Crowded Mobile Networks
It’s really very fascinating to see the different ways people are using mobile to enhance everyday activities, and search seems to be a big component of that. For example, if you are out and about in an unfamiliar area, you can download apps to help you see what’s around or just use “old fashioned” search engines via mobile web.
The same applies for retail. Julia Tang of the Google Retail Team recently posted a snippet of video from Google’s “Future of Multi-Channel” panel in which Alex Barza, Google’s Mobile Ad Sales Lead, and Surojit Chatterjee, Google’s Product Manager, discussed examples of why mobile is the next ‘big bet.’
The segment is rather short, but they do get in some key points, including “54% of users who researched online but bought offline used their mobile device to conduct their search.” They also cited growth of augmented reality as a part of searches. Also, they stated that 20% of consumers are using smartphones, which plays a key role in such dynamic search adoption.
With such promising and interesting growth in terms of ways smartphones are used beyond calls and texting, I’m led to my next point: actual usage. For every mobile advance that gets adopted, the “OMG TOO MANY USERS” seems to come up. For instance, USA Today reported that new subscribers to AT&T that have smartphones will not be able to get unlimited data packages.
Newcomers will have two options: Under the DataPlus plan, subscribers can pay $15 a month for 200 megabytes of data; that would handle about 400 photos or 100 minutes of streaming video. The DataPro plan offers 10 times that capacity, 2 gigabytes, for $25.
Here’s the part I found most interesting:
AT&T says 65% of its smartphone customers use less than 200 MB a month, and 98% use less than 2 GB.
But, largely due to the success of the iPhone, AT&T “has the most loaded and most used data network in the U.S.,” says Roger Entner, head of telecom research at Nielsen.
And just 3% of AT&T’s smartphone customers account for as much as 40% of its data traffic, contributing to slow transmissions and dropped calls. AT&T must control heavy users, or at least get them to pay more, Entner says.
In a February GigaOm article, streaming video is cited as the biggest bandwidth hog, causing carriers to drive up these price plans. So I wonder then, why not address that problem directly? There seems to be quite a few solutions the carriers can take advantage of right away:
If the pipes are too small and what’s going through them too big — which is the case on many mobile data networks (hey AT&T, how’s that iPhone traffic treating you?) — then wouldn’t it make sense to add some compression algorithms to the mix?
It makes sense certainly, and something operators — not to mention mobile phone users — have experimented with. On the vendor side, players like OpenWave and Bytemobile offer network-based solutions that operators can deploy to “optimize” mobile data delivery via a variety of techniques. Meanwhile, a handful of mobile Web browsers, such as Skyfire, have tried to drive compression right down to the handset, utilizing proxy servers and compression algorithms on the back-end and specialty browser clients on the phone.
So, will other carriers follow AT&T? Or will they look for other answers that aren’t going to hurt consumers and stifle mobile growth in areas like retail? Hopefully they will before getting in over their heads much like AT&T did with the iPhone.
But of course, like everything else, we’ll have to see how this all plays out.
FierceMobileContent’s Jason Ankeny reports that The Android has nudged the iPhone out of the #2 spot when it comes to purchases by US consumers:
Buoyed by strong consumer interest in devices like the Motorola Droid, Google’s Android mobile operating system now represents 28 percent of smartphone unit sales in the U.S.–behind only Research In Motion’s BlackBerry (36 percent) and moving past Apple’s iPhone (21 percent)–according to new data issued by market research firm NPD Group. Carrier distribution and promotion are critical to Android’s growth, NPD said: “In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones,” said NPD executive director of industry analysis Ross Rubin in a prepared statement.
Interestingly enough, FierceMobileContent’s sister publication, FierceWireless ran a piece called “A problem? AT&T’s wireless network is the punchline” in which reporter Mike Dano talks about the public’s perception of AT&T service:
What I’m writing about is Americans’ perception of AT&T, and how the carrier is responding. Specifically, I’m writing about how late-night pundits including David Letterman, Jon Stewart of the “Daily Show” and “Saturday Night Live’s” Weekend Update have made AT&T the butt of their jokes. If you haven’t seen these bits, let me summarize: The Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone would be a great device if not for AT&T’s shoddy service.
Hmmm… are these two articles a coincidence? Absolutely not. Thankfully consumers have options when it comes to smartphones because the possibilities they offer are endless, and it’d be a shame to see people get turned off to them because their service isn’t working. Hopefully AT&T will do what it takes to straighten things out, they clearly still have a great opportunity with the iPhone. But the clock is starting to tick, so they better get moving…
It’s Earth Day and the carriers are getting in on the festivities by launching some green initiatives. As reported by Wireless Week:
Verizon Builds Green Stores
Verizon Wireless says that nearly 60 brick-and-mortar stores have been recognized for energy efficiency. That’s up from 32 stores in 2009. According to a press release, 59 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores have been awarded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Energy Star certification.
Sprint Adds Restore to Line-up
Sprint and Samsung have teamed up on the unveiling of the Samsung Restore, a follow-on to last year’s Samsung Reclaim. The Restore, which is a slider qwerty-texting phone, will sell for $49.99 with a two-year agreement. Like the Reclaim, the Restore is made from recycled materials.
The Samsung Reclaim recently received the Best of Green: Best New Cell Phone Award in the Science and Technology category by TreeHugger.com.
T-Mobile Plants Trees
T-Mobile gets green with a paperless billing offer similar to the AT&T has on tap. T-Mobile will plant a tree on behalf of those customers that switch to parperless billing. Also, T-Mobile is the exclusive carrier of what Motorola bills as the “world’s first CarbonFree Certified mobile phone,” the MOTO W233 Renew.
AT&T Offers Discount on Charger
AT&T is offering the award-winning AT&T ZERO Charger at a 40 percent discount to any customer who brings in a wireless device for recycling in its stores. Once the charger is available in AT&T stores this May, the discount will be available on one charger per customer.
I’m glad to see these efforts, and am especially excited that our own clients are supporting the environment by taking advantage of our mobile couponing and other paper-saving services. Happy Earth Day!
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