Scratch Wireless Offers Budget Smartphone

A new U.S. MVNO, Scratch Wireless, has partnered with Chinese device manufacturer Coolpad to offer an Android smartphone for an unsubsidized price of US $99.00. The Coolpad Arise, which is expected to start shipping in June, comes provided with a Wi-Fi radio that seeks out the best public Wi-Fi signals and automatically privileges them over cellular service. Scratch’s service is free if only Wi-Fi is used, and users are charged only if they want to switch to the MVNO’s cellular service, which runs on Sprint’s 3G network. Scratch offers prepaid daily, weekly or monthly packages or “passes” for voice and data—ranging from US $1.99 for 24 hours of voice to US $14.99 for 30 days of voice, and US $1.99 for 50 MB that must be used within 24 hours to US $24.99 for 1 GB that must be used within 30 days. Scratch Wireless is among of a new breed of “Wi-Fi first” carriers that rely on the growing ubiquity of public Wi-Fi networks. Google has jumped into this arena with its recently-launched Project Fi, an offering that includes cellular service on both Sprint and T-Mobile’s networks and chooses Wi-Fi before either of those. The differences are that Google is developing its own Wi-Fi network, and that the service is not free, even if traffic is not handed over to cellular. Also Google’s proprietary device, the Nexus 6, is far more expensive at around US $649.00. Clearly Scratch Wireless does not have anywhere near the reach that Google does, but its modest offering is likely to appeal to very budget-conscious users who are not heavy data consumers. The offer of a very inexpensive smartphone along with connectivity that theoretically, at least, the customer would never have to pay for is certainly seductive. What remains to be seen is how it plays out in practice—whether there is enough free Wi-Fi to provide sufficient connectivity. Even if users do end up buying voice and data “passes,” the device itself could be a persuasive selling point for the MVNO. Up until now, Coolpad has been marketing its products in its home country, where there is a vigorous market for low-cost smartphones. Its debut in the U.S. could show that there is pent-up demand there for such devices. 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 contact an analyst at Tarifica, click here.

Tarifica Alert - Google Launches Project Fi Mobile Service

Google has announced plans to launch its first mobile phone service as an MVNO, providing wireless connectivity to mobile customers through a blend of Sprint, T-Mobile and Wi-Fi networks. Called Project Fi, this service will first try to route traffic over Wi-Fi, drawing from a database of over one million Wi-Fi hotspots, and then, if necessary, will hand traffic over to either Sprint’s or T-Mobile’s network, depending on which happens to be stronger in the given location. Google will charge US $20.00 per month for unlimited calls and SMS, Wi-Fi and international coverage in over 120 countries. Data in the U.S. and abroad will cost US $10.00 per gigabyte, and Google will refund customers at the end of the month for any data not used. The service will launch in the U.S. and will initially be available only to customers with a Google Nexus 6 smartphone.  Project Fi’s model of routing calls over Wi-Fi networks first and then over the traditional cellular network is not a new one; Republic and FreedomPop, among others, have been exploring this business model for several years, with mixed success. Needless to say, with their budget-conscious customers numbering in only the hundreds of thousands, these small MVNOs will not be threatening the business model of the MNOs anytime soon. However as Wi-Fi hotspots become more ubiquitous, and larger players like Google jump into the game, we think that the MNOs will begin to feel the pressure, as higher-end customers (the Nexus 6 costs roughly US $649.00) also begin to experiment with plans that can significantly cut their monthly costs. As we have noted before, Google’s core business is based on generating ad revenues from massive collection of internet data. As such, Google’s goal is to push the entire industry toward a model where data is cheaper and more plentiful. When Google announced its plan to expand its high-speed fiber network in several U.S. cities by offering cheaper and faster broadband than the incumbent operators, they put pressure on those operators to follow suit, affecting broadband speed and prices in those cities. Google’s entry into mobile services as an MVNO using Wi-Fi first will likewise put price pressure on the MNOs, and this will undoubtedly benefit Google’s core business, as well. There are many reasons why this effort will stay small before it picks up speed—lack of broad device support, especially for popular high-end devices such as the iPhone and Samsung’s Galaxy phones, as well as reluctance on the part of many high-end consumers to rely on T-Mobile and Sprint for backup coverage, to name a few. That said, we think Google’s gentle pokes and pushes at the structure of the wireless landscape will inevitably serve to reshape that landscape.   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. Tarifica is a division of T3i Group, a diversified telecom information provider. To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com. We are pleased to announce that subscriptions to The Tarifica Alert will now include 5 hours of analyst support. This additional support will enable you to work with Tarifica’s team of experienced researchers and analysts to: Get follow up information on a noteworthy story or important topic of your choice Discuss promotional and plan trends occurring in a country, a region, or around the world Leverage the Tarifica Mobile Database to collect specific plan information from any of the more than 300 operators that we track globally Examine historical data to illustrate the evolution of plan costs and service inclusions Gain insight into the innovative strategies being used by successful operators to facilitate growth Learn more about any telecom plan and pricing topic The Tarifica Alert is a comprehensive weekly publication that covers 10-12 stories and trends in the telecom industry with a special focus on plans, pricing and promotions. To read this week’s issue, please click here. We hope you enjoy this complimentary issue. If you have any questions, or would like to subscribe to The Tarifica Alert and receive these insights every week, please click here to contact our Managing Editor.