Tarifica Mobile Database Alert Service

Tarifica’s Mobile Database now provides customizable alerts that notify subscribers of changes in mobile plans and offers. Instead of having to search through press releases, competitors' websites and advertisements, the Tarifica Mobile Database will instantly alert users whenever a plan with specified features has been added, updated or removed from the database.




Database subscribers can build personalized alerts tailored to their needs and interests based on dozens of distinct plan and offer characteristics.

 Examples include:
¨ New competitive promotions including seasonal specials
¨ Changes to the price of a selected device (such as the iPhone 6 Plus)
¨ Notifications when plans are no longer available
¨ Advisories on the launch of new value added plan partnerships (for example, Netflix or Spotify)
¨ Updates to international and roaming rates to/for selected countries
¨ Changes in service allowances expected to follow network enhancements


Database Example:

The Newsfeed

In addition to receiving email alerts of critical plan changes, this information will also be stored and presented in the subscriber's Newsfeed. This feature displays all of the user's Alerts by category. By selecting an Alert, the subscriber will be able to view every affected plan with indicators for newly added plans, existing plans that were modified and plans that were removed. Subscribers can use this feature to track every development in their market at a high level or leverage it to focus on changes to a single feature or series of plans. Users can also select any of the plans and immediately view every associated rate, feature, service and device.

The Newsfeed Features

¨ Clear indication of new, modified and removed items
¨ Alerts are categorized and listed separately for easy viewing
¨ Each Alert shows the number of notifications received
¨ Alerts can be viewed or hidden with a single click
¨ Date of Alert and the impacted plan names are clearly displayed
¨ All plan details are available by selecting “View Details” (sample shown on the next page)

Database Example:

View Details Display

¨ This view displays all of a plan's rates, included services, devices and associated features
¨ Modified plans are shown in side-by-side format with changes noted via a yellow dot on the left side of the screen, making it easy for users to see the evolution of the market


Database Example:

The Mobile Database

The Tarifica Mobile Database tracks every plan, offer and bundle from every major mobile operator in 66 countries around the world. For each consumer and business plan, the database tracks and displays every rate, included feature and restriction. This information provides subscribers with three critical services.

First, many subscribers rely on the Tarifica Mobile Database to monitor their rivals and the competitive environment in their market. Since the database tracks every mobile plan and displays this information in a clear and standardized fashion, it can free up the hundreds of hours of staff time that were previously invested in collecting this information by combing through competitors' websites, press releases, news articles, and other sources. With the Tarifica Mobile Database, subscribers can simply log on and know that they have comprehensive, up-to-date information at their fingertips.

Second, the Tarifica Mobile Database facilitates deeper and broader analyses of the mobile marketplace, both within a single country and across national boundaries than is possible with other tools. Unlike Excel based solutions for data gathering, the Tarifica Mobile Database is a true relational database and includes tools for easy searching, sorting and graphing of the data on any number of service and pricing elements thus enabling users to complete market research projects that would otherwise have been too resource intensive to undertake. Now, with the alert service subscribers can save even more time by bypassing having to search the database for critical information. In short, the Tarifica Mobile Database is able to turn its wealth of data on mobile plans and prices into actionable and meaningful intelligence through its large array of features and easy-to-use tools.

Third, the database enables users to draw insights from mobile plans around the world. Subscribers can easily view pricing and promotional strategies of innovative new plans and services and compare these across markets. Users can quickly select the specific plans or data needed to rapidly create customized benchmark reports, download this information to Excel and manipulate it as needed, including having the luxury to perform any number of “What if” analyses.



The Tarifica Mobile Database features:

¨ Every plan, rate, bundle, feature and service from hundreds of mobile operators
¨ Easy searching and querying
¨ Ability to graph results and/or download to Excel
¨ Coverage of included devices and prices


Database Example:

Data Sourcing

Tarifica is a research, consulting and data analytics firm that has served mobile and fixed line operators, regulators and consultants for four decades. Throughout this time, our focus has been on tracking the evolution of the market including competitive strategies and potentially disruptive factors in global plans, offers and rates.

Tarifica employs a team of researchers who are constantly reviewing mobile operators' websites, telecom news articles and press releases, and discussing plans with sales representatives. Ultimately, they standardize this information and enter it into the Tarifica Mobile Database. Before new entries are accepted, all of the data must pass a thorough review from a senior researcher to ensure that it is up-to-date, accurate and clearly presented.

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

Telefónica, Telesites Said to Be Negotiating Mexico Tower Deal

Telefónica—operating in Mexico as Movistar—is discussing the possibility of renting mobile phone towers from Telesites, the recently spun-off towers business of América Móvil, according to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg. Its aim in doing so would be to gain access to Mexico’s most widespread network of around 10,800 towers, enabling it to offer faster services and lowering the costs of improving coverage, according to the sources. Telefónica’s chief operating officer, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, recently said the company was prepared to reach network sharing deals with rivals such as AT&T (which owns Iusacell and Nextel) and América Móvil in order to boost its performance in Mexico. Last year, América Móvil, having been declared “dominant” by the Mexican regulator, agreed to sell off assets in order to bring its share of the mobile market under 50 percent. Spinning off its tower business into a new entity, Telesites, will not in and of itself accomplish the goal of reducing dominance. In April, CEO Daniel Hajj said, “We are interested in divesting and reducing our market share but we do not know exactly how we want to do it.” In the meantime, renting out some of its very substantial infrastructure is a way for América Móvil to drive revenue while waiting to see how the rapidly changing Mexican market will shake out. As for Telefónica, Alvarez-Pallete said last week, “We can’t intend to grow in Mexico without having a good network and we are light-years away from it. So, what has to be expected from us in Mexico is strong investments, and potentially agreements to access towers or for combined creation of infrastructure.” Sharing of network resources among rival operators has often been shown to be a win-win situation, and in the Mexican market, where there is a great to need to improve coverage over vast areas, sharing is particularly desirable. AT&T, in its quest to become the first cross-border service provider in North America, is also reportedly working on an agreement to rent towers from Telesites.

Tarifica has been the leading provider of telecom pricing information for close to four decades. It maintains the most robust, in-depth and up-to-date pricing database in the industry, which includes mobile and fixed line rates from over 400 operators in 85 countries, as well as historical data going back to 1997. Tarifica also produces reports, surveys, publications and custom analyses.Its clients include carriers, regulators, enterprises and consultants in every region of the globe.For more information, please visit www.tarifica.com. Tarifica also maintains a presence on the following social media platforms:

Mozilla to Launch Firefox Smartphones in India

Mozilla will start selling the first Firefox OS smartphone models in India in July, according to reports. The devices will be available at retail prices of US $50 or less. The U.S.-based software company launched its smartphones in July 2013 in Latin America and Europe and to date has sold about 1 million units worldwide. Low-cost chips and an open-source operating system help keep the phones’ prices very low.

India is a very promising market for super-low-priced smartphones. While customers’ budgets are still tight there, on average, use of mobile data is rising rapidly, stimulated by operators’ investments in enhanced networks. According to a recent report, Vodafone India has seen a 230 percent increase in 3G adoption in the country’s rural markets. In order to avail themselves of the opportunities offered by 3G networks, rural customers need smartphones, and with its Firefox phones, Mozilla is well positioned to meet their needs.

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

Samsung’s Q2 Profits Below Expectations

Korean device manufacturer Samsung stated that according to its preliminary figures, second-quarter revenues were KRW 52 trillion , down from 54 trillion  in the same quarter last year, and that operating profits fell 23 percent year-over-year, to KRW 7.2 trillion. Analysts had expected profits of KRW 8 trillion. In a statement, Samsung attributed the shortfall to increased competition in China and Europe and to soft smartphone and tablet sales. Samsung’s statement sought to contextualize the disappointing results and sound a somewhat optimistic note for the near future: “The second quarter is a seasonally weak period for smartphone demand in China. Samsung also saw an increase in inventory due to price competition and a weaker demand for 3G products ahead of the expected growth of 4G LTE products in the Chinese market.… The company cautiously expects a more positive outlook in the third quarter with the coming release of its new smartphone lineup.” Nonetheless, the preliminary Q2 figures for the manufacturing giant tell a larger story. One cause of Samsung’s difficulty is the rise of the big-screen (5- or 6-inch) smartphone, sometimes known as the “phablet,” which has been championed by none other than Samsung. Such devices have been cannibalizing tablet sales. In addition, with the maturation of smartphone technology, users are finding that their devices have sufficient functionality and durability that they do not have to upgrade them as often as before. And finally, Samsung and other high-end device manufacturers, such as Apple, are finding their domain encroached upon by cheaper and simpler handsets that, with the advance of technology, can now perform enough key smartphone functions to deter many consumers from spending the extra money on a state-of-the-art phone. The Samsung Q2 figures are by no means the last word on the Korean giant’s business, but they are part of an evolving narrative about the maturation of the worldwide device market.

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

Telecommunication Plans Scored Using Propriety Model.

In today’s competitive mobile markets, consumers are faced with an array of choices when it comes to mobile plans.  Complicating matters is the fact that operators are constantly adding features, offering special deals and introducing new plans to the market as they vie for market share.  In an attempt to promote these new offerings, advertising expenditures grow each year.  But in the end, all this results in is a more complex and confusing decision-making process for consumers.  What is required is a tool that allows operators to clearly communicate the value of their offerings in such a way as to allow consumers to easily understand and perceive it. 

The Tarifica Score is such a tool.  It enables objective, numeric, apples-to-apples comparisons of mobile plans among operators and markets using a consumer value based approach.  Plans are scored through the application of a proprietary mathematical model that takes into account the various key components of mobile plans such as plan allowances (minutes, data, SMS and MMS), data speeds and value added elements.  The end result is a score for each plan that allows it to be compared with other plans in that market, regardless of plan features.  The Tarifica Score also makes possible comparisons of plans across markets.

·     The Tarifica Score allows operators to evaluate their offerings in comparison to those from competitors – even prior to launch – and then make adjustments as necessary to improve scores

Tarifica has drawn on its years of industry knowledge and expertise, along with its many relationships with mobile operators and regulators, to develop the Tarifica Score.  We are confident this tool will deliver considerable value to operators in today’s intensely competitive mobile services market. 

 The Tarifica Score represents a potent method for promoting plans via the media and directly to consumers.  Companies can receive validation as an attractive plan from an independent third party and communicate value to customers in a simple, easy to understand manner.   It's a unique market planning tool - compare plans against competitors prior to launch and make adjustments  to improve scores.

If you are interested in learning more about the Tarifica Score, please contact Tarifica to schedule an online demo that will explain it in detail.  http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

Easily Access Mobile Telecom Prices from Around the World

Tarifica's new interactive analysis tool empowers users with the ability to easily sort telecom pricing data from around the World.

This preview shows exactly how the Pricing Database analysis tool works.

http://www.tarifica.com/MobilePricingDatabase.aspx