Prepaid Mobile Services - Using New Business Models to Boost Profits

Prepaid Mobile Services - Using New Business Models to Boost Profits published by Pyramid Research, Inc. in March, 2010. This report consists of 57 Pages and the price starts from US $ 3495.

Introduction

Abstract

Description

Prepaid Mobile Services examines the success of prepaid operators in developing markets. The prepaid platform has encountered resounding success around the world and is the preferred billing plan in most developing markets. Its success, however, goes beyond the mere adoption of a popular billing plan - it is the outcome of a comprehensive rethinking of the mobile business model.

This report identifies the characteristics of successful prepaid players and suggests a number of core drivers for their profitability. It makes a number of observations on the impact of ARPS on profitability in a competitive prepaid market context as well as on the core strategies successful prepaid operators rely on to boost revenue. The report also looks at the dynamics of the cost base and trends emerging in the management of network opex. In terms of the next phase, selling mobile broadband, the report details trends in pricing schemes and discusses the challenges operators will face with subsidies. Finally, it examines in-depth the operator models of four prepaid players: MTS Russia, Safaricom Kenya, Turkcell Turkey and Grameenphone Bangladesh.

• Prepaid platforms are not an obstacle to profitability. Nearly all operators in emerging markets are predominantly prepaid operations; many are profitable, and some boast some of the highest operating margins in the world.
• There is more to the success of prepaid operators in developing markets than merely the popular adoption of a billing plan. It is the outcome of something larger - a comprehensive rethinking of what the mobile business model has historically been and how it has historically worked.
• Successful prepaid operators have scale. Because of the fluidity of the prepaid segment and the high churn inherent to prepaid, the ability to build scale quickly has become a critical part of profitability. The most profitable players generally have the largest networks and boast the widest distribution systems. They use their size to offer more flexible on-net pricing, using club strategies to attract and retain customers.
• As for churn, they have above-average performance, using a variety of retention tools, from continuous demand stimulation to club-building through unique applications. In a context in which many customers move across networks or carry multiple subscriptions, the most profitable players manage to keep customers active on their networks for as long as possible.
• They control the bulk of their traffic flows. The most profitable prepaid players generally control the entirety of the infrastructure on which their traffic is running.
• They have superb data performance, with a focus on content and connectivity. With voice revenue already slowing, a strong performance on the data front can cushion the decline on the voice side and, optimally, keep revenue growth stable.
• They are competitive without being the cheapest. They use their size and scale to stay competitive on pricing and complement aggressive pricing with attractive brands, extensive distribution networks and other assets to drive up subscriber acquisition.

• What are the key drivers of profitability in a prepaid-heavy context? What characteristics do successful prepaid players have in common?
• How does ARPS affect profitability in a competitive prepaid market context? What new revenue pathways are mobile operators looking to as competition drives down ARPS?
• What are the core strategies successful prepaid operators rely on to boost revenue?
• What dynamics are at play in the cost base of a prepaid mobile operator? What trends do we see emerging in the management of these costs and in network opex?
• What effect does churn have on mobile operator performance in a prepaid context? How do successful prepaid mobile players combat churn?
• What sort of pricing schemes are operators relying on to sell mobile broadband? What challenges will they face in the evolution of mobile services?
• Target audience

Mobile Operators:

This report will help you optimally position your prepaid model and choose the strategies that have proven successful with the most profitable prepaid players. Understand why shifting your focus to data performance, particularly content and connectivity, can cushion decline on the voice side and keep revenue growth stable. Learn how to stay competitive on pricing without being the cheapest, and discover the importance of using promotions to aggressively encourage usage and of adding subscribers by offering an attractive brand and an extensive distribution network. The report also analyzes services and promotions that make a subscriber less likely to leave your network and helps you evaluate whether various price-cut tactics will stimulate usage without damaging your bottom line. Evaluate your future with 3G broadband solutions, which are less cumbersome and more flexible than wireline alternatives.

Equipment Vendors:

Learn to recognize the signs, particularly among newer entrants, of network expansion and infrastructure buildout. Understand the dynamics of the prepaid operator cost base to help develop partnerships, potentially on handset or device subsidies.

Investors:

Assess whether equipment and software vendors are addressing the actual needs of particular markets, including whether they are creating market-specific products and services that will boost usage and keep subscribers active on a network. Discover how successful mobile operators take advantage of their economies of scale. This report also analyzes the strategies newer entrants employ to gain the requisite scale as well as the strategies of operators that target the youth market and emphasize mobile data services. It will also show you the importance of considering the overall weight the regulatory bill has on the cost of sales.

• Asustek Taiwan
• Atlantique Telecom
• Bharti
• Cell C
• djuice
• Essar
• Etisalat Nigeria
• ForgetMeNot Africa
• Google
• Grameenphone
• Maroc Telecom
• Meep
• MegaFon
• Microsoft
• MTN
• MTN Uganda
• MTS Russia
• MXit
• noknok
• Orange
• Safaricom
• Synchronica
• Telenor
• Telsim
• Turkcell
• VimpelCom
• Vodacom
• Vodafone Germany
• Warid
• Zain

Prepaid Mobile Services: Using New Business Models to Boost Profits is part of Pyramid' s research report series. A blend of primary research and qualitative analysis, Pyramid' s research reports offer comprehensive coverage of the fixed and mobile communications space and enable those in the communications industry to stay ahead of changing market dynamics.

• Pages: 57
• Exhibits: 32

Table of Contents

Table of contents

Table of exhibits

Companies mentioned

Acronyms and abbreviations

Executive summary

Section 1: Of prepaid and profitability

• 1.1 The success of prepaid
• 1.2 Prepaid as a driver of operator profitability
• 1.3 Breaking down key drivers of prepaid profitability - Does ARPS matter in prepaid markets?
• 1.4 Prepaid and the market share factor

Section 2: The revenue side - Rethinking subscriber acquisition, retention and ARPS

• 2.1 Maximizing subscriber acquisition
• 2.2 Minimizing churn
• 2.3 Monetizing the user base

Section 3: Breaking down prepaid operator cost efficiencies

Section 4: Selling prepaid mobile broadband - The next phase

Section 5: Summary profiles of prepaid operator models

• 5.1 MTS Russia
  • 5.1.1 MTS acquisition and retention strategy
  • 5.1.2 MTS driver of revenue: Voice
  • 5.1.3 MTS drivers of revenue: Data
  • 5.1.4 MTS Russia - Breaking down costs
• 5.2 Safaricom Kenya
  • 5.2.1 Safaricom acquisition and retention strategy
  • 5.2.2 Safaricom drivers of revenue: Voice
  • 5.2.3 Safaricom drivers of revenue: Data
  • 5.2.4 Safaricom Kenya - Breaking down costs
• 5.3 Turkcell Turkey
  • 5.3.1 Turkcell acquisition and retention strategy
  • 5.3.1 Turkcell drivers of revenue: Voice
  • 5.3.2 Turkcell drivers of revenue: Data
  • 5.3.3 Turkcell - Breaking down costs
• 5.4 Grameenphone Bangladesh
  • 5.4.1 Grameenphone acquisition and retention strategy
  • 5.4.2 Grameenphone drivers of revenue: Voice
  • 5.4.3 Grameenphone drivers of revenue: Data
  • 5.4.4 Grameenphone - Breaking down costs
• Related resources

Table of exhibits

• Exhibit 1: Global prepaid and postpaid subscriptions, 2005-2014
• Exhibit 2: ARPS vs. EBITDA margins in select African markets, fiscal 2008
• Exhibit 3: Market share vs. EBITDA margins in selected markets, fiscal year 2008
• Exhibit 4: Gross margins* as a percentage of sales for sample operators, 2008
• Exhibit 5: The three phases of the prepaid mobile model
• Exhibit 6: Share of gross additions, sample market leaders, 2008
• Exhibit 7: M-Pesa and churn
• Exhibit 8: Sample pricing strategy, MTN Zone vs. Orange Cameroon, 2008
• Exhibit 9: Evolution of average revenue per minute for sample operators, 2007-2009
• Exhibit 10: Evolution of mobile termination rates in sample markets, pre-2007 to January 2009
• Exhibit 11: Data as a proportion of ARPS for sample prepaid operators, 2006-2008
• Exhibit 12: Revenue growth vs. growth of sample cost items for sample operators, 2008
• Exhibit 13: Cost per subscriber (including cost of sales and opex) for sample operators, 2008
• Exhibit 14: Key financial indicators as a proportion of revenue, sample of prepaid operators, 2008
• Exhibit 15: Mobile broadband packages of prepaid operators MTS Russia, Maroc Telecom and Safaricom, September 2009
• Exhibit 16: MTS Russia summary performance indicators
• Exhibit 17: Evolution of MTS quarterly voice revenue, Q1 2004-Q2 2009
• Exhibit 18: MTS Russia: Non-exhaustive tariffs comparative matrix, October 2009
• Exhibit 19: MTS mobile Internet tariffs, October 2009
• Exhibit 20: How MTS sells data
• Exhibit 21: MTS costs per subscriber, fixed vs. variable, 2006-2008
• Exhibit 22: Safaricom Kenya summary performance indicators
• Exhibit 23: Evolution of Safaricom MoU and average revenue per minute, 2006-2009
• Exhibit 24: Kenya non-exhaustive tariffs comparative matrix, October 2009
• Exhibit 25: How Safaricom sells data, September 2009
• Exhibit 26: Turkcell summary performance indicators
• Exhibit 27: Evolution of Turkcell MoU and average revenue per minute
• Exhibit 28: How Turkcell sells data
• Exhibit 29: Turkcell cost base as a proportion of revenue, 2008
• Exhibit 30: Grameenphone summary performance indicators
• Exhibit 31: Evolution of Grameenphone MoU and average revenue per minute, 2006-2009
• Exhibit 32: Evolution of Grameenphone's cost base per subscriber, 2006 to September 2008

Press Release

Prepaid mobile services is huge success in developing markets

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