near the allowance volumes available in similarly priced plans from Optus and Vodafone. 

The Tarifica Score, which assigns a single number to each plan analyzed, is notable for making possible “apples-to-apples” comparisons between offerings that may on the surface appear to be quite different from each other. By doing so, it allows consumers to determine which plans offer the best value for the money. For mobile operators, the Tarifica Score offers several advantages: First, it allows in-house evaluation of plans’ market potential against an objective, algorithm-based third-party analysis provided by a firm with years of institutional knowledge and experience as well as relationships with major industry participants around the world. Second, Tarifica will work with operators to analyze plans prior to their launch so as to ensure the highest possible score. Third, the score is an excellent marketing tool by which operators can communicate to consumers, in simple, quantitative terms, the actual value of their offerings. Fourth, it can be supplied to regulators as a way of addressing concerns about the value and fairness of plans. Finally, for a deeper understanding of a plan’s place in the larger telecom world, Tarifica offers a modification that will allow a plan to be compared across markets. In addition, both operators and consumers can benefit from having the Tarifica Score segmented according to various metrics such as cost, device inclusion or regional availability.

Tarifica Scores can be calculated for any of the 85 countries Tarifica tracks.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of Tarifica's "The Story of The Week", a weekly report that analyzes two 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   Photo by Abd allah Foteih on Flickr

Costa Rican Regulator Proposes Changes to Data Pricing

Costa Rican regulator Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones (Sutel) has decided to hold a public consultation on the subject of the possible introduction of a flat rate for mobile internet services for postpaid consumers, based on the amount of data used. The scheduled date for the consultation is 1 July 2014, and Sutel will have one month to respond to the issues raised, after which it will make a decision on the proposed tariff plan. The scheme would involve users being charged a rate of CRC 0.0075 (US $0.0001) per KB regardless of transmission speed. Operators will also be obliged to offer a basic plan for CRC 3,750.00 (US $6.61) that would offer a data allowance of 500 MB, with the proposed data billing rate applying for excess usage. This method of pricing for data use has only been applied to the prepaid sector so far and was implemented by carriers as recently as mid-2013.

Since the liberalization of the telecom market in late 2011, Costa Rica has seen substantial growth in terms of subscriber numbers and competition. In a country where fixed broadband penetration is only around 10 percent, mobile devices are the primary source of internet access. A recent report from Sutel indicated that as of the end of June 2013, nearly 88 percent of Costa Rica’s 3.99 million internet users were mobile broadband subscribers. The number of mobile internet users grew by 86 percent from Q1 2012 to Q2 2013. In fact, with the increasing adoption of smartphones, data usage has also risen considerably. Now operators ICE, Claro and Movistar are faced with the same dilemma as other global operators—that of providing and maintaining quality of service while dealing with an increasingly congested network. ICE introduced a throttling threshold of 6 GB on its Kolbi 3G and 4G unlimited postpaid plans earlier in the year.

Operators in other markets around the world have found that an unlimited model is not sustainable in the medium to long term, especially if the operator has 4G. Many operators have used a 4G launch as an opportunity to move to a tiered data pricing structure. While such a model allows users to choose a plan that meets their needs, it also gives the operator the opportunity to upsell users who regularly exceed their data allowances. Many Costa Rican consumers have voiced concerns over this proposal because they are used to relying on unlimited mobile internet. However, if operators offer appropriately structured tiered plans, the average user may benefit from improved services and better cost control.

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