The Future Of Mobile Data: Some Thoughts On Pricing And Business Models

[Nurhisham Hussein]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.com/2006/12/will-flat-rate-pricing-make-mobile-data.html' target='_blank'>http://mobileopportunity.blogspot.c...obile-data.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Will flat-rate pricing make mobile data take off? No. It's a nice start, but the operators need to take several other steps as well...What needs to be moved to mobile networks isn't just the Web's applications or price structure, it's the Web's open business model. We need to run a huge number of experiments in order to figure out what applications users will want in mobile data."</i><br /><br />Michael Mace, formerly of Palm and PalmSource, has blogged on what he believes would make mobile data adoption a success - essentially his take is that to survive, carriers will have to change their business model and mobile offerings to one more akin to wired broadband and the Internet in general. Meanwhile, research firm IDC has recently done <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/12/11/HNamericanscool_1.html">a survey</a> indicating that 72.5% Americans do not use any form of mobile data service, except for SMS. The main reason stated was price - which dovetails rather nicely with <a href="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?action=expand,52806">my rant</a> on mobile data pricing last week. So, if <i>you</i> don't have a data plan, what would it take in terms of pricing and/or offered services for you to get one?

[virain]

Price does mean a lot, but consider this. Most paople use regular hand sets, that are much advertised and come with a calling plan for a price that is next to nothing compare to a smart phone or PPC. That means that that majority will not have full access to internet due to WAP brouser limitations, and so goes for checking your e-mail including attachments (I had that T-Mobile My-T-mobile plan for $5.00 a month, where you have access to T-Mobile "spaces", or how they call them, I don't remember). So it is pretty much useless, waste of money. On the other hand you can get EDGE/GPRS, for $40-$75 (quiet a difference :wink: ), but than again, either you buy a wireless card for the laptop, or a smartphone and they are not something as cheap and as well promoted like, for example Motorola RAZR, You can get it now for $50.00 or so with a new plan. Try to get Cingular 8525 or T-Mobile Dash for that much money! Plus you don't see ads for these two very often. And people buy what they see. Most of us are to busy to do research on such subject as a cellphone. "RAZR is hot! That is what TV said. Plus I get a good deal on it, so I'll buy it" That is pretty much a mentality...

[Joff]

Well, I am glad to say that mobile data plans in the UK have become quite affordable these days.

I signed up with T-mobile a couple of months ago. I pay £22.50 a month with £35 worth of calls. There is a fair-use policy but the cap is at 2GB/month which I find very reasonable for a Wireless data plan.

I think data plan prices with T-mobile are even cheaper now (I heard something like £7.50 a month).

'3' have also announced a flat rate plan coming soon.

But to be fair my mobile data experience has not been as glamorous as I hoped. Accessing websites on a mobile phone is quite a painful experience... I use a WM5 smartphone (HTC Hermes). Put simply, Pocket IE sucks. And Internet support for mobile platforms is lagging (for example no support for latest Flash version meaning websites like YouTube cannot be accessed from a Windows Mobile)...

On the bright side, I can use my phone as a wireless modem for my laptops 8)

[Dyvim]

$10/month for unlimited data and no voice plan required would get me to sign up. More than that and forget about it. I'll connect to the internet at home or at free hotspots.

[signothefish]

As Dyvim said, why do I care that much about data plans, when I am paying for a broadband connection at home? If I were to get a 3G network, it would need to be at most $40 for me to switch, since I'm currently paying $30 for broadband. Bottom line... either offer me a replacement for my existing broadband, or a supplement to it. But make no mistake about it, either option will have to be reasonably priced for me to consider it.

[Damion Chaplin]

Just yesterday I finally signed up for Cingular's unlimited smartphone connect. Why? Because they're currently offering the 3125 for $100 after a $200 rebate if you get unlimited data activation at the same time. $20/month is a good deal if you ask me, though I'm quite aware that after 10 months that data connect charge will eat up the $200 saved on the phone...

[ebrandwein]

I use an Audiovox PPC4100 these days with T-Mobile's 1000 minute pre-pay plan ($100/yr for 1000 minutes. Works for me, I don't use my phone much) and a Spectec low-profile SD Wifi card for data. I don't see myself moving away from this setup, or something equivalent, for some time. I have Wifi in my house and where I work (downtown Manhattan) there's free Wifi all over the place. I used to have a Treo 600. Paid about $24/month for GPRS ($19.99+taxes and surcharges). The Treo's lack of a decent Wifi option made me switch.

[inteller]

$20/month is a good deal if you ask me, though I'm quite aware that after 10 months that data connect charge will eat up the $200 saved on the phone...

thats really bizarro logic. If you are using the data then you are getting value out of it and paying for the use, I dont see how it can "eat up" the savings on the phone. if you view it as the data plan being a gun held to your head then I can see how you would think that. I think after you figure out how to do bluetooth dial up tethering to your computer you will find $20 for data a steal. It gets even better when you pop that SIM into an HSDPA device and you are paying $20 a month for 1meg downloads.