Is That Really $99?
Validas, a privately-held Texas company that analyzes cell phone bills, says $99 unlimited plans actively employ a price confusion tactic. In a study of Verizon Wireless and Sprint customers using $99 unlimited 
plans, Validas found the average user actually pays $131 due to taxes and unspecified fees, overage and usage charges for data and messaging, per-use charges for 411 and per-use charges for downloads.
Other findings:
- Users pay 8 cents in taxes for every dollar they spend on unlimited plans.
- Per-use charges for 411 and downloads make up 5% of the average bill.
- Not all unlimited plans include data and messaging. Eleven percent of the average unlimited plan bill consists of usage and overage charges for data and messaging. —Source: Validas
Mobile Banking Users to Exceed 150m Globally by 2011
The number of mobile phone subscribers that use their phones for mobile banking transactions will exceed 150 million globally by 2011, according to a study by Juniper Research. These figures refer to additive banking, which is focused on developed markets rather than transformational banking. The developed nations of the Far East, North America and Western Europe are forecast to account for more than 70% of the user base by 2011.
Separately, the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) recently published its Mobile Banking Overview, which analyzes banking products and services and mobile media channels. Most large U.S. banks offer a basic mobile banking solution for their customers.
Among the most common services available now are account/ security alerts and reminders; account balances, updates and history; customer service; branch or ATM location information; bill pay and fund transfers.
China’s Handset Market Expansion Continues
China’s domestic wireless phone market is set to maintain its growth in 2009, with a 7.7% increase for the year, according to iSuppli, which forecasts the domestic handset market will reach 239.1 million units in 2009, up 7.7% from 222.1 million in 2008. Foreign handset OEMs occupied 56% of China’s handset market in 2008.
Global Handset Market Share
Blame the economy. Strategy Analytics reports that global mobile phone shipments fell 10% year-over-year, to reach 295 million units in the fourth quarter of 2008 – the industry’s slowest growth rate since 2001. Three of the big five cell phone vendors –Motorola, Sony Ericsson and Nokia – recorded negative annual growth rates in the quarter.
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LTE Base Station Forecast Shows Enthusiasm for Deployment
More than 18 operators globally have announced LTE deployment plans. Verizon Wireless has announced acceleration of its LTE deployment timetable, bringing the launch forward from 2010 to 2009. Many of the others are looking at a 2011-2012 timeframe.
According to ABI Research senior analyst Nadine Manjaro, “ABI Research believes that NTT will also deploy LTE in Japan in 2009. We forecast that by 2013, operators will spend over $8.6 billion on LTE base station infrastructure alone. For operators that have already deployed 3G networks, LTE will be a key CAPEX driver over the next five years.”
