By Hisham Isa, Vice President (Marketing)
Here's a math problem for all the telecom experts out there:
If John pays $25 for 10MB per month, how long can he spend talking on his phone or accessing the mobile internet?
Answer: Beats me.
And that's the problem - pricing models for mobile phone usage don't make sense to most people.
Indian and Thai operators have got it right, though. They're now packaging their products in a unit that consumers can understand - time. This allows users to make informed purchasing decisions and manage their usage better. Selling contracts in terms of minutes or hours is also a big step forward in user education.
Of course, another way around the KB/MB/GB pricing problem is to offer unlimited surfing packages.
India is now leading the way here too. For just five rupees a day (US$0.13) -- the cost of a banana -- Indian consumers can enjoy unlimited surfing. Pre-paid card users get an even better deal with AirTel - unlimited usage for just 2 rupees per day. Indian carriers have dramatically cut access fees to capture market share, enlarge the user base and attract high volumes.
Telecom operators in most other countries though punish low-to-moderate usage consumers. For a 10MB package, Bouygues (France) charges more than $36, AT&T (USA) - $25, O2 (UK) - about $20 and SingTel (Singapore) - $18.
Orange (UK) is heading in the right direction, though. They have priced their product to encourage surfing from the start and will do well to cap their prices close to current surfer friendly prices.
Check out our recent survey of telecom pricing across eight countries and 25 carriers.
February 04, 2008
January 23, 2008
myGamma Nominated for Global Mobile Award - Best Mobile Social Networking
"It's particularly gratifying to be nominated alongside partners with whom we work closely on a regular basis ; like Cellufun, Glu, myWaves and Tiny Pictures. " says KF Lai CEO of BuzzCity.
"Entries to the Global Mobile Awards this year demonstrate the social, business and economic impact that mobile communications is having in every corner of the world,” says Rob Conway, GSMA CEO. “I congratulate the nominees on their achievement thus far, being nominated by our independent judging panel is no mean feat given the calibre of experts it comprises, and the quality and quantity of submissions received."
ABOUT GSMA
The GSM Association (GSMA) is the operator-led trade association for the global mobile industry. Its membership includes more than 700 network operators that provide mobile communications services across more than 218 countries of the world. The GSMA's members serve more than 2.5 billion users - or approximately 83% of the world's digital mobile market.
The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The Association's members serve more than two billion customers - 82% of the world's mobile phone users.
January 08, 2008
2008 - YEAR OF THE MOBILE INTERNET
By Lai Kok Fung, CEO, BuzzCity
Happy New Year!! I'm expecting 2008 to be a fantastic year for the mobile internet and for BuzzCity as well. Here's why:
1. More Content
It's becoming a lot easier to create a presence on the mobile internet. Just like Blogger, TypePad and others have made it easy for businesses and consumers alike to create a presence on the web, companies like Safira Solutions and Wapple are now offering web-based tools for creating dynamic interactive mobile websites. Other companies like Incentivated are specialising in mobile marketing -- helping businesses develop and manage mobile ad campaigns.
In one high-profile example, Wapple worked with MTV to create mobile sites promoting programmes like Beavis & Butthead and the MTV Europe Music Awards.
More mobile web-building tools will be launched this year, some as early as next month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
2. Mobile Content Goes Mainstream
Content may be king, but the best content isn't worth much if no one knows about it. Over the past year, media companies like BBC, CNBC and CNN have launched mobile platforms that enable consumers to access the latest news from their phones. But these mobile sites were taking a backseat to the wired internet. Network anchors, radio DJs and other media personalities began routinely inviting viewers to click onto a programme's website for more information, but how many times did you hear a network anchor say, "check out our WAP site for details"? In 2008, major media companies are starting to promote mobile content in the same breath as their websites.
3. Easier Access to Mobile Content - The Fall of the "Walled Garden"
Telecom carriers have tried hard to keep consumers on their own carrier portals, just as AOL (America Online) made it difficult for its clients to access the World Wide Web. But AOL's walls fell and now so too are the carrier portals'. The biggest and most recent example of this is Verizon, which announced in December that it will open its wireless network to "any device and any application".
Why did Verizon -- which had been one of the biggest defenders of restrictive carrier portals -- change its mind? It's simple -- competition -- or the fear of more competition. Specifically, Google wants to be able to bid for a wireless spectrum in the US and if it gets the go-ahead, the company will offer cheap or free data access, including voice calls, in exchange for ads. Verizon is hoping to head this off and also send a message to US regulators that there' s no need to further open the US wireless spectrum.
4. Lower (and More Predictable) Prices
One of the biggest drags on mobile surfing has been price - not just price levels, but also the unpredictability of monthly charges. When carriers bill based on every MB used, it's hard for consumers to know how much they've spent. But now the move towards flat rate pricing is gaining momentum.
Take the example of the iPhone in the UK. O2 reports that some 60 percent of iPhone users are sending and receiving 25MB or more of data each month. Among O2's other consumers, less than two percent use this much data. Yes, the iPhone has a unique user-friendly interface. But O2 also provides iPhone users with a flat-rate pricing plan, which means they don't face any unpleasant surprises at the end of the month.
Meanwhile in Asia, eleven carriers -- including AirTel (India), SK Telecom (Korea), SingTel (Singapore) and Telkomsel (Indonesia) -- are collaborating to offer fixed rate roaming plans -- US$30 for 15 MB and US$60 for 40MB.
Lower pricing, predictable bills, more and better content are leading consumers to spend more time surfing the mobile internet -- which in turn is increasing the appetite of businesses who want to reach out to these mobile consumers.
MOBILE ADVERTISING - From 2007 to 2008
In January 2007, BuzzCity was serving approximately 50 million mobile ads for a handful of clients each month. One year later, we have several hundred advertising clients and the number of monthly ads served has risen 20-fold to one billion ads.
To service these advertisers - and content publishers - better, BuzzCity is
* Introducing more sophisticated ad targeting, based on carriers, demographics, phone models and more. (See Hisham's discussion of this in November).
* Streamlining and automating purchase orders. Publishers can use online tools to open their sites to ads and accept quotations. Similarly, advertisers can create campaigns and top up credits online. Of course, our customer service agents are still ready to assist clients who need additional support. We've been rolling out the online tools over the past several months and we're continually improving the process. The feedback so far from our clients has been great.
* Scaling up to handle the increase in traffic.
* Launching a new website, with clearer instructions for advertisers, merchants and publishers.
* Providing more data, analysis and tools so our clients can get the best results possible for every ad placed and dollar spent.
Finally, an overview of 2008 wouldn't be complete without at least one prediction, so I'll share our advertising projection with you -- by the end of this year, BuzzCity will be serving three to five billion ads every month.
I hope 2008 is as prosperous a year for you as I think it will be for the mobile industry.
It's becoming a lot easier to create a presence on the mobile internet. Just like Blogger, TypePad and others have made it easy for businesses and consumers alike to create a presence on the web, companies like Safira Solutions and Wapple are now offering web-based tools for creating dynamic interactive mobile websites. Other companies like Incentivated are specialising in mobile marketing -- helping businesses develop and manage mobile ad campaigns.
In one high-profile example, Wapple worked with MTV to create mobile sites promoting programmes like Beavis & Butthead and the MTV Europe Music Awards.
More mobile web-building tools will be launched this year, some as early as next month at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Content may be king, but the best content isn't worth much if no one knows about it. Over the past year, media companies like BBC, CNBC and CNN have launched mobile platforms that enable consumers to access the latest news from their phones. But these mobile sites were taking a backseat to the wired internet. Network anchors, radio DJs and other media personalities began routinely inviting viewers to click onto a programme's website for more information, but how many times did you hear a network anchor say, "check out our WAP site for details"? In 2008, major media companies are starting to promote mobile content in the same breath as their websites.
3. Easier Access to Mobile Content - The Fall of the "Walled Garden"
Telecom carriers have tried hard to keep consumers on their own carrier portals, just as AOL (America Online) made it difficult for its clients to access the World Wide Web. But AOL's walls fell and now so too are the carrier portals'. The biggest and most recent example of this is Verizon, which announced in December that it will open its wireless network to "any device and any application".
Why did Verizon -- which had been one of the biggest defenders of restrictive carrier portals -- change its mind? It's simple -- competition -- or the fear of more competition. Specifically, Google wants to be able to bid for a wireless spectrum in the US and if it gets the go-ahead, the company will offer cheap or free data access, including voice calls, in exchange for ads. Verizon is hoping to head this off and also send a message to US regulators that there' s no need to further open the US wireless spectrum.
4. Lower (and More Predictable) Prices
One of the biggest drags on mobile surfing has been price - not just price levels, but also the unpredictability of monthly charges. When carriers bill based on every MB used, it's hard for consumers to know how much they've spent. But now the move towards flat rate pricing is gaining momentum.
Take the example of the iPhone in the UK. O2 reports that some 60 percent of iPhone users are sending and receiving 25MB or more of data each month. Among O2's other consumers, less than two percent use this much data. Yes, the iPhone has a unique user-friendly interface. But O2 also provides iPhone users with a flat-rate pricing plan, which means they don't face any unpleasant surprises at the end of the month.
Meanwhile in Asia, eleven carriers -- including AirTel (India), SK Telecom (Korea), SingTel (Singapore) and Telkomsel (Indonesia) -- are collaborating to offer fixed rate roaming plans -- US$30 for 15 MB and US$60 for 40MB.
Lower pricing, predictable bills, more and better content are leading consumers to spend more time surfing the mobile internet -- which in turn is increasing the appetite of businesses who want to reach out to these mobile consumers.
MOBILE ADVERTISING - From 2007 to 2008
In January 2007, BuzzCity was serving approximately 50 million mobile ads for a handful of clients each month. One year later, we have several hundred advertising clients and the number of monthly ads served has risen 20-fold to one billion ads.
To service these advertisers - and content publishers - better, BuzzCity is
* Introducing more sophisticated ad targeting, based on carriers, demographics, phone models and more. (See Hisham's discussion of this in November).
* Scaling up to handle the increase in traffic.
* Launching a new website, with clearer instructions for advertisers, merchants and publishers.
* Providing more data, analysis and tools so our clients can get the best results possible for every ad placed and dollar spent.
Finally, an overview of 2008 wouldn't be complete without at least one prediction, so I'll share our advertising projection with you -- by the end of this year, BuzzCity will be serving three to five billion ads every month.
I hope 2008 is as prosperous a year for you as I think it will be for the mobile industry.
Labels:
Lai Kok Fung
December 07, 2007
BUILDING MOBILE COMMUNITIES
By Lai Kok Fung, CEO, BuzzCity
At BuzzCity, we’ve been doing our homework – conducting a systematic survey of myGamma’s users across multiple countries, studying user profiles, interacting with our members on a one-to-one basis, consulting with university academics who research media consumption habits.
And now we’re putting our findings into action. We’re in the final stages of designing myGamma 2.0. Watch for the launch in February.
Let me share with you the thought process that has brought us to this stage.
Mobile Social Networking – Who does it?
When BuzzCity first entered the world of mobile social networking, we figured – like most people – that our users would be well-heeled professionals and trendy youth from affluent societies. These are the consumers who buy the latest phones and gadgets, the people that marketers want to reach, right?
We could not have been more wrong.
Regular readers of this blog know that myGamma’s members are largely individuals who do not have regular access to PCs, people like Liton (a 27 year old airport worker in Bangladesh), Alanleic (a crossing-keeper in the UK) and Sandy (an overseas Filipina caregiver in Israel), all of whom have been featured in previous columns.
Liton, Alanleic and Sandy – like most myGamma users – are not rich. They’re in the lower to middle income groups, what industry observers and academics are now calling the “bottom of the pyramid”. Emerging markets account for more than half the world’s total telecom connections, and according to Gartner, this will rise to 69 percent by 2010. The GSM Association believes that the next billion subscribers will come from the bottom of the pyramid.
Most myGamma members are also over the age of 20. Sixty-five percent are in their twenties. Just ten percent are teenagers. They come from emerging markets or work in blue-collar jobs in industrialised countries. In October, the countries with the highest myGamma usage were India, Indonesia and South Africa. MyGamma now has two million users from 60 countries. Another two countries come online every month.
Why enter a mobile community? We organised a session of BuzzCity-NUS Digital Media Forum a few weeks ago with presentation by Dr. Rohan Samarajiva, who leads a regional ICT policy group called LIRNEasia. His group had a done a study across five Asian nations – India, Pakistan, The Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand – and asked people the main reason why they use a mobile phone.
The pace and style of life in The Philippines is vastly different from Sri Lanka; India and Thailand have little in common other than a taste for spicy foods. Yet across these five countries, the number one reason why people use a mobile phone is the same: to stay connected with friends and family. “Staying connected” ranks consistently ahead of doing business or delivering messages.
myGamma's users express similar sentiments. People join our mobile communities to connect and share experiences with new friends. Like other communities – both real and virtual – myGamma provides members with a sense of belonging, acceptance and appreciation. Features like testimonials, the Hall of Fame and virtual marriage enhance these feelings.
Dignity and Choice
Why do some ventures that target the lower middle class fail? Often it’s because the items for sale are too cheap or the project appears like charity. Nobody wants to be treated like a charity-case. The poor want dignity. They want to move up the social and economic ladder.
Muhammad Yunus (“Banker to the Poor”) and Krishna Rao Prahalad ( “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” ) have written extensively about how the lower income groups should not be treated as victims but instead should be seen as creative entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers.
To many at the bottom of the pyramid, the mobile internet is a great equaliser. It’s proof that they are moving up the social ladder. myGamma is empowering and improving people’s lives.
Mobile Networking 2.0
The next generation myGamma platform has new communities – like sports, health and entertainment – that enable and encourage our users to better interact with each other. BuzzCity editors will showcase a different community each month and the featured topics will resonate with our members’ interests and lifestyles.
The tools are already there, but in myGamma 2.0 each new community will have its own blogs, groups and original content. By visiting these new communities, myGamma’s users will meet people with similar interests and connect with like-minded individuals.
myGamma 2.0 is a place to make and connect with friends, an environment where you can share day-to-day experiences at work, at home and at play.
We’re also opening up the gates. We’ve decided to eliminate subscription fees and day/week pass charges. Membership is going to be free. Users will still purchase Gamma dollars if they want to buy virtual items, vote for each other or download premium content provided by our partners. But we expect the bulk of myGamma’s revenue to come from advertising.
By delivering value to consumers – providing our users with a sense of community and belonging as well as access to information that they can use to improve their lives – myGamma’s population will continue to grow, which in turn enables us to provide value to advertisers. Welcome to myGamma 2.0, where the mobile-centric internet meets the needs of the “unwired”.
At BuzzCity, we’ve been doing our homework – conducting a systematic survey of myGamma’s users across multiple countries, studying user profiles, interacting with our members on a one-to-one basis, consulting with university academics who research media consumption habits.
And now we’re putting our findings into action. We’re in the final stages of designing myGamma 2.0. Watch for the launch in February.
Let me share with you the thought process that has brought us to this stage.
Mobile Social Networking – Who does it?
When BuzzCity first entered the world of mobile social networking, we figured – like most people – that our users would be well-heeled professionals and trendy youth from affluent societies. These are the consumers who buy the latest phones and gadgets, the people that marketers want to reach, right?
We could not have been more wrong.
Regular readers of this blog know that myGamma’s members are largely individuals who do not have regular access to PCs, people like Liton (a 27 year old airport worker in Bangladesh), Alanleic (a crossing-keeper in the UK) and Sandy (an overseas Filipina caregiver in Israel), all of whom have been featured in previous columns.
Liton, Alanleic and Sandy – like most myGamma users – are not rich. They’re in the lower to middle income groups, what industry observers and academics are now calling the “bottom of the pyramid”. Emerging markets account for more than half the world’s total telecom connections, and according to Gartner, this will rise to 69 percent by 2010. The GSM Association believes that the next billion subscribers will come from the bottom of the pyramid.
Why enter a mobile community? We organised a session of BuzzCity-NUS Digital Media Forum a few weeks ago with presentation by Dr. Rohan Samarajiva, who leads a regional ICT policy group called LIRNEasia. His group had a done a study across five Asian nations – India, Pakistan, The Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand – and asked people the main reason why they use a mobile phone.
The pace and style of life in The Philippines is vastly different from Sri Lanka; India and Thailand have little in common other than a taste for spicy foods. Yet across these five countries, the number one reason why people use a mobile phone is the same: to stay connected with friends and family. “Staying connected” ranks consistently ahead of doing business or delivering messages.
myGamma's users express similar sentiments. People join our mobile communities to connect and share experiences with new friends. Like other communities – both real and virtual – myGamma provides members with a sense of belonging, acceptance and appreciation. Features like testimonials, the Hall of Fame and virtual marriage enhance these feelings.
Dignity and Choice
Why do some ventures that target the lower middle class fail? Often it’s because the items for sale are too cheap or the project appears like charity. Nobody wants to be treated like a charity-case. The poor want dignity. They want to move up the social and economic ladder.
Muhammad Yunus (“Banker to the Poor”) and Krishna Rao Prahalad ( “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” ) have written extensively about how the lower income groups should not be treated as victims but instead should be seen as creative entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers.
To many at the bottom of the pyramid, the mobile internet is a great equaliser. It’s proof that they are moving up the social ladder. myGamma is empowering and improving people’s lives.
Mobile Networking 2.0
The next generation myGamma platform has new communities – like sports, health and entertainment – that enable and encourage our users to better interact with each other. BuzzCity editors will showcase a different community each month and the featured topics will resonate with our members’ interests and lifestyles.
The tools are already there, but in myGamma 2.0 each new community will have its own blogs, groups and original content. By visiting these new communities, myGamma’s users will meet people with similar interests and connect with like-minded individuals.
myGamma 2.0 is a place to make and connect with friends, an environment where you can share day-to-day experiences at work, at home and at play.
We’re also opening up the gates. We’ve decided to eliminate subscription fees and day/week pass charges. Membership is going to be free. Users will still purchase Gamma dollars if they want to buy virtual items, vote for each other or download premium content provided by our partners. But we expect the bulk of myGamma’s revenue to come from advertising.
By delivering value to consumers – providing our users with a sense of community and belonging as well as access to information that they can use to improve their lives – myGamma’s population will continue to grow, which in turn enables us to provide value to advertisers. Welcome to myGamma 2.0, where the mobile-centric internet meets the needs of the “unwired”.
Labels:
Lai Kok Fung
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