Sydney,
Australia: Australian
telecommunications which bid over A$1 billion in 3rd Generation
spectrum in April, 2001 face longer return on investment periods
than anticipated due to the lack of understanding and forecasted
demand for next generation wireless services,
according to a
new study conducted by Sydney based research
firm, APT Strategies.
The
study in which 1000 Australian
Internet users who owned a mobile phone were interviewed found
that only 55% of respondents understand the meaning between
Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Wireless Application Protocol
(WAP) - highlighting the general lack of awareness -
signalling a major problem for telecommunications carriers
increasingly dependent upon data services revenue.
According
to Marc Phillips, Chief Analyst, Australian telecommunications
carriers are assuming that our tech savvy nation
where 1 in 2 people own a mobile phone understand WAP and
its offerings. However, 42 per cent of Australians don't understand
what the Wireless Internet is, which data services are available
and what the benefits actually are.
|
Response
|
% Understanding
SMS Vs WAP (n=1000)
|
|
Yes
|
55%
|
|
No
|
42%
|
|
Don’t
know
|
2%
|
|
Not
answered
|
1%
|
With
SMS being widely considered the entree to GPRS (2.5) and
3rd Generation data services, APT Strategies recommend
telecommunications carriers pump demand by providing
consumer and business stimulus for WAP and SMS usage.
With 70 per cent of respondents stating that they use
SMS because it is part of their mobile phone rate plan,
telecommunications carriers will be faced with latent
demand for data services as Australian Internet - mobile
phone users wait for replacement handsets bundled with
data service offerings.
|
Reasons
for sending or receiving SMS
|
%
Respondents (n=1000)
|
|
Part
of mobile phone rate plan
|
70%
|
|
Don’t
have to talk to anyone
|
37%
|
|
Cost
Effective
|
42%
|
|
Reliable
way of ensuring information is sent/received.
|
25%
|
WAP
is failing to convince Australians with 42 per cent of
respondents
not using a WAP device to access the Internet because
they 'didn’t know it was available ',
and a further 39 per cent of respondents stating
they were 'simply not ready for WAP technology or had
no demand for it' .
Consequently, APT Strategies forecast Australia's telecommunications
companies will struggle to meet their projected Average Revenue
Per User (ARPU) as there is little motivation for Australians
to upgrade existing mobile devices in the short to medium
term.
"Australian
telecommunications carriers woes were compounded last week
when Japan's NTT DoCoMo delayed the launch of the world's
first 3G mobile phone service until October, 2001"
added Marc Phillips. "With more than one third of
respondents (36%) stating they were 'neither likely or unlikely'
to upgrade their mobile phone in the next 12 months to access
the Internet or use WAP, Australian telecommunications carriers
must pursue innovative advertising and marketing strategies
to improve take up rates of next generation handsets, particularly
as they increase financing relationships with handset vendors".