If the number of GPRS subscribers in Europe is to skyrocket, operators first need to learn a few valuable lessons from the WAP failure, according to a new report from Analysys.
More than 40 million Western Europeans (13% of all mobile phone users) will be accessing General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) by the end of 2003, according to a new report released by Analysys - assuming, that is, mobile operators move quickly to offer complete service sets, extend these to the mass market, and learn marketing lessons from the failure of WAP services.
"Mobile operators must enthuse customers about the added benefits of GPRS," says Katrina Bond, the report's co-author. "At the very least, they should review the language they use to brand and promote these services, drop references to GPRS, WAP and other technical terms, and engage their customers with something more imaginative."
The Reality of GPRS in Europe: subscribers and revenue explains that the take-up of services has been disappointingly low to date. By the end of 2001, says Analysys, 50 of Western Europe's 76 mobile operators had launched GPRS networks and around 3.3 million GPRS-enabled devices had been sold - but, significantly, less than one third of the device owners were using them to access packet-based cellular data services.
The main reason for the slow growth in GPRS, according to Analysys, is that operators have not yet developed complete service sets that effectively address the key issues of network management, device innovation, user-specific applications, value-based pricing and billing, and confident, targeted marketing.
"Although the market for GPRS-based services is now beginning to accelerate, operators must learn from the WAP experience and ensure that the branding focuses on the customer experience and not the technology," adds Bond. "This will become increasingly important as operators roll out GPRS to the mass market in an attempt to halt the ongoing decline in overall revenue per subscriber."
Although businesses have been the main target market for GPRS to date, the report argues that consumer-focused services will be critical for GPRS to reach its full potential. In particular, it stresses the need for operators to cater for prepaid customers, which account for 63% of all mobile subscribers across Western Europe and as much as 90% in countries such as Italy.
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