NEW YORK—Service providers are scrambling to take advantage of the lucrative small and medium-sized business segment in the United States, which is on track to spend more than $18 billion on wireless services this year, according to a new study from AMI-Partners.
The nation’s largest carriers are bolstering their marketing campaigns directed at SMB customers—defined as companies with less than 1,000 employees—with business-specific rate plans and contract options that appeal to the category. In addition, some carriers have established customer care centers dedicated to SMB clients.
“Coverage, customer care, reliability, predictable voice bundles, flexible pricing plans, unlimited mobile to mobile minutes are all important aspects of package plans that appeal to SMB customers,” said Janet Stone, research director at AMI-Partners. “In addition, usage requirements vary from industry to industry and business to business. As a result, there are opportunities for service providers on the value-added services front by extending communications and productivity functions to SMB employees across many industries that meet specific requirements.”
In addition, the study said wireless data applications will increasingly drive SMB wireless spending going forward.
