Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Mobile data services are getting all the attention these days

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 05:03:16 -0500

Toujours Voice
By David James, Wed Feb 25 10:00:00 GMT 2004

Mobile data services are getting all the attention these days, but
operators, providers and developers should not overlook the
opportunities in value-added voice services.

The French have a favorite saying: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même
chose - The more things change, the more they stay the same. So the
French would be among the first to recognize that voice services,
fixed-line and mobile, will remain a basic source of telecom revenue for
years to come.Strength in Numbers The global voice market is huge, and
mobile voice is grabbing a larger and larger share of the market,
especially in developing countries.  In 2003 the market for fixed and
mobile voice services combined was about $858 billion, and it is
expected to grow to about $979 billion by 2007. However, growth is
anemic in developed markets such as Western Europe and North America,
where it is forecast to grow only around two percent per year over the
period 2002-2007, with fixed voice revenues actually declining around
one half of one percent per annum. In developing markets such as parts
of Asia, Africa and Latin America, total voice revenues are forecast to
grow at a rate of 8.7 percent per year during the period, with the fixed
voice share growing at about 3 percent. These voice numbers don't take
the breath away, but they would be much higher were it not for
competition from other communications media: email, SMS, instant
messaging, Voice over IP, leased circuits and other telecom-related
services. SMS alone generated global revenues of $36 billion in
2002.Swapping Service For the mobile community, the important factors in
these statistics are the continuing strong growth of mobile voice
revenues and the unrelenting substitution of mobile phones for
fixed-line phones. In developed markets, mobile voice revenues are
forecast to grow 4.5 percent per annum over the 2002-2007 period and to
account for 49 percent of total voice revenues by 2007.

In undeveloped markets, they are forecast to grow at a strong 16 percent
rate and to account for 53 percent of total voice revenues by 2007. The
substitution effect - mobile phone connections replacing fixed-line
connections - is occurring in developing countries largely because
wireless networks can be built out rapidly and efficiently to supplement
or replace inadequate fixed networks. In developed countries, it is
occurring because more and more telecom customers are demanding mobile
services. In all markets, substitution is also occurring because mobile
operators, providers and developers have been more creative than their
fixed counterparts in delivering value-added services that customers
find they need and enjoy. The limitations on substitution are cost
(mobile services and equipment tend to cost more than fixed) and the
reluctance of customers to relinquish their fixed lines.Vocal Values
Given the significant growth of mobile voice, providers need to give
special attention to developing value-added voice services. The
technologies to do so are already available and the revenue potential is
evident. Computer Telephone Integration (CTI) is a core technology for
deploying various voice-related and content-based value-added services.

CTI enables providers to integrate computer-based content with voice
traffic, allowing them to charge additional service fees. In addition,
many CTI solutions are often linked with data services, such as WAP
portals and SMS, thereby increasing data revenues.One of the most
successful CTI services to date is SK Telecom's "ColorRing," which
enables subscribers to select a music piece (a pop song, a film music
theme, or an entertainer's voice), or create a short message, that a
caller will hear instead of a ring signal until the subscriber picks up.
SKT introduced the service in March 2002, and within 15 months the
service had produced revenues of $100 million and was used by 35 percent
of SKT's subscribers. Other examples of content-based voice services are
MusicPhone (songs are sent to a phone and the person called is asked to
leave a message, which the caller later retrieves), location-based
voice-services (e.g., information about merchants identified by
location), voice portals using voice recognition menus, and voice chat
rooms. Another successful value-added service involving CTI technologies
is telephone conference calling that can be set up and launched from
desktop computers and mobile devices. Conference calls no longer require
time-consuming and expensive connections using a telco's conference call
operator.  They can be arranged by the user in minutes and can connect
to mobile phones as easily as fixed-line phones. An example is the
conference call service of BestNet Communications.Like CTI, Push-to-Talk
is a value-added mobile voice service is that has been around for a long
time. Nextel Communications introduced the service several years ago and
in 2003 rolled it out as a national U.S. service (they call it "Direct
Connect"). It is a walkie-talkie-type service, enabling two callers to
connect immediately without dialing and waiting for a connection. Only
one person can speak at a time, and most operators once believed that
users would spend less time on such calls, lowering voice revenues.
However, Nextel's service has resulted in a broadened customer base,
lower churn rates and higher revenues.

As a result of Nextel's success, similar services are now offered by
about twenty operators worldwide, including operators in Europe, the
Middle East and Africa, and other operators are rushing to introduce the
service, including Sprint and Verizon Wireless in the U.S.Fixing Fixed
If the mobile industry takes full advantage of the value-added
opportunities in voice markets, mobile telecommunications will continue
to take away business from fixed-line, and mobile data services will
benefit in the process. However, don't expect fixed-line operators to
cede these opportunities to mobile carriers, as they too can provide
value-added services that will compete for customers' attention and
money. Indeed, a number of the CTI solutions mentioned here can also be
implemented for fixed voice. But the mobile success of these solutions
serve as reminders to mobile operators, providers and developers that
voice services continue to be a vital source of mobile revenues, often
complementary to data services and spurring the relentless substitution
of mobile communications for fixed-line communications. Vive la voice!

http://www.thefeature.com/article?articleid=100413

-- 
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address 
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEXTEL-1/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     [email-masked]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/