Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Minorities To Drive Wireless Handset Market

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 18:16:50 -0400

Minorities To Drive Wireless Handset Market
BY WIRELESS WEEK STAFF
AUGUST 19, 2003

To stay on top of wireless trends, operators must shift their market focus, as
minorities are usurping whites as the segment most likely to buy a new wireless
handset in the next 12 months, according to a new report from Parks Associates.

Leading the pack, 31 percent of African-Americans plan to purchase a new mobile
phone in the next year, followed by 23 percent and 14 percent of American
Indians and Hispanics, respectively. According to the study, whites bring up the
rear, with just 10 percent planning to make a similar purchase.

"Part of it is mobile phones are penetrating markets that they haven't been in
before," says John Barrett, Parks Associates analyst and author of the report.

One driving force for the uptake in minority users is a substantial drop in what
consumers pay per minute over the past few years. The average revenue per
minute has dropped from 32 cents in 1999 to 12 cents in 2002, according to
Barrett's research. "For the same dollar, you can buy more minutes," he says.

The report has "big implications" for the wireless industry, according to Barrett.
"In
terms of subscriber growth and handset sales, minorities are becoming much
more important, and we're already seeing operators change their marketing and
pricing as a result," he says.

http://www.wirelessweek.com/index.asp?layout=newsat2direct&starting=3&pubdate=08/19/03

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