Providers turn to extras as mobile take-up hits saturation point
Providers turn to extras as mobile take-up hits saturation point
3G activities and niche marketing will become the focus of the Australian wireless market in 2005 as a consequence of mobile penetration surpassing natural saturation in Australia.
That is the conclusion of IDC's latest study of Australian wireless service providers, which found that subscriber-based growth will be slow, leading carriers to pin their growth strategy increasingly on creative non-voice services.
This report was written as an IDC annual guide to Australia's A$8-billion-a-year wireless industry. The report on the $8 billion Australian wireless found that market dynamics this year will be dominated by 3G and its related developments. Simple and cheap plans, niche marketing and branding, and 3G-enabled innovations will be the centre of competition in the consumer market, whereas the continued push towards enterprise mobility will be the prime driver in the business market.
"Telstra’s full privatisation is certain to lead to an overall brand revamp in 2005, while Optus continues to toy with various wireless technologies to complement its cellular offerings. Vodafone remains the market's most fragile – yet most aggressive – player, whereas Hutchison's primary challenge is to boost non-voice revenue," said Warren Chaisatien, IDC Australia's wireless and mobility research manager.
Sub-branding, niche and affinity marketing are no longer nice to have options but strategic necessities, which represent a huge boon to mobile virtual network operators and prospective mobile virtual network enablers.
The report also found that as technologies converge, wireless service providers in the various segments are being forced to either compete with or embrace one another. Competition and alliances among wireless players are set to spill over to the wireline space when full IP, fixed-to-mobile convergence takes hold in the longer run.
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