Reader Forum: Watch the emerging market trendsetters

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but maintain some editorial control so as to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at:dmeyer@rcrwireless.com or tford@rcrwireless.com.
Although today’s mobile subscriber in North America or Europe is happily embracing the connected world, the real trendsetters are to be found in emerging markets.
According to a recent global survey commissioned by Amdocs, while ubiquitous connectivity is key all over the world, emerging markets such as Central and Latin America and Asia, are set to be the driving forces determining how the connected world develops for next-generation products and services.
The high-level survey results show that 70% of all those surveyed say they want to do more with their mobile device; more than two-thirds want their mobile device to connect to other devices, for example their TV (43%) or car (38%) and 54% expect to access their content from any device.
And there’s good news for service providers here: some 40% of worldwide subscribers are willing to pay a premium for this ubiquitous connectivity.
Drilling down into the figures, it’s clear that consumers in emerging markets are the ones most willing to adopt and pay a premium for products and services, with almost two-thirds of Latin American and half of Asia-Pacific consumers agreeing to pay a premium for new services, compared to just over a third of North Americans.
Overall, respondents in these emerging markets demand more connectivity, support and services from their service providers, while developed markets seem to be more passive in their expectations and adoption of technology to change their lives.
For example, respondents in Latin America are more than four times as likely to own multiple handsets as those in North America. The emerging markets were the biggest advocates of the connected world, with 82% of Latin American respondents versus just 58% in North America expecting the PC and mobile to converge into a single device. People in Asia-Pacific and Latin America are also most likely to see the mobile phone as an essential part of their daily lives and multi-screen services are far more popular in these regions than anywhere else.
This finding doesn’t come as a surprise given the fact that consumers in emerging regions see the mobile device as their gateway into the big worldwide Web, which was somewhat closed due to insufficient fixed network infrastructure. However, what is surprising is the level of need for connectivity, and consumer willingness to adopt and pay for advanced services despite lower income levels.
And so, when looking to spot the next innovative service or price plan, service providers in developed markets would do well to investigate what’s already happening in emerging regions.
At the same time, though, in order to meet the local needs of consumers in the connected world, service providers need to adopt different business models that reflect the socio and macro factors in their particular region. For example, while 77% of European subscribers look for the cheapest plan when changing a mobile phone, consumers in North and Latin America and Asia Pacific look first for the most flexible plan (~80%), and only then consider the price.
Perhaps most surprisingly, subscribers all over the world value functionality over fashion when it comes to choosing their mobile device. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed rated functionality as the most important factor behind their selection of mobile phones, rating it eight times more important than appearance.
The connected world, as far as the consumer is concerned, is all about making his/her life easier. Mobile devices are becoming personal assistants for running consumers’ lives, and service providers have the chance to seize this opportunity by delivering valuable new services across devices, say home security or mobile payments, as well as moving to new pricing models, such as quality-of-service-based or value-based plans, that customers can understand and appreciate.
Consumers the world over are embracing their own vision of the connected world and service providers need to understand their individual drivers in order to offer and deliver the unique and personalized experience today’s consumers expect and value.