Only 45% of U.S. mobile consumers use their phones for anything more than making calls, according to figures released this week from NPD Group. But nearly lost in the press release is this little tidbit: Verizon Wireless’ customers are less likely than those of any other tier-one operator to use their phones as multimedia devices.
That’s despite the fact that Verizon’s data ARPU is an impressive $13.45 – second only to Sprint Nextel’s $13.50, and far better than AT&T Mobility ($12.30) and T-Mobile USA ($8.90). (The overwhelming bulk of such revenues comes from the texting craze.)
So what gives? Why is the nation’s soon-to-be largest player (pending Friday’s close of the Alltel acquisition) trailing when it comes to mobile multimedia?
There are lots of possible factors, obviously, but Verizon’s short-sighted, walled-garden strategy is at least partly to blame. It’s likely that many subscribers have simply grown accustomed to Verizon’s short leash and given up on accessing many of the things today’s phones can do. Consider:
–Unlike other carriers, Verizon has kept a tight grip on location information, essentially blocking the navigation capabilities of offerings such as Google Maps for Mobile. (The carrier recently said it is relaxing its policies regarding GPS information for three – only three! – handsets later this year.) Verizon Navigator – its branded navigation offering – performs well enough, but any move to disable the functionality of popular third-party navigation apps is a loser.
–Verizon maintains an uncompromising embrace of digital rights management technology for full-track music downloads. After failing to gain traction with its highly-promoted a la carte service, it teamed with RealNetworks to launch a mobile version of Rhapsody, a subscription-based, full-track service. But both offerings use Microsoft’s DRM wrapper, preventing users from transferring their Vcast Music tunes among devices.
–Finally, Verizon seems to eschew many usable third-party applications. The browser on my new LG Voyager (yes, I’m a Verizon subscriber) delivers a horribly rendered screen for my business e-mail, preventing me from reading – much less responding to – my messages. Meanwhile, Verizon has not made Opera Mini available to its subscribers, even though Opera launched a BREW version of the popular software more than a year ago. Opera Mini is available on every other tier-one operator. (I’ve settled on using Skweezer to read my work e-mail on my phone, by the way. Feel free to shoot a note my way with any other suggestions. Seriously.)
Ironically, NPD’s study came a day after an announcement from Verizon Wireless touting the “progress” of its open initiative, which is more than a year old. The press release cited 13 highlights including a handful of new products such as a tracking anklet for criminals, a communications node for utility meters and a cellular broadband router.
No phones. No multimedia applications. And no hope yet for Verizon consumers looking for more openness from their provider.
Ross Rubin, NPD’s director of industry analysis, said Verizon’s opposition to outsiders is a “secondary” factor in its subscribers’ disdain for multimedia. Instead, he cited the carrier’s broad customer base and older demographic.
“Verizon has been very successful with family plans,” Rubin noted, “and we tend to see that demographically it’s a younger, single consumer who tends to be much more aggressive” in consuming mobile entertainment.
That may be true. But Verizon’s attempts to become a mobile media company have fallen short as the carrier has yet to gain traction with on-deck content such as Vcast Music and its MediaFLO-powered mobile TV service.
It’s no surprise, then, that some of its subscribers have given up on multimedia entirely. Unless Verizon truly starts making progress with its open initiative, it may find many of its other customers moving on to less restrictive carriers.
