Arthur D. Little/WirelessNOW survey predicts pricing will determine winner of PCS/cellular battles.CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 1996--According to a recent survey of the wireless communications wireless communications System using radio-frequency, infrared, microwave, or other types of electromagnetic or acoustic waves in place of wires, cables, or fibre optics to transmit signals or data. industry, conducted by Arthur D. Little Arthur D. Little, Inc. is the world's first management consulting firm. Founded in 1886 by Arthur Dehon Little, an MIT chemist who discovered acetate, and co-worker Roger Griffin, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Arthur D. Little pioneered the concept of contracted technology research. , the international consulting firm Noun 1. consulting firm - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting company business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a , and WirelessNOW, senior executives were divided on how Personal Communications Service The survey revealed that the overriding strategy for both PCS and cellular providers will revolve around Verb 1. revolve around - center upon; "Her entire attention centered on her children"; "Our day revolved around our work" center, center on, concentrate on, focus on, revolve about price. Nearly half of the survey's respondents believe PCS licensees should pursue the mass market in the areas where today's cellular providers do not currently compete effectively. In order to profitably implement this type of marketing strategy, PCS operators will need to build inexpensive networks, taking advantage of digital technology. "To offer full service, including roaming, PCS operators will need to establish inter-carrier agreements with cellular operators," explains Stu Lipoff, Vice President and Director of the Communications and Information Technology Practice at Arthur D. Little (ADL). "However, these agreements are a double-edged sword for cellular providers. On one hand, they offer additional revenue, on the other, cellular is helping its competitor steal market share and build its customer base." Another 12 percent of the survey's respondents thought PCS should directly compete with cellular for the same customers, but at a lower price. This strategy might also attract a mass market. Another 13 percent believed that PCS should position itself as a replacement of or substitution for residential wireless service. "We were surprised more respondents did not select to directly compete with cellular at the same price, using technology to lower marketing, provisioning, and operating costs operating costs npl → gastos mpl operacionales ," says Lipoff. Over one-third of the survey participants indicated that the cellular community will protect its customer base by accelerating investments in digital technology in response to PCS competition. This tactic will drive down the cost of delivering wireless service and should enable a new set of features, such as extended battery life and short messaging See SMS. . Digital technology will allow customers to use cellular PCS as a replacement for their home phone. One-third of the respondents believe cellular providers will reposition themselves to offer services to the mass market, while 20 percent think cellular providers will restructure and redesign their business processes with possible strategic investments in productivity enhancing information technology to reduce cost of operations. An alternate potential strategy is for cellular providers to focus on the premium business customers. Price does not have to be sacrificed. The cellular community can leverage their strong roaming capabilities and provide value-added services A value-added service (VAS) is a telecommunications industry term for non-core services or, in short, all services beyond standard voice calls and fax transmissions. to retain high usage customers. Respondents clearly indicated a list of features - including roaming support, indoor coverage, high speed hand-off and extended battery life - which they felt PCS providers must offer to be competitive. Sixty-four percent thought roaming support was vital to the success of PCS offerings. However, this will be a challenge due to high costs of establishing networks while trying to provide low-priced service. Extensive indoor coverage and high speed hand-off scored as important to over 70 percent of respondents. Over 60 percent indicated that handsets under $175 were a very important feature. The last feature of great importance was extended battery life. -0- About Arthur D. Little Established in 1886, Arthur D. Little Inc. is one of the world's premier consulting firms, with offices and laboratories around the globe. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Arthur D. Little provides consulting in three areas: technology and product development, management consulting Noun 1. management consulting - a service industry that provides advice to those in charge of running a business service industry - an industry that provides services rather than tangible objects , and environmental, health and safety consulting. The Communications and Information Technology practice at Arthur D. Little provides technology based consulting services Noun 1. consulting service - service provided by a professional advisor (e.g., a lawyer or doctor or CPA etc.) service - work done by one person or group that benefits another; "budget separately for goods and services" to help clients leverage technology for competitive advantage. For more information, visit the Arthur D. Little home page http://www.adlittle.com About WirelessNOW WirelessNOW is a service of CommunicationsNOW. It provides financial and management announcements, technical and marketing discussions, and a comprehensive library of documents and federal contract opportunities to wireless industry professionals. Several hundred senior managers representing wireless service providers, equipment manufacturers, and software companies subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; the service. For more information, visit the CommunicationsNOW home page http://www.commnow.com. -0-
THE SURVEY RESULTS ASSIGNED A VALUE TO
EACH OF THE FEATURES
The scale ranges from 0.00 to 5.00 0.00=Not Valuable 1.00=Marginal 2.00=Valuable 3.00=Important 4.00=Very Important 5.00=Vital The following are mean scores: Extensive Indoor Coverage 3.96 High Speed Handoff 3.87 Handset - less than $175 3.81 Extended Battery Life 3.70 Roaming Support 3.62 Dual Cordless/Cellular 3.33 Cellular-like Coverage 3.28 Mobility Management 3.19 Screened Calling 3.07 Calling Party Pays 2.71 Short Digital Messaging 2.58 Packet Data Pricing 2.41 Follow Me Service 1.93 Advanced Information Services 1.76 CONTACT: Arthur D. Little, Cambridge Randi Alterman, 617/498-5119 or GCI GCI Ground Circuit Interrupter GCI Getty Conservation Institute GCI Global Commerce Initiative GCI Green Cross International (non-profit international environmental organization) GCI Growth Competitiveness Index GCI Great Cities Institute Group, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Kirsten Bollen, 212/546-1646 |
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