The old saying goes “talk is cheap” but if this is the case why do we spend so much money on pay monthly mobile contracts. In recent years there has been an increasing trend in people using data on their phone rather than using them to do as they were intended for; to make phone calls. This paper will analyse just why people are willing to spend money on having a greater amount of talk minutes instead of going with cheaper contracts which include more data and how these preferences are changing over time. In order to achieve this paper will only focus on sim only contracts from two providers Three and EE. With attention only paid to contracts which do not include a handset in the month price. Introduction According to statistics from Ofcom the number of mobile phone contracts in the UK stands at around 91.5m with around half of these being sim only contracts (Ofcom UK, 2016). With this amount of contracts active in the UK then it only makes sense for the mobile network sector to be very competitive. Indeed, there are currently 4 mobile networks in the UK which own their own infrastructure. (Ofcom UK, 2016). In order to analyse why consumers chose the network they chose, we shall look at two different end of the cost spectrum by comparing the UK’s largest mobile network EE but arguably more expensive network to a newer and cheaper network, Three. The average annual cost spend by consumers on their phone contract is currently £469.
This report all concerns to identifying and assessing potential segments for BSkyB (Sky) UK telecommunication market. This business organizing operating in UK telecommunication industry is yet to make a mark and achieve a leading position. On the basis of identified market opportunities, it might be suggested to BSkyB (Sky) to concentrate on mobile telecommunications services, which appears a promising market segment, where BSkyB (Sky) huge opportunities to expand its business and so the profitability in order to emerge as a leading player in UK telecommunication industry. It is worth to mention here that UK mobile telecommunications market corresponds to one of the most striking tele-communications markets globally , with the mobile telecommunications services market segment creating
Regarding the on peak/off peak distinction, I think it is a powerful argument. Most people understand what it is and the fact that we can have unlimited time on off peak hours is a must have for every operator today. Just like with the buckets, it might add a complexity at first, but it is something that the customer has understood and therefore we speak the same vocabulary. The big problem that ruins the consumer experience is the addition of these variables. Indeed, you need to compare all of them between different carriers to find the better deal. I would also add to these variables the price of the actual mobile phone with the
- The smartphone industry is very capital intensive due to high research and development (R&D) costs and expensive manufacturing facilities. This raises the barrier of entry and makes it difficult for small companies to enter. Many of the firms that compete in this industry have existing long-term contractual relationships with mobile carriers and benefit from their significant brand equity. These companies also have a great deal of knowledge and experience through economies of learning, which gives them a major cost advantage over smaller entrants. New entrants will have difficulty getting carriers to adopt their phones because many carriers are already in profitable deals with the large mobile phone manufacturers.
Trends in the market include the growing number of people within the 15-29 age range. Also, phones are being used for much more than just calling, other functions like texting and music playing capabilities have dominated much of a user’s data usage. As for market characteristics, the mobile industry has reached almost 50% penetration with about 130 million subscribers, and reaching its maturity. The cost structure has been very confusing for consumers, with hidden fees, overcharges, and lacks to reward users who do not use their plans to the max. And finally, channels include all service provider stores and retail consumer stores, for example, Target, Walmart, and Best Buy.
The generation of talking face-to-face is slowly fading away, and the technology era is going to keep on growing. One of the most widely used technology services known today is the cellular phone industry. According to the Pew Research Center’s website, 90% of American adults own a cell phone. Of that 90%, the smartphone ownership is at 64% (2013). Verizon Wireless, along with the other major carriers, T-Mobile, Sprint, and AT&T, have taken this data and comprised a growing industry where competition arises from all angles. These companies have battled one another on pricing, plans, and customer service for many years in order to stay on top. Unfortunately, these are major factors in whether or not a customer will choose the particular company over another.
Virgin Mobile is looking to launch a new cell phone service in the US marketplace, which is already a highly saturated industry. This analysis will help select a pricing strategy that attracts and retains subscribers, while still maintaining a competitive edge within the industry. The cell phone industry has many sources of customer dissatisfaction. For instance, customers’ distrust in pricing plans due to confusing usage rates; companies’ inconvenient and inconsistent off-peak hours; service provider’s hidden fees that include taxes and higher rates after minutes are used up, universal service charges, and one-time costs; and binding contracts by the service
Over the mid-year, Apple was offering a little more than half of the worldwide premium cell phones, and Samsung was offering just shy of 25%. By December 2016, those figures had developed to 70% and 17%, separately” (Richardson, 2017).
Using the information in the data and your own economic knowledge, evaluate the economic case for and against governments attempting to influence how mobile phones are manufactured and used. (25)
In the present day, most people have cell phones. It is also true that most people have a negative experience with a cell phone company imposing early termination fees. When people activate their cell service, they are forces to enter a binding contract for one to two years. If the customer agrees to the contract they will be obligated to pay the whole contract term or they will be assessed the early termination fee. However, the days of cell phone contracts early termination fees are beginning to change.
In the opinion of Baumol and Blinder (2011, p. 235), "monopolistic competition is a market structure characterized by many small firms selling somewhat different products." The authors in this case further note that the output of each entity is small in comparison to the market's aggregate output of competing but closely related products. With that in mind, the mobile phone market exhibits some key characteristics of monopolistic competition. In this market, customers in need of mobile phones are presented with a wide range of options to choose from. For instance, a customer who enters a mobile phone handset shop has the option of purchasing a Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry or even an LG handset. All these products despite being closely related are also largely differentiated. As Tucker (2010, p. 268) notes, "the key feature of
In today’s telecommunication market there is a lot of competition by industry giants such as Sprint,
The business case presented focuses on insatiable demand amongst a growing population for a service built on dilapidated, poorly maintained infrastructure, against a backdrop of government deregulation in the telecoms sector. As of 1992, there were a mere 78k telephone lines for the 27m people living in 4.7m households (a population set to double over the coming 24 years), with users suffering success rates of just 25%. Demand was forecast to grow to 500k subscribers by 1996. The recent deregulation of the telecoms sector (via the break-up of TPTC into TPC and TTCL) and the formation of a regulator (TCC) had
In this following report I will discuss the phone industry and analysed it in great detail. I will analysis the market structure and try and understand why the mobile industry falls to heavily oligopoly structure. I will highlight all the structures, however I will discuss in detail how, for example Vodafone can be incorporated in the porter’s five forces method to show how the mobile industry has devolved over the years and to understand if consumers are driven by the actual technology of the phone but if it driven more by style.
Mobile phones have become a necessity for life, and without this thin gadget, many people would feel incomplete. We now use mobile phones in our everyday life as a phone, voice recorder, diary, alarm clock, watch and for making and confirming appointments, dealing with clients etc. Mobile phones are for many, fundamental when organising their lives. Mobile phones are not simply an electronic gadget, and it is difficult to define in one way about the usage of mobile phones. With the advances of technology, mobile phones are becoming a way of life. Mobile phones are not used as just communication tools but are also considered as devices which have strong communication networks along with the other functionalities such as audio solutions, FM
Although Vodafone are the biggest mobile network in the world, they also have their problems. As a global organisation Vodafone have learnt how to acquire customers, building up a customer base in the UK of 13 million. But, they have become far too focused on acquiring