Mobile Broadband: Not so Plug and Play
POOLE, Apr. 28 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
- Cost of Supporting Mobile Broadband is Eroding Subscriber Profitability
Warns WDSGlobal.
- Mobile Broadband Products 200% More Expensive to Support Than Mobile
Handsets.
Mobile broadband services are more expensive to support than any other
wireless service and are endangering subscriber profitability for many mobile
network operators concludes a new study from WDSGlobal. The study found that
the cost to support mobile broadband products and services is up to 200%
greater than the cost to support traditional wireless products such as mobile
phones. This means that despite revenue uplift from increased data usage,
actual subscriber profitability often remains unchanged and sometimes even
worsens.
The area of greatest concern came from USB and PC Card modems.
These are sold to allow subscribers access to a mobile operator's 3G HSPA or
EV-DO mobile broadband services from a laptop or netbook. The average
duration of a technical support call for such products is 28 minutes. By
comparison, a technical support call for a mobile phone averages just less
than 10 minutes.
The findings come from analysis of more than half a million
'technical' support enquiries. More than 600 wireless devices were
represented in the study, which spanned a six-month period between September
2008 and February 2009. Of the bottom 20 mobile devices ranked by Average
Handle Time (the duration of a support call), 13 were USB or PC Card modems.
The problem, WDSGlobal suggests, is not always with the
technology itself but the necessity for these products to be installed
alongside third party hardware and software outside of a mobile operator's
control.
"Traditional wireless products are largely in the control of
the network operator; it's their SIM card, they sold the handset and it's
attached to their network. Mobile broadband introduces the need to manage a
wireless product on a third-party device such as a laptop. You have to
contend with hardware performance and conflicts, driver incompatibility and
buggy software. Diagnosis and fault resolution therefore becomes more
complex, negatively impacting support times. Add to this the fact that many
products have not been adequately tested prior to launch, and the result is
an expensive burden on existing support infrastructures," explains David
Ffoulkes-Jones, CEO of WDSGlobal.
The study also cites 'aggressive' connection management
software (the software bundled with the modem) as a key cause of user
frustration. During several test cases, installation software looked to make
registry edits deep within the PC's operating system. Most popular anti-virus
applications immediately blocked the installation, classifying it as a
security threat. In other cases, connection management software looked to
hijack control of all network connections, overwriting user's existing
configurations and impeding WiFi access.
The cost of handling customer care and support calls has an
immediate bearing on subscriber profitability because it forms part of the
cost of maintaining a subscriber on a network. Therefore, it's imperative for
mobile network operators to better manage the process of testing, launching
and supporting mobile broadband services concludes WDSGlobal.
"This problem is not unique; new products and services are
introduced to generate greater ARPU (average revenue per user). However, the
increased complexity of these services means that the cost to support them
often increases, impacting subscriber profitability," adds Ffoulkes-Jones.
"There are enormous opportunities for mobile broadband in 2009. However
mobile network operators must be able to deliver new products and services to
market profitably and in a way that meets their end-users' expectations for
service and quality. Many mobile broadband services are marketed as plug and
play. However, as a company that provides technical support services to the
mobile industry, we know that this isn't always the case."
A full copy of the study, including average handle times for
most major modem manufacturers, can be downloaded for free at
About the Study
WDSGlobal audited 635,971 in-bound support calls (technical,
tier 3 support calls) between September 2008 and February 2009. Only devices
that presented more than 50 support enquiries during this period were
included. In total 698 mobile products are included; averaging 911 support
enquiries per product. To protect WDSGlobal customer confidentiality, totals
for Average Handle Time have been averaged across all networks.
About WDSGlobal
WDSGlobal is dedicated to helping mobile operators, handset manufacturers
and service providers deliver more profitable products and services to
end-users. From handset validation and readiness testing to mobile device
management and end-user support, WDSGlobal offers the industry's most
complete solution for the management of end-users, devices and services.
SOURCE: WDSGlobal
Translations:
Chinese - Traditional (http://asianetnews.net/Download.asp?ID=124382)
NEWS 
