FYI | Jun 15 2006
By Terry Hughes
Several years ago you would have been lucky to be able to check your email on your mobile phone handset, and if you could it would have cost an arm and a leg and taken longer than it would have taken you to find the nearest internet café.
However, nowadays, with increasing voice service competition from the likes of VOIP (voice over internet) and the increased speeds provided by 2.5 and 3G data services, telcos are increasingly focusing on the opportunities to lift flagging revenues by charging for content direct to your handset.
Even the most basic new phones allow internet access and email, as well as to content navigation platforms such as Optus Zoo, I-Mode, Planet Three and Vodafone Live!
Most operators provide a free basic service and they charge for extras such as live stock market prices, news alerts, live TV, downloadable ring tones and music, among a wide variety of other services.
Opportunities such as placing adverts in recorded or Live TV services are clear positives, but as Citigroup points out, issues such as who pays for this and how the revenue is shared are still to be decided.
Of the three Australia-listed telcos, the priority lists in terms of wireless are very different.
Three’s (HTA) focus is set to remain primarily on content, Citigroup says, with the company viewing itself as a new media player rather than a traditional telco.
As today’s profit warning highlights, ad and m-commerce revenue has clearly not materialised as expected, but it is something to watch for in the near future.
As for Telstra (TLS), its focus is on the development of its 850Mhz network, as well as wireless broadband for laptops, which it says is "the biggest prize card."
With laptop prices tumbling, Telstra is apparently in discussions with three laptop manufacturers about incorporating 850Mhz/HSPDA chipsets into their products.
Optus (SGT) on the other hand, is not yet convinced that migration to 3G has reached a tipping point, the analysts say, and it doesn’t expect this tipping point to come until the end of this year.
While the company intends to continue to roll-out its Wireless Connect laptop service, which works on 3G as well as 2G networks and on fixed to mobile convergence, for the rest of the year it will be focusing on the look and usability of its MyZoo customisable content offering.
According to HWW Limited, the content market in Australia is currently worth around $200-300m, excluding SMS.
This will likely grow rapidly once issues such as data charges become more reasonable, HWW says, with "bill shock" seen as one of the main factors causing subscribers to terminate their content packages.