With penetration rates pushing higher, the senior population, including 76 million baby boomers, are starting to look a little sexier.
There are few tailored offering for seniors from wireless operators-and according to a recent study by iGR Inc., a substantial chunk of that market is “waiting to be sold to,” according to iGR founder and president Iain Gillott. Meanwhile, new government figures released last week showed that the life expectancy of Americans rose to 78 years, the longest it has ever been.
The iGR study sketched out three distinct senior segments over the age of 65: those who have cell phones already (about 50%); those who do not have cell phones but want them; and those who neither have a phone nor want one. In the second subset, which iGR estimated at about 10% of seniors, there is “an opportunity to increase the subscriber base by approximately 3.5 million subscribers and handsets in a relatively short time if the correct products and services are offered,” the firm concluded.
VZW’s senior push
Verizon Wireless recently moved to strengthen its position with seniors adding a senior-specific service plans as well as a new handset, the Verizon Wireless Coupe, which was designed to go along with the plans.
Subscribers must be age 65 or older to qualify for the America’s Choice 65 Plus plans, which come in two flavors: a single-line plan with 200 anytime minutes and 500 off-peak minutes for $30 per month, or a two-line plan with 450 shared anytime minutes and 1,000 shared off-peak minutes for $60 per month.
According to Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Brenda Raney, the carrier instituted the new plans due to customer demand. While some adult children will place seniors on their wireless family plans, she said, “There are a lot of individuals who want to pay their own wireless bills and manage their own wireless usage.”
The Coupe has three designated “in case of emergency,” or ICE buttons, larger font sizes in the menu, color-coded ports and highly visible buttons. The device is available for $20 online with a two-year service agreement, and allows texting but not downloads. Asked if Verizon Wireless had plans to introduce devices with similar, senior-friendly traits, Raney said it would be premature to say. She noted that the phone can be used with any Verizon Wireless plan, and that seniors are not limited to the Coupe if they want to sign up for the new plans.
Raney also acknowledged the diversity of people who fall under the catch-all “senior” designation.
“You’ve got people who are very tech-savvy, who are using PC cards and laptops as they take their RVs cross-country. They’re using Treos, BlackBerrys, every type of phone you can imagine. That said, there are other people who fall into their demographic who just want a simple phone . [and] people who are not wireless users at all,” Raney said.
MVNOs to the rescue
The most prominent senior-centric wireless offering is that of mobile virtual network operator GreatCall Inc. and its Jitterbug service. According to GreatCall founder and chairman Arlene Harris, the senior-centered service essentially launched with the goal of sheparding seniors into cellphone use by replicating the telephony experience familiar to them. Some of the Jitterbug tailoring included a large, comfortable handset (for $150) with a cushioned ear rest; non-icon-based menus and larger fronts; and the fact that when the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. flip-phones are opened, a dial tone emerges to let the user know that service is available, rather than asking them to decipher bars or other indicators. The device is available with a regular keypad, or with an ultra-simplified five-button design.
But, Harris said, serving this segment “it not really just adding another SKU to your store lineup, or not necessarily putting out another price plan. . It’s hard for people to enter this space, because a lot of the customers are lower-usage.”
Harris said that although Jitterbug started off voice-centric, the company is working to expand its offering. While declining to discuss specific plans, she said that the type of services important to the demographic include safety-related services, help with managing diseases, managing finances and travel; information about religion and politics; and even games that appeal to the demographic.
Services needed to serve
For his part, iGR’s Gillott said that seniors, much like the tween and child demographic, don’t want “dumb” or rudimentary phones, but do want something stylish that is designed specifically to meet their needs.
Gillott also warned against operators assuming that seniors won’t want access to data services. He said that it’s a matter of tailoring services-such as medication and doctor appointment reminders, reviewing medical conditions via a video link, and providing navigation and other location-based services.
“The carriers have got a lot of the pieces sitting around already,” Gillott said. “They’ve already got location services, they’ve got navigation services, they’ve got camera phones, they’ve got relationships with all the [original equipment manufacturers] and the ability to design a phone, if they want to. It’s just a case of taking those pieces and applying that, just as they applied that to the 10-to-12-year olds.”
