Tigo Ghana Launches Communication Package for Fishermen

Mobile operator Tigo Ghana, in partnership with USAID’s Ghana Sustainable Fisheries Management Project and the Ghana Fisheries Commission, has launched a communication package for fishermen in the country’ coastal communities. Starting off as a pilot project, the integrated package includes voice, internet, Tigo Cash and Tigo Insurance services. It also comes with subsidized mobile handsets.
 
Stephen Essien, Chief Business Officer for Tigo Business, said the pilot phase will run until the end of the year and then will be expanded based on outcomes. The initial roll-out targets Adina, Bortianor, Elmina and Axim, coastal communities in Ghana’s Central and Western regions.
 
A recent report on 135 countries by Ericsson concludes that mobile internet penetration is a major driver of GDP. The study, titled “How Important Are Mobile Broadband Networks for Global Economic Development?” and conducted in partnership with the Imperial College of London, found that in 2016, increasing penetration by 10 percent lifted GDP by 0.6 percent to 2.8 percent. The report noted that developing countries in particular have used mobile broadband to “leapfrog” in their economic development over the past 10 to 15 years.
 
Tigo Ghana’s fishermen’s package is a small but compelling example of how this process works and how mobile operators can play a role in the development of countries in which they are based or do business. Africa is notable for its emerging “mobile-first” economies; by providing grass-roots-level small entrepreneurs such as fishermen with the means to communicate via mobile and access vital business information via mobile data, Tigo will be able to significantly increase their ability to generate revenue. Providing handsets will only aid the process, given the fact that the initial investment of buying a device could be prohibitive for some. And by connecting the service to Tigo Cash, its mobile money service, the operator is taking the idea to its logical conclusion, since the rural-based economies in many African countries are now driven mainly by mobile money.
 
It should be noted that in order for this public-private pilot program to succeed, there must exist an appropriate level of network connectivity in the relevant regions. Presumably Tigo either already can provide this quality of service or will be creating it as part of the initiative. 

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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Tarifica Global Insights Series

The pace of change in the mobile services industry is constantly accelerating. This means new opportunities will arrive faster than ever before and are likely to play out more quickly as well. Operators must watch carefully for these ‘waves of opportunities’ and quickly take advantage of them before they either become mainstream (and no longer have special value) or become obsolete as new disruptions impact the market.

The Tarifica Global Insights Series analyzes and reports on innovative practices in the development and marketing of consumer mobile plans. Each report describes a significant opportunity in mobile plan development and how operators are creating new plans in response to that opportunity. The series provides comprehensive, in-depth information that identifies best practices across more than 25 countries representing every region in the world, and enables operators to quickly and successfully take advantage of new strategies in plan development and marketing. The reports include case studies in multiple regions that describe best plan implementation and marketing practices that have enabled operators to quickly and successfully take advantage of new opportunities through innovative mobile plan development and marketing.

This series of reports is an important resource for operators that are searching for new and better ways to increase revenue and profits, desire to be perceived as leading edge ‘first movers,’ or need to defend their market share against disruptive offers from competitors. These reports enable operators to take advantage of Tarifica’s unique global vantage point to more quickly bring leading edge offers to market that capture new revenue opportunities.

The Tarifica Global Insights Series is an annual program comprised of four quarterly reports as shown below.

2016 Report Series 

QUARTER 1 (FEBRUARY 2016): Designed for Success – Developing Plans for the Youth and Student Demographic
 Globally, over half the world’s population is under the age of 30. While this percentage varies from country to country, the youth/student market segment has unique needs that must be understood in order to take advantage of this revenue opportunity. Moreover, when young people transition into adulthood and begin to make independent financial decisions, incumbency presents a unique opportunity for mobile operators to win long-term customers. This report will focus on the plans, promotions and other initiatives undertaken by operators to win and hold this key demographic.

QUARTER 2 (MAY 2016): Adapting to Changing Expectations – New Strategies for Pricing Smartphones and Pairing Them with Mobile Plans 
The practice of offering heavily subsidized devices tied to long-term plans no longer meets users’ needs for faster upgrades and shorter or more flexible contracts. As a result, operators are experimenting with numerous other models for selling high-end smartphones to their subscribers. This report will examine financing options, new phone replacement programs and other strategies aimed at helping consumers obtain smartphones and ramping up customers’ monthly mobile spend.

QUARTER 3 (AUGUST 2016): New Frontiers of Mobile Offerings –Partnerships with Streaming Audio and Video Services 
Operators around the world are exploring new revenue sources beyond mobile data. One approach is to partner with streaming media companies such as Spotify and Netflix. Mobile operators are increasingly offering plans with these services included or available as add-ons. This report will focus on the demographics and unique needs of this target market and their impact on plan structures, promotions, marketing practices and pricing. It will also analyze the differences among the various streaming services in terms of consumer perceptions.

QUARTER 4 (NOVEMBER 2016): Avoiding the ‘Dumb Pipe’ Trap – Innovative Approaches to Packaging and Pricing Data 
The decline in calling and messaging revenue has made many operators ever more dependent on data. This has made it difficult for operators to differentiate their offerings without lowering their per-GB price. Many mobile operators have been experimenting with new pricing models for their data to overcome this challenge. Among the many initiatives employed are offering time-limited data, having zero rated or dedicated data allowances for specific services/apps, offering rollover data, etc. This report will identify and analyze all of these tactics, with particular focus on their impact on consumer satisfaction, churn reduction and ARPU.

Analyst Support 

Every subscription comes with five hours of analyst support. Subscribers also receive one-on-one briefing sessions with Tarifica’s Analysts each quarter. Sessions, which include a Q&A format, are designed to help subscribers gain a further understanding of the strategies, innovations, trends and opportunities occurring worldwide in mobile plan development. A subscriber’s colleagues are welcome to attend these briefings.

Subscriber Benefits

The Tarifica Global Insights Series provides subscribers with two distinct layers of analysis:

First, the reports analyze how each service/strategy was deployed, branded and marketed. The reports dive deeply into every element of these plans (their included service volumes, one-time costs, recurring charges, restrictions, marketing campaigns, and more) to provide a comprehensive look at precisely how these plans are being designed and launched. This level of specificity is critical for operators seeking to create successful programs in their own market.

Second, these reports bring to bear worldwide examples and case studies analyzing the factors behind the success or failure of these new strategies. Subscribers to The Tarifica Global Insights Series will be able to learn from operators at the forefront of innovative practices and strategies. Subscribers will be able to view and compare many different versions of these strategies and understand the regional factors involved.

The Tarifica Global Insights Series provides meaningful business intelligence that can be used to design plans that decrease churn and win new customers. Each report evaluates the success/failure of strategies based on key performance indicators, assesses the ease/difficulty of replicating each approach and provides detailed sets of best practices for adapting the program to other markets.

The Tarifica Global Insights Series will facilitate subscribers’ efforts to increase revenue and profitability, gain market share, demonstrate innovative leadership and rapidly take advantage of new market opportunities.

Subscription Fee
The price for an annual subscription that includes all four quarterly reports, five hours of enquiry support and quarterly one-on-one briefings is US $15,000. The subscription fee will be reduced to US $10,000 for orders placed by 15 February 2016, representing a 33% early purchase discount.

About Tarifica
Tarifica is uniquely qualified to provide this series based on its singular focus on researching and analyzing mobile plans around the world. In maintaining the Tarifica Mobile Database, Tarifica’s research team tracks and catalogs every mobile plan, rate and offer from over 250 MNOs and MVNOs in 66 countries in every region of the globe. This effort enables Tarifica’s analysts to gain a broad understanding of the latest innovations in plan development occurring worldwide. With this new report series, Tarifica leverages this focus to highlight and analyze the most impactful strategies on a global level.

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Facebook Helping to Grow Mobile Data Market, Zuckerberg Says

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the role of his company in increasing access to the internet, in a panel discussion at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The launch of the Internet.org app, which is backed by Facebook, in emerging and developing markets has resulted in nearly 7 million people using mobile data for the first time, he said. Zuckerberg was joined on stage by representatives of some of the operators that have launched the app, which provides free data for connecting to popular internet sites. These included Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas, Airtel Africa CEO Christian De Faria and Mario Zanotti, SVP of Operations at Tigo parent company Millicom.

According to the Facebook CEO, operators’ rate of acquisition of new data customers increased by at least 40 percent in those countries where the Internet.org app has launched. In Colombia, the number of people using data on Tigo’s network increased by 50 percent, and Tigo’s monthly smartphone sales grew tenfold in Tanzania since the launch of Internet.org. In Zambia, Kenya and Ghana, Airtel saw increases in the number of people using data and data usage itself, and both voice and SMS activity grew across Africa. As Facebook is one of the most popular online services, the company can play a key role in helping mobile operators grow their data businesses, Zuckerberg said. “The overwhelming feedback we’re hearing from our partners is that it works. It grows the internet and grows their business," he said.

With its Internet.org initiative, deep-pocketed Facebook has purchased and bundled access to low-bandwidth sites such as Wikipedia, health-related services, and Facebook itself and provided it free of charge to users in developing countries. The purpose is partly philanthropic, but also promotional. As Zuckerberg observed at MWC, Internet.org has resulted in large upticks in the number of people using data in developing markets, as well as in the actual amounts of data consumed. The idea is that when those first-time data users begin to want internet-based services that are not covered by Internet.org, they will pay for more data, as well as for higher-end devices. The extent to which that will happen depends on how much disposable income those users have, so the long-term influence of Internet.org on operators’ revenues, beyond the subsidies Facebook pays them, remains to be seen.

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 Tarifica or The Story of The Week: http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx     and   Follow Tarifica on LinkedIn.

Guatemala’s Court Suspends Tax on Mobile Lines

The Constitutional Court of Guatemala has suspended the implementation of a monthly tax on mobile telephony lines.  The court accepted an appeal made by local operators Claro, Tigo and Movistar. The Congress had approved a monthly tax of GTQ 5.00 (US $0.64) for each active mobile line in the country. The measure was initially expected to enter into force on 1 January. The court said that the implementation of this tax will be suspended until a definitive ruling is issued.

Eliminating the tax would certainly serve the interests of the MNOs that filed the appeal, but it would also serve the interest of the Guatemalan mobile market as a whole. The building out of infrastructure is an important need in this developing nation, which has seen far too little investment in the sector for years. Imposing extra costs on mobile operators could stifle such investment, so if the court were to rule in such a way that the tax suspension becomes permanent, the interests of the country’s mobile market would be well served. 

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 or to contact the Tarifica Research department:  http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

Viettel Announces US $1 Billion 3G Investment in Tanzania

During a visit from Tanzanian president Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete to its Vietnamese headquarters, multinational operator Viettel committed to investing US $1 billion to build a 3G network in Tanzania. Viettel won a license to operate in Tanzania in early October, and one of the conditions was connecting the country’s expansive rural areas with mobile service. On awarding the license, Tanzanian deputy communication, science and technology minster January Makamba stated, “They will roll out broadband through fibre-optic cable to rural Tanzania.”  In announcing this sizable investment so soon after winning the license, Viettel appears to be preparing to make good on this commitment.

The strategy stands in contrast to the path Viettel pursued when it expanded into Peru, where a significant amount of time elapsed between acquiring the license and rolling out the network infrastructure. Viettel’s urgency is likely driven by the crowding of the Tanzanian market—there are already four sizable players, all of which are owned in part by major international telecom players—Bharti Airtel, Tigo (part of Millicom), Vodacom Tanzania and Zantel (part of Etisalat), as well as three smaller operators. Even given this volume of competition, there are still significant opportunities in Tanzania; only 64 percent of the country’s 49.25 million citizens have mobile service. Given the rapid uptake of mobile service in developing economies, however, it is unlikely that the penetration rate will stay this low for long.

In the future, there will likely come a point where some market consolidation is needed—we have seen numerous examples of the unsustainability of markets with five operators—however, with many Tanzanians still unconnected and significant opportunities existing to upsell others to higher-cost service packages, this type of M&A activity does not appear imminent. While Viettel may be getting a late start compared to its competition, it would be foolish to count it out, since the company has significant experience building and marketing mobile service in emerging economies from its operations in eight other markets across Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.

“With telcos in Europe and North America appearing locked in a constant cycle of increasing infrastructure costs and declining ARPU, companies like Viettel and Millicom, which have significant and expanding operations that are exclusively in emerging markets, could be poised to become among the most important international mobile players in the near future. Not only do the countries they operate in have much more room for growth, their success in these rapidly shifting and diverse markets has required operational flexibility and institutional creativity. This cultural difference has enabled these companies to capitalize on new revenue streams—like mobile money—much faster than many of the established telecom heavyweights.”

Jamie Davella,

Research Analyst at Tarifica

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 The Telecommunication Industry

Asia/Pacific

Singaporean mobile operator StarHub will launch the StarHub Silver app, aimed at the country’s senior citizens, on 15 September. The app, which is available for Android tablets at no cost, will allow senior users to access video content. According to the operator, it addresses the needs of its target audience by featuring a simple user interface, pictorial presentations, a soothing color scheme and large fonts to aid with reading and to enable easy navigation.

Europe

Slovenian mobile operator Si.mobile has introduced a package called Startup aimed at young entrepreneurs and startup businesses. The plan’s monthly cost is €19.99 (US $26.38) and it includes unlimited all-net calls and SMS, 2 GB of data for a mobile phone and 3 GB of data for a tablet or computer, as well as Microsoft Office 365 Small Business plus consultation. Small businesses can have up to five employees and are able to use the package for two years.

Latin America

Mexican operator Telmex has partnered with UN Habitat, a United Nations program that promotes socially and environmentally sustainable urban planning and design, to launch “+XMiCiudad” (more for my city). The app will aid citizens and authorities in creating urban development solutions related to water, waste, the environment, mobility, public space, safety, animals, buildings and noise.

Middle East/Africa

Tanzanian mobile operators Airtel and Tigo have introduced a money-transfer service, which will allow the operators’ mobile money customers to send and receive money between the two MNOs in Tanzania. This announcement follows last month’s agreement by the operators to adopt interoperability to help alleviate the challenges that were associated with financial transactions.

North America

U.S. mobile operator Verizon Wireless has partnered with JCDecaux, the leading global outdoor advertising company, to deploy digital mobile charging stations, a service that has been in demand, at the four largest international airports in the U.S.—John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty, Miami and Los Angeles International Airports. The rollout includes 169 charging stations that will be equipped with USB ports, AC outlets and wireless recharge devices, as well as two 32-inch HD screens, on which Verizon will display commercial and content messages.

 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

Worldwide Telecommunication Developments

Asia/Pacific

Philippines mobile operator Sun Cellular has deployed SunSagot, its new SMS-based customer service portal. With this service, users will receive up-to-date information on Sun Cellular’s products and services. Customer queries can also be posed to the operator through SunSagot and will receive responses within 5 to 30 seconds. Subscribers can access SunSagot free of charge by sending an SMS to a designated short number.

Europe

U.K. mobile operator EE is introducing Priority Answer service, which will allow subscribers to jump to the front of the line when calling its customer service center. Users who accept a one-off fee of £0.50 (US $0.83) that they are told about through an automatic greeting are put straight through to an operator. As EE expected, its subscribers are not happy with its decision to launch this service, but the operator says Priority Answer will improve its customer service operations nonetheless.

Latin America

Tigo Paraguay has announced that it saw a 70 percent increase over the last eight months in the number of customers who access data. According to a report the growth in the number of data subscribers to 1.7 million is due to the operator offering free access to Facebook. In December 2013 Tigo and Facebook launched a promotion called “Con Tigo Smart,” through which Tigo customers could access their Facebook accounts from their mobile phones.

Middle East/Africa

BlackBerry recently announced that it is partnering with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of United Arab Emirates to support the country’s mGovernment initiative. The initiative is part of a broader national effort to reshape the UAE government from an eGovernment to an mGovernment. BlackBerry will be providing support and expertise to help the TRA establish a Mobile Center of Excellence, including an application lab that will be dedicated to verifying the quality and security of mGovernment mobile apps.

North America

Canadian mobile operator Telus has partnered with Syniverse, a global transaction processing solution provider, to enable the operators’ subscribers to securely make payments while traveling. The technology, which is powered by the Syniverse Mobile Intelligence Portal and MasterCard, will use customers’ mobile characteristics such as their current geographic location and payment preferences to confirm that cardholders’ mobile devices are actually in the location where the purchase is taking place.

 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

Tanzanian MNOs Enable Cross- Network Mobile Money

In a joint press release, three Tanzanian MNOs announced that their mobile money services, Airtel Money, Tigo Pesa and EzyPesa (offered by Zantel), will be fully interoperable by the end of June. While there have been other examples outside the continent, notably in Sri Lanka, this announcement marks the first instance of mobile money interoperability in Africa. Hans-Holger Albrecht, president and CEO of Millicom (Tigo’s parent company), stated, “With this agreement we can help make Tanzania a global pioneer in digital financial inclusion. Interoperability will be a catalyst for growth in the mobile money sector and is long overdue.” Helping to facilitate the agreement were the Bank of Tanzania, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Finance Corporation (an arm of the World Bank). Notably absent from the deal was Vodafone’s Tanzanian subsidiary Vodacom. Regarding this absence, Diego Gutierrez, general manager for Tigo Tanzania, stated, “There has been a commitment at group level including Vodafone to pursue interoperability.” He continued, “The conversations with Airtel and Zantel have moved quite fast but I think eventually everyone is going to be integrated.”

The willingness of three MNOs to come together and make a deal on mobile money is likely driven, in part, by their observations of the mobile market in Kenya, Tanzania’s neighbor to the north. There, Safaricom Kenya (in which Vodafone owns a 40 percent stake, making Vodacom’s absence from the initial deal in Tanzania probably not coincidental) has achieved a dominant position in the mobile money marketplace. Safaricom’s M-Pesa system is used in 98 percent of mobile money transactions in Kenya, with nearly a third of the nation’s total GDP flowing through it. The system is used for school fees, utility bills, money transfers and sometimes even to pay salaries. The near-universal acceptance of M-Pesa has prevented other mobile money platforms from gaining traction, and Safaricom has leveraged this position to expand its market share for more traditional mobile services.

Clearly, Tanzanian operators have every incentive to prevent this situation from being replicated in their country, and we believe that this program is a strong move toward that goal. The success of mobile money is predominantly driven by two factors—ease of use and the number of businesses and individuals that accept it as a viable cash alternative. While this program removes the possibility that any of these operators will be able to achieve the degree of dominance (and all the associated benefits) that Safaricom has in Kenya, it will likely expand the reach of mobile money in Tanzania, thereby increasing revenues for all stakeholders.

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