Category Archives: Consulting

“More for less” tips the balance

Mobile data usage and revenue for 35 countries

This is tefficient’s 17th public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data.

Mobile data usage is still growing in all of the countries covered by this analysis. The growth rates are very different and so are the usage levels. Finland tops the charts in usage – but not in growth.

Data-only is a clear driver of usage. Austria emerges as the fixed-line substitution leader. In Korea, the share of data traffic on 4G has now effectively reached 100%. In mature markets, the 4G upside on data usage is mainly a thing of the past. Continue reading “More for less” tips the balance

Carriers moved away from subsidizing handsets. Now they subsidize customers’ video consumption.

Mobile operators are abandoning the previously predominant model to subsidize handsets and to, in return, lock customers in on long contracts with elevated service fees.

The death of the model should be mourned by no one since end-users have been given choice and flexibility through a multitude of non-binding, cheaper and flexible service options with generous – or even unlimited – allowances. Operators have seen customer churn decrease as end-users hold onto their handsets longer. As a direct consequence, EBITDA margins have increased.

Investors might still complain about the revenue growth, but measured as percentage of revenue mobile carriers currently produce the best margins on record. Continue reading Carriers moved away from subsidizing handsets. Now they subsidize customers’ video consumption.

Bundles and churn: Nexterday North 2017

Also the 2017 version of Nexterday North was a true ‘anti-seminar’ with futuristic and insightful speakers in a great, sometimes quirky, mix. May Comptel‘s spirit thrive also now that it is a part of Nokia.

This year, tefficient held a keynote presentation focused on bundles and the effect on churn.

Continue reading Bundles and churn: Nexterday North 2017

Apple Watch 3 Cellular, how much data does it eat?

It’s here. I’ve been salivating after the latest Apple Watch 3, with all the bells and whistles. Slick, beautiful, cool and I’ll only need a watch to make/receive calls and text, stream music, etc. This should be easy, I’ll just pre-order the GPS & Cellular version. I’m a UK consumer and have a passion for all things mobile & telco, both home and abroad. Therefore, I decided to find out how Apple Watch 3 offers compare in the UK, USA and Australia. Continue reading Apple Watch 3 Cellular, how much data does it eat?

The luxury of the commodity gigabyte

Data usage, traffic and revenue per GB for 111 operators

This is tefficient’s 16th public analysis on the development and drivers of mobile data.

It is an add-on to our just-published analysis “More for more” isn’t happening which compares 33 countries.

In this analysis we compare operators. We have ranked 111 of them based on: Continue reading The luxury of the commodity gigabyte

“More for more” isn’t happening

Cherish “more for the same” – it’s the best you get

For the 15th time: tefficient’s data usage and revenue analysis

The usage continued to grow in 2016, but the spread in growth rates has never been greater between markets. Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and, surprisingly, USA grew the slowest whereas Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Austria and France grew the fastest. Continue reading “More for more” isn’t happening

2016 was a great year for mobile customer loyalty

The fourth quarter has traditionally been the most difficult for mobile operators in mature markets. Many customers join, but many others are leaving and operators typically dilute margins by having more equipment (and more expensive equipment) in the sales mix compared to the rest of the year.

Subscriber acquisition and retention costs are generally higher in the fourth quarter when the financial discipline of mobile operators is put aside to promote equipment at prices well below the operator purchase costs – as long as existing customers promise to stay or new customers are ready to commit to plans with high monthly fees.

But even though there are temporary setbacks, our industry is gradually moving in a more rational direction: Equipment subsidisation is less frequent today and many operators have stopped binding customers to long, inflexible, contracts. Mobile operators have developed their service offerings and are today capable of explaining why customers should stay – without having to throw in a new iPhone as part of the package. Continue reading 2016 was a great year for mobile customer loyalty

Nonstop Retention benchmark and European quad-play best practice

Analysis and Go-to-market, 2016

Nonstop Retention® benchmark: Calculating and comparing the Nonstop Retention Index for mobile brands (MNOs, sub-brands and main MVNOs) in one specific major European market. Identifying best practice and showing current trends. Recommending propositions and actions to improve customer loyalty per brand.

European quad-play best practice: Fact-based before/after analysis of how the introduction of quad-play propositions changed key business Continue reading Nonstop Retention benchmark and European quad-play best practice

Unlimited pushes data usage to new heights

For the 14th time: tefficient’s famous data usage analysis – now covering 32 countries

The mobile data usage continued to grow in 2016, but the growth rates varied much. Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Hungary grew the slowest whereas Lithuania, Turkey, Austria and Korea grew the fastest.

In Lithuania, Austria and Korea, premium unlimited plans were introduced and the effect on data usage has been similar to what our previous analyses identified for Finland and Latvia.

The data usage top list is dominated by operators that offer unlimited: The world leader had an average usage per SIM of 9.9 GB per month. Continue reading Unlimited pushes data usage to new heights

The battle of 2017: Content ownership vs. unlimited mobile data

welcome-to-nexterday-2

Nexterday North 2016 was an as fantastic experience as the first, inaugural, anti-seminar in 2015. Once again, Comptel managed to bring 550 thinkers and doers from around the world to Helsinki and create great buzz around it.

This year, tefficient wasn’t helping Comptel with a keynote presentation. Instead we prepared and hosted two square table sessions for registered operator representatives only. Continue reading The battle of 2017: Content ownership vs. unlimited mobile data