Data services grows but mobile operators must respond

New research from Informa reveals that revenues from mobile data services are set to exceed USD 200 billion in 2008 for the first time. Informa’s “Telecoms & Media's World Cellular Data Metrics” report suggests that mobile operators now generate approximately one fifth of their revenue from data services.

Despite this, enterprise mobility specialist Dexterra is calling for mobile operators to step up their focus on delivering data services for businesses arguing that given the saturation of the voice market, mobile operators must still place more emphasis on data services in order to drive growth, reduce churn and increase the average revenue per user/unit (ARPU).

Over the long haul, a rich portfolio of high-value data services promises to be a more lucrative strategy for mobile operators; however, implementing and managing the platforms and processes necessary to effectively deliver data services can be a formidable challenge.

According to Dexterra, existing offerings promoting internet and email use – for example, amongst mobile workers – have quickly become commoditised. Operators are not doing enough to differentiate themselves in this market, and consequently, they risk being perceived as being a ‘dumb pipe’ – a means to deliver data from point-to-point without the perception of any additional value.

“Operators must capitalise on their broad market reach and incumbent customer base to promote and deliver high-value and unique application services – either bundled with existing data offerings or delivered as an incremental data plan for their current and potential customers,” said Benjamin Wesson, VP product management at Dexterra.

“History has shown that as users adopt and rely on value-added services, especially ones that are identifiably unique, they are reluctant to churn, and in many cases are more willing to pay the going rate for the services they depend on.”