LONDON, Nov 16 (MARKET WIRE) --
BROADBAND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT 2009 -- Camiant, Inc., the leading provider
of policy control and application assurance technology, today announced
the findings of its latest study, "Rethinking Mobile Broadband Data Rate
Plans" indicating that by redesigning mobile broadband data rate plans,
operators will be able to help solve one of the industry's most pressing
concerns -- the bandwidth-value gap. The study results point to a high
level of interest by consumers in alternative rate plan structures to
today's traditional packages.
The bandwidth-value gap is the growing disconnect between bandwidth demand
and revenue growth. Estimates from Heavy Reading indicate that bandwidth
on 3G mobile networks is growing by approximately 400% annually while the
associated revenue from data services is only growing approximately 40%
per year. Camiant's study has found that mobile data consumers were more
interested in rate plans designed to control bandwidth and afford
incremental revenue add-ons than they were in traditional "Cap + Overage"
rate plans with strict usage caps with steep overage penalties.
The study was commissioned by Camiant and conducted by Heavy Reading in
September and October 2009. 263 mobile broadband dongle users throughout
Europe including UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden were polled
regarding their preferences for various forms of rate plans.
Key findings are:
Consumers have concerns with "Cap + Overage" style rate plans
-- 62% didn't know what their usage cap was
-- 76% didn't know how much bandwidth they actually used
-- 39% didn't know what happened if they went over the usage cap
-- 45% were very/moderately concerned about exceeding the cap
When presented with four alternative rate plan structures and asked
their preference -- "Cap + Overage" was least preferred by consumers. A
plan that includes the same base package, charging the same effective
rate for overage with the understanding that service speed would be low
for any data over the monthly limit during peak hours -- generated more
than twice the interest level:
-- EUR 20 for 3GB + EUR 20/GB overage 16%
-- EUR 20 for 3GB + EUR 7/GB overage + peak bandwidth limit 35%
-- EUR 20 for unlimited low speed service 23%
-- EUR 50 for unlimited high speed service 26%
Many users were willing to pay additional fees beyond the base
subscription for potential "extras":
-- 43% of all respondents would pay EUR 5 in addition to base plan for
unlimited usage of one specific application. Of those that were
interested, 90% said it was important that they select the application.
-- 45% of respondents interested in a service that might provide lower
speed at some point said they would be willing to pay between EUR 1 and EUR
3 for on-demand higher speed "for a short duration (e.g. 1 hour)."
Other findings included results regarding casual use, application
limitations and usage controls.
"The prospect that network growth could consume revenue faster than
operators can generate it marks a new phase in the industry's maturation,"
said Randy Fuller, vice president of Business Development at Camiant, Inc.
"Our study clearly indicates that there are definite opportunities for
mobile operators to use rate plan structures to help solve this problem
and that users are receptive to creative alternatives."
By rethinking mobile data rate plans, operators can enable users to make
value decisions based more in line with operator cost as well as directly
address peak bandwidth utilization and the true cost of marginal network
growth. Also, since operators can offer variable and ARPU-expanding
options in search of market share growth rather than simple discounts, the
potential occurrence of a profit-destroying price war should be reduced.
"It's becoming very clear that network operators need to offer a wider
range of package options to users of mobile data users," said Graham
Finnie, Chief Analyst at Heavy Reading. "This study provides strong
evidence that end users are willing to consider a range of alternatives to
conventional usage management schemes."
Operators around the world are already using Camiant's Multimedia Policy
Engine (MPE) today to provide special bandwidth and rating offers to more
finely target their market segments, and to dynamically manage network
congestion in order to maximize network utilization.
Camiant's study will be unveiled on Monday, November 16 at Broadband
Traffic Management 2009, where Camiant's Randy Fuller and Pal Zarandy,
Senior Partner, Rewheel lead a highly interactive Pre-Conference Workshop
'Comparing Notes on Bandwidth Management Techniques in Fixed and Mobile
Networks Around the World' along with Mohammed Sheikh, Director of
Strategy, Zain Africa and Janos Jenei, Program Manager, Vodafone Hungary.
To schedule a media or analyst interview with Camiant or to receive the
complete study, "Rethinking Mobile Broadband Data Rate Plans" please
contact ilona@abelsongroup.com. To learn more, please register for the
November 17 Light Reading's Virtual Tradeshow on Policy Control and Deep
Packet Inspection.
About Camiant
Camiant's policy control solution, compliant with 3GPP*'s Release 8
Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) specifications, empowers
broadband service providers to dynamically manage their networks, ensuring
efficient and high quality delivery of broadband data services, IP based
communication services and rich media content. Network operators worldwide
leverage Camiant's policy expertise to deliver high value applications and
services while containing capital and operational costs associated with
the growing demands of a broadband infrastructure.
Camiant's market-leading Multimedia Policy Engine is the policy control
solution of choice for over 25 fixed and mobile broadband operators
worldwide including Comcast, Cox Communications, Kabel Deutschland,
Sprint, and Vodafone Hungary. For more information, visit
http://www.camiant.com or follow the company on
http://twitter.com/camiant.
* 3GPP is a registered trademark of European Telecommunications Standards
Institute.
DOCSIS(R) is a trademark of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc.
Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.
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