FAMILY AFFAIR: Disney Mobile reflects on first year as MVNO

As it approaches its one-year anniversary, Disney Mobile L.L.C. has ambitious plans to develop new applications and move toward the use of EV-DO in delivering services.
The company recently provided a glimpse of how its customers are making use of the innovative family-centric applications at the heart of the Disney Mobile service, including the GPS location of handsets, prioritized “family alert” text messages, and parental control of their children’s handsets.
According to George Grobar, general manager of Disney Mobile, 30 percent of subscribers make use of the MVNO’s GPS location-tracking service, and parents who do so use the feature 14 times per month on average-or roughly every other day. Other usage stats include:
c 30 percent of location requests are made from the Web and 70 percent from the handset, Grobar said, demonstrating the cross-platform nature of the application.
c 56 percent of Disney Mobile subscribers are adults and 44 percent are children.
c 23 percent of kids using the service are on the child “starter”
plan, which offers 200 anytime minutes for $25 per month. Parents can access the control features through the Internet.
c More than 65 percent of its subscribers use the Family Alert prioritized text messaging feature.
The mobile virtual network operator also is developing a photo application where users can upload photos to a family photo page with one click. Each family member will have a page, as well as a shared page for the whole family. That feature also will include parental controls on whether children can share their photos. A family-centric calendar with a mobile alert feature is in the works as well.
The MVNO is phasing out its first handset, the silver DM-P100 from Pantech Corp., and running a promotion that offers the phone free to all family members who sign up for a two-year service contract. Other phone prices include $50 for the red DM-L200 clamshell from LG Electronics, and $100 for a second silver flip phone from Pantech, the DM-P205.
When the service was first announced at the CTIA Wireless show in 2006, Disney Internet Group President Steve Wadsworth made note of the fact that the initial Pantech Corp. silver flip phone looked just like any other typical, adult phone; i.e., that it wasn’t plastered with mouse-ears or otherwise Disney-fied.
Interestingly, the fourth handset added to the Disney lineup makes a statement as a definite Disney device-the limited edition Steamboat Willie DM-L210 from LG Electronics features the first incarnation of Mickey Mouse imprinted on the phone’s outside cover. However, the device (the most expensive in the MVNO’s lineup at $200 after mail-in rebate) seems to be aimed more at adult collectors, who would appreciate the reference to Disney history and the included collector’s pin; the company makes clear on its Web site that the phone is available as a collectible item only, for purchase without active service.
The service’s user interface has been customized with Disney themes since the beginning, and access to family-friendly content from the company also was built in to the service. However, the service was and is still using handsets that are only able to access data through Sprint Nextel Corp.’s 1xRTT network, which limits the use of high-bandwidth applications or content. Disney Mobile is likely to add EV-DO-capable handsets to its lineup within the next six to 12 months, Grobar said.
Disney Mobile’s bigger aims for content include closer relationships with other Walt Disney Co. properties such as family.com, which is aimed at mothers, and a move into a broadband mobile world. The company plans a marketing push for the second half of the year and to expand its distribution. “We have some things in the works that we think will allow us to really scale things,” Grobar said.