OTTAWA – More than 70% of smart phone users in the U.S. and Great Britain blame their network connection or coverage for their reluctance to use mobile commerce and video applications, according to a new survey. This, in turn, means mobile network providers are missing out on billions of dollars in new revenue.
Conducted by TNS Omnibus on behalf of Ottawa-based BelAir Networks, the survey of GB and American respondents found that while 56% of respondents find the quality and speed of their mobile Internet connection in metro areas to be adequate, that number drops to 43% for smart phone users.
However, if service providers were to charge extra for a consistently great mobile broadband experience, the survey revealed a willingness to pay an incremental amount for this, with that amount being slightly higher among smart phone users. As little as $7– $8 per mobile broadband subscriber would constitute nearly $20 billion in annual revenue, but more than 36% of smart phone users in the U.S. and more than 22% in Great Britain claim that they are willing to pay an additional $10 or more per month.
"With the high growth of mobile broadband, with traffic doubling every year, and continued pressure on existing mobile and fixed networks in metropolitan areas driven by increased video and application usage, access to wireless broadband has become like oxygen for smart phone users," said Ronny Haraldsvik, BelAir Networks’ CMO/SVP of marketing, in the report's release. "There is a particular challenge in metro areas where the high density of people and buildings makes ensuring a great mobile broadband experience very complex, but subscribers' willingness to pay more shows that an untapped market opportunity exists for fixed and mobile service providers and affiliated commerce partners."
Other highlights from the survey include:
– Nearly two thirds (59%) of respondents surveyed said they are unlikely to use their mobile phone for on-line shopping and services due to unreliable mobile Internet connections. This figure rose to 64% among U.S. smart phone users and 78% for GB smart phone users;
– 73% of GB smart phone users and 69% of their U.S. counterparts are likely to be put off using mobile video services due to a lack of seamless mobile broadband experience; and
– 77% of respondents blame their service provider for any mobile broadband problems they experience, while 24% hold the application responsible and only 16% blame the device. These figures don't vary considerably when looking specifically at smart phone users or in U.S. vs. GB.
The BelAir Networks Smartphone user study was conducted on-line among 1007 Great Britain respondents aged 16 – 64 between January 24 and 26th, and among 1052 American respondents aged 18 – 64 from January 26 – 30, 2012.
