In search of [network] excellence: a 12-country survey finds Asia cellular users are more demanding than ever of their mobile operator, with more than 25% thinking about changing networks for more competitive prices and better coverage

Telecom Asia, June, 2004 by Joseph Waring

Only 5% of respondents listed billing problems as a reason to change. India was the only market with a double-digit figure--12% compared to just 1% in Korea.

Among all respondents surveyed the key criteria for selecting a network in the future are superior reception (18%), more competitive charges (15%) and superior coverage (10%). These results are consistent with last year. However, mobile users appear to be more satisfied with their coverage, with the number of respondents citing superior coverage as a key factor cut in half from 2003.

Japanese were the most satisfied with their network quality, with just 3% indicating superior coverage and 5% listing superior reception as factors to selecting a new network. At the opposite end of the spectrum were Thailand, Vietnam and India, where more than 50% of those polled listed coverage and reception as key selection criteria.

Just 1% listed high-speed data/next-generation network as a reason for selecting a network. The low rate was consistent across all 12 markets. Chan noted, "this is evidence that Asia consumers do not buy for technology but the actual benefits such as lower price and the mobility in everywhere."

While there were no differences between men and women or age groups, pre-paid users were more than twice as likely to list superior coverage than postpaid users--14% vs 6%--which is consistent with the 17% who cited poor coverage as a reason for changing networks. The results also showed post-paid mobile owners are interesting in finding a better deal, with 63% indicating more competitive charges as a key selection criteria compared to just 36% for pre-paid.

More dowloads

Among the specific applications used by mobile phone owners, SMS still rules with 78% of those polled using the service. SMS usage was consistently high in most markets, except in Hong Kong where it was almost half the average. China and Thailand both were well below the average at 55% and 52% respectively. At the top, not surprising, were the Philippines (99%), Singapore (92%) and Japan (92%).

Ringtone downloads were a far second with 50% of respondents using them. Usage of these downloads ranged between 62% and 34% in all markets, with the exception of Australia (26%) and New Zealand (27%).

Across almost all 20 application categories there was a slight increase in usage of 1 to 2 percentage points compared to last year. The one area to experience a major shift was downloading/listening to music, with usage jumping to 12% from 3% in 2003. Other significant gains were in online banking/stock trading (7% from 4%), sending emails with attachments (8% from 3%) and sending music and video clips (5% from 1%). The only application to experience a decline was downloading logos/characters, which dropped to 29% from 35% last year.

Consistent gains were seen in usage of many advanced applications, such as MMS (photos, audio and video) and location-based services, across most countries, not just Japan and Korea.

With more multimedia-enabled handsets penetrating the Asian market, the popularity of MMS and MP3 music for mobile phones is finally showing some signs of life. However, Chan points out, "there is still a lack of the next killer apps after SMS."