AME Operators Experiment With Mobile Broadband Pricing Strategies, Pyramid Finds

As the number of AME mobile broadband subscribers is expected to quadruple to 37.9 million by 2014, mobile broadband providers face the challenge of coming up with pricing plans that are appealing to lower-income, prepaid-only subscribers without causing network congestion or relying on device subsidies, according to a new report from Pyramid Research (www.pyr.com).

Mobile Broadband Pricing in AME: Strategies to Maximize Use and Minimize Congestion analyzes the opportunities and risks for operators offering mobile broadband, against the size of the mobile broadband market from 2009-2014. It discusses the common patterns in mobile broadband pricing that have emerged across the region so far, and then the areas in which operators' strategies still diverge significantly. Download an excerpt here: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/downloads.htm?id=5&sc=PRN061710_INSAME2.4. Purchase the report here: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/ins_ame_100604.htm?sc=PRN061710_INSAME2.4 .

Although the number of mobile broadband users in AME is still undeniably small, it is the fastest-growing segment of the market, generating revenue that we expect to reach $6.4 billion by 2014 as subscribers more than quadruple from 8.9 million in 2009 to 37.9 million in 2014, notes Dearbhla McHenry, Senior Analyst at Pyramid Research and author of this report.

AME operators must solve two serious problems if they are to rely largely on mobile broadband as the main driver of their future data revenues. "The first issue is that of modem or PC subsidies: Broadband devices are expensive, a fact that severely limits the size of the addressable market in AME," explains McHenry. "The second challenge is network congestion."

Patterns are emerging in basic broadband tariffs, but optimal strategies for very-low-usage subscribers are still under development. "Prices for basic broadband access packages seem to be converging around 100 to 170 percent of ARPS in each market, but whether, and how, to serve the needs of low-usage broadband subscribers is still very much up for debate," McHenry says. "AME operators must find a set of prepaid-friendly tariffs and pricing structures that do not rely on device subsidies, which make mobile broadband affordable to the widest possible audience while avoiding excessive network congestion."

Mobile Broadband Pricing in AME: Strategies to Maximize Use and Minimize Congestion is part of Pyramid Research's Africa/Middle East Telecom Insider report series. Download an excerpt of this report: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/downloads.htm?id=5&sc=PRN061710_INSAME2.4. This report can be purchased online here: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/store/ins_ame_100604.htm?sc=PRN061710_INSAME2.4 or by contacting info@pyr.com.

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SOURCE: Pyramid Research

CONTACT: Jennifer Baker of Pyramid Research, +1-617-871-1910,
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