Users Think They Don’t Want Advanced Mobile Services
At the last Symbian Expo there was an enlightening presentation by Kieran Sheedy of CAP Gemini entitled "Value Innovation in the Mobile Marketplace: A Capgemini/INSEAD Study of How Mobile Operators and Mobile Customers Views on Value Compare … and what that Means for the Industry"…
The report, available here describes how Mobile Operators are trying to secure their future in terms of advanced mobile services while all users really want is simpler services, transparent billing and improved coverage.
This has implications for all of us working in the mobile space. First of all, as the report suggests, it opens up new opportunities for network operators to innovate with simpler pricing and services. However, we should not rule out new advanced service just because people don’t want them. People might not know what they want until they see it. People have responded to the survey in terms of the services offered now. As for new advanced services, they must be clearly priced and made as simple as possible.
Looking at the recent new Orange and Vodafone 3G services in the UK, the only thing that is really clear is that it’s difficult to know, for example, how much you will be charged to access a web site outside the network. Look at it another way. The first services these companies should be providing is a way (on the phone!) to track and account for how much each service has cost.