Mobile Pricing Innovations

Published by	IDATE
Published	August, 2008	Product code	72285
Content info	55 pages
Price	Not Available

Introduction
Related Reports

This publication has been discontinued on November 23, 2011.

Introduction

Abstract

This report examines the innovations being brought to pricing strategies in the mobile market, in particular the pricing schemes for the three most commonly used mobile services: voice calls, SMS and data transmission. The main focus of the report is on tariffs offered to the consumer sector by mobile network operators from a geographical perspective.

Key questions

What innovative pricing schemes are being deployed in the mobile market?
Can pricing innovation towards specific groups lead to an increase in market shares?
Innovation in pricing: an answer to acquiring/retaining subscribers and increasing their usage?
Which lessons by countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, UK, and USA?
What are the potential impacts of innovative pricing on the overall mobile market?

Report objectives and scope

Introduction

1. The Pricing Algorithm of a Mobile Subscription

1.1. The Pricing for Voice Calls
- 1.1.1. Towards an era of a single rate
- 1.1.2. The differing pricing units for voice calls
1.2. The Pricing for Data Transmission
- 1.2.1. A choice between charging by traffic volume or duration
- 1.2.2. The differing pricing units for data transmission
1.3. The Methods of Subscription

2. Different forms of Pricing and Funding Innovation

2.1. Inclusive Bundles to a Fixed Payment
- 2.1.1. Fixed service bundles and flexible money bundles
- 2.1.2. Over-spending and under-spending of inclusive bundles
2.2. Advertisement Funded Calls
2.3. Unlimited offers
- 2.3.1. Unlimited voice calls
- 2.3.2. Unlimited text messaging (SMS)
- 2.3.3. Introducing the unlimited Internet (data transmission)
- 2.3.4. Unlimited Internet from a mobile handset
- 2.3.5. Unlimited Internet on a mobile PC
2.4. Handset Subsidies and Pricing
- 2.4.1. The iPhone business model: past and present
- 2.4.2. Choosing between subsidies or a cheaper tariff

3. Methods of implementing innovative pricing

3.1. Main Patterns of Tariff Structuring Today
3.2. Multi-Branding Strategy
3.3. Keeping it Simple
3.4. Service Bundling: Double, Triple and Quadruple play
3.5. Fixed-Mobile Convergence
3.6. Home zone offers

4. Conclusion: the price of pricing

List of the Figures & Tables

Figure 1: Mobile penetration
Figure 2: Advantages of post-paid and prepaid subscriptions
Figure 3: Postpaid and prepaid share in total customer base for the years 2001, 2004 and 2007
Figure 4: Example of Virgin Mobile UK' s offer
Figure 5: Example of NTT DoCoMo' s offer
Figure 6: Comparing tariffs with differing amounts of bundles
Figure 7: The Mix & Match offer from 3 UK
Figure 8: The U-Fix Plans from T-Mobile UK
Figure 9: The business model for advertisement funded calls
Figure 10: The offer from Blyk
Figure 11: European mobile termination rates as of July 2008
Figure 12: The MyFaves offer from T-Mobile UK
Figure 13: Comparison of usage limits of mobile broadband offers in the UK
Figure 14: The X-Series offer from 3 UK
Figure 15: The two-stage unlimited offer in Japan
Figure 16: Internet on the mobile PC offers: positioning of modems and tariffs
Figure 17: Acquisition and retention costs as % of total revenue of Vodafone in selected operations
Figure 18: Target segmentation of the multi brand strategy of the E-Plus Group
Figure 19: The tariff offer of UNO Mobile (Italy)
Figure 20: The bundling offers from Virgin Media UK
Figure 21: Positioning of the innovative pricing strategies

Table 1: Benchmark of pricing methods for national mobile voice calls
Table 2: Benchmark of pricing units for national mobile voice calls
Table 3: Benchmark of pricing methods for data transmission
Table 4: Benchmark of pricing units for data transmission (charged by traffic volume)
Table 5: Benchmark of type of inclusive bundle structure
Table 6: Benchmark of rollover offers
Table 7: Details of rollover offers
Table 8: Benchmark of unlimited voice calls available in the market
Table 9: Benchmark of unlimited text messaging available in the market
Table 10: Benchmark of unlimited Internet on the mobile handset
Table 11: Benchmark of unlimited Internet on the mobile PC
Table 12: The handset subsidy or cheaper tariff options in Japan
Table 13: Benchmark of tariff structuring used by operators
Table 14: Comparison of UNO Mobile' s tariff with the host network operator and largest MNO
Table 15: Benchmark of operators offering bundled services
Table 16: Other examples of bundled offers
Table 17: Benchmark of operators offering home zone tariffs
Table 18: The Genion (home zone) tariff from O2 Germany