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The Wireless Outpost News Issue #9 Vol. 5
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Another (politically incorrect) issue of the Wireless Outpost News. This publication is produced for the soon to be educated cellular phone user community. If you know of anyone else that may have an interest in our publication, make sure to forward them a copy. Don't worry if you miss an issue of our publication, we archive to cellularphonenews.com for your convenience. Now we move forward at Mach II speed!
[Note: This newsletter is delivered Bi Weekly on Wednesday.]
A REAL QUICK NOTE TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS BEFORE YOU BEGIN READING
Some of these articles may be a bit larger than normal but they should be a good read. The reason for this is because we want to add parts and pieces to help round out the background to each article. There is
a lot of stuff going on in the industry and of course we have to include our ten cent analysis. Keep in mind that what we are offering may be only a partial picture as it
relates to the whole. But we hope to give you, at the minimum, a general outline that is as accurate as we can present it in our articles.
Oh yeah. I have one more thing. What is with all these litigation specialists subscribing to our publication anyhow? You are all making me very nervous. I keep wondering if I am about to have a class action lawsuit filed against me by the wireless industry for being overly offensive and obnoxious. If you aren't looking to sue me then I had better ask my doctor to increase my Prozac dosage. Thanks everyone and we hope you enjoy this issue of Wireless Outpost News. (Because we are really out there!)
NEC REENTERS US MARKET WITH ASSISTANCE OF AT&T WIRELESS
If I recall, NEC left the US market some time ago. A few years ago if I remember correctly. There are two issues which has pushed NEC to look at a re-entry into the US market. First, the Japanese market is saturated as far as cellular phone users are concerned. Second, the lure of one of the largest gaming demographics in the world. Add in NTT DoComo's stake in AT&T Wireless, it all becomes clear. That is why AT&T Wireless will become the exclusive carrier to offer the NEC 515 High Definition Mobile (HDM) handset.
NEC America Inc. claims that this is a strategic alliance which combines AT&T Wireless' powerful next generation network with NEC's global experience in handset development and manufacturing. With the 515 handset, NEC will provide AT&T Wireless customers with what is said to be an exciting end-user experience through enhanced game play capabilities, and multimedia messaging in a compact, stylish, clamshell form factor. Using AT&T Wireless mMode, customers will have simple access to downloadable games and ring tunes that exploit this device's rich capabilities.
NEC's High Definition Mobile handsets feature advanced technologies such as DoJA, a version of Java, created specifically for the mobile environment in a partnership between NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (NTT DoCoMo) and Sun Microsystems. It also enables high-quality personalization through a 40 polyphonic ring tune capability.
By combining voice and data with interactive, feature-rich functionality, the NEC 515 is said to offer users an elevated mobile experience. Additionally, the handset's large, 64K color display and entrenched JavaT capabilities result in an impressive gaming interface, while dual processors enable lightning-fast game play, without impacting incoming calls.
"Our alliance with AT&T Wireless will allow users of NEC's High Definition Mobile phones to enjoy the benefits of a larger screen size, increased display clarity and customizable applications on a high-speed GSM/GPRS network." said Noboru Sakata, General Manager of the Wireless Engineering Division at NEC America, Inc. "Our multiple key press, which allows players to perform two in-game actions at once, i.e., shooting and moving, and processors will offer customers an excellent vehicle for intensified mobile game play."
"With the addition of NEC America's 515 High Definition Mobile phone to our line of mMode phones, AT&T Wireless customers can enjoy a unique user experience," said Phil Osman, executive vice
president--Mobile Multimedia Services for AT&T Wireless. "By offering a handset featuring a state-of-the-art color display and polyphonic ringer, our customers can really enjoy the ultimate in wireless game play."
The NEC 515 High Definition Mobile phone will be available on July 28, 2003. The phone comes pre-loaded with several games, including baseball and Star Diversion, a top down vertical shooting game from Dwango Wireless. For those of you who would like to learn more about the NEC cellular phone handset, please visit their website at
www.NECHDM.com for more information. In my opinion, it is a nice looking phone and I like the clamshell phones anyhow.
VERIZON & NEXTEL GOING AT IT OVER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY DEMOGRAPHICS
For those of you who don't already know it or haven't figured it out yet, Nextel's push to talk demographics is in large part made up of one industry. If you
said construction companies, then you are right on target. One that is a very lucrative market demographics, I might add. Just about everyone on a construction crew has a cellular phone. The fact that they can use them like walkie-talkies to be heard over the racket is even better for them.
However, this doesn't apply to every field operation. For example, oilfields are not big on Nextel. We already checked on that one. The main reason for that is the lack of coverage in rural areas. But that may change now that Nextel might be allowed to purchase the bankrupt MCI Worldcom's fixed wireless assets in rural areas. Giving construction companies who work in other areas such as road paving outside of the fringes of the city limits, a possible interest in Nextel's push to talk wireless services.
In the past, this type of market may not have seemed so important but with the reduction in new subscribers, every new subscriber counts and there are very few markets which have been left untapped with a single source for wireless services. Which is also what pushed Nextel into the consumer market. The crystal ball said that the competition was coming and diversification might be necessary. The next question to be answered is how fast consumers will adopt the Push To Talk or PTT as it is known in the industry.
A term which Nextel is trying to trademark as of January 2002. Verizon has asked a court to dismiss and cancel any attempts at trademarking PTT (Push To Talk) stating that it is a term that has been used for well over 65 years now in various industries including in the military. Wait! It gets better. Then Verizon Wireless created a prototype PTT capable handset. Nextel asked to borrow it and Motorola agreed. They tested the unit and considered it to be a non-threat. Enough so that they basically called it a piece of junk.
Verizon took this statement to task and is now suing Nextel for industrial espionage. Verizon wireless claimed it was a prototype for which to test their PTT capabilities and work out any bugs and kinks. Nextel is disputing the claim, stating that the unit has been returned to Motorola and is no longer in their possession.
Of course, Verizon Wireless is worried that their product may get a bad rep and they don't want Nextel to be up to date on their activities in offering PTT services.
Now, I am big Motorola fan myself but I don't know that it was appropriate for them to lend a prototype from one competitor to another. I understand why they did it since Nextel is a major client of Motorola products. However, that doesn't make it right even in the interest of improving client relations,
in my opinion. Nor can Verizon Wireless afford to sue the second largest cellular phone manufacturer in the world without being the only wireless carrier not offering Motorola phones.
Verizon wireless has another problem to worry about. Nextel is doing their best to block the competition from picking up their construction company subscriber base. Nextel Communications Inc. announced that it has entered into an agreement with Extend America(TM) Inc., a telecommunications company that is building Nextel's iDEN wireless network coverage in a number of rural markets. Extend America plans to launch service by the end of this year.
The first markets to benefit from the differentiated service will be Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota, which will cover 13,000 square miles where approximately 114,000 people live or work. Extend America then plans to expand the network coverage to parts of South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Montana, which will cover an additional 332,000 square miles where approximately 1.8 million people live or work.
Extend America will sell iDEN wireless digital voice, Nextel's Nationwide Direct Connect(TM) digital walkie-talkie service and text and numeric messaging, all powered by Nextel, to customers in these rural areas. These services will be sold under the Extend America name, powered by Nextel(TM). Extend America customers will be part of Nextel's nationwide network and will benefit from the same services as Nextel and Nextel Partners customers. Nextel, Nextel Partners and Extend America customers will be able to use their wireless services anywhere on the three companies' networks seamlessly and at no roaming cost.
This allows Nextel to pick up on a second and underserved market. The rural communities of America. One that is even larger than the construction company demographics. The
Governors in states with large rural populations have often complained about the lack of coverage. Nextel Communications Inc. may just be the answer to their prayers in that regard. Leaving
competitors of Nextel's PTT service with two obstacles.
The first being, getting their own PTT wireless service established. Second, establishing the coverage areas that will earn them the most subscribers for PTT wireless services. Both go pretty much hand in hand. If they are going to do one, then they will have to do the other. There is a reason why Nextel is moving to expand their coverage areas and it is because they know their PTT demographics better than anyone else.
VERIZON BACKS OFF ON LNP BUT LOBBYIST GROUPS PUSH THE ISSUE
It turns out that Local Number Portability (LNP) is going to happen. All opposition has either been defeated or voluntarily withdrawn. (Sort of.) There are hundreds of different parties for and against the LNP implementation. Each one of them had their reasons for and against it. Lobbyists are still working on the politicians to try and get a delay and some carriers are charging extra for LNP which in our opinion is in retaliation for the FCC mandate. So here is the latest and greatest on what is happening with who and why on the LNP issue.
First off, Verizon Wireless has backed off on disputing LNP for wireless subscribers. The CTIA and other wireless lobbyist groups on the other hand would rather not let the issue rest. In fact, some of them are trying to get a bill appended to bills going through Congress in an effort to delay LNP through legislation currently under consideration for passage. Three telecom associations have jumped on the LNP delay bandwagon. The three groups are the United States Telecom Association, Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance, and the Western Alliance.
That may be because they are concerned that the spotlight may be turned back on them once the LNP issue has settled down. The CTIA has complained that the LNP for the wireless industry is unequal in comparison with landline carriers and has asked the FCC for further clarification on the subject.
To the credit of Verizon Wireless, they have done an about face on the LNP issue. Now they are saying that they will endorse LNP and they will do all in their power to ensure that subscribers do not have problems on their end with switching service providers and taking their wireless number with them. Even better, the CEO of Verizon Wireless stated that they will not charge extra for LNP to be implemented because it was already factored into their cost of doing business. Here is what Verizon Wireless had to say on the subject.
In order to boost customer satisfaction with the wireless industry, Strigl stressed the industry must unite to make it easy and convenient for customers to keep their wireless numbers if they choose to switch wireless service providers. Strigl also laid out a plan that the nation's largest wireless service provider will follow to make switching seamless for customers, and urged other service providers to adopt the Verizon Wireless plan immediately.
"We can start by this industry taking a leadership role in creating a universal process for all carriers. Otherwise, it won't benefit all customers equally," said Strigl. "If LNP is something our customers want, it is critical that the process for them is easy, automatic and quick at the customer's request - both for customers bringing a phone number to us, and yes, for customers leaving us with their phone number. There must be no barriers to easily switching service providers."
While detailing the Verizon Wireless plan, Strigl said that Verizon Wireless will not charge additional fees to its customers who want to take their numbers with them, nor will the company charge its customers a "pre-portability fee" to pay for infrastructure required to make the system operational.
"We will not recover costs in advance of LNP taking effect. The substantial costs we have incurred so far in planning for and implementing LNP processes have been included in our general cost of doing business," said Strigl. "We will not charge any 'special fees' for customers who want to take their numbers with them. We will, after November, evaluate what our ongoing LNP costs actually are and how we will recoup our costs. And, I don't believe our costs will be much more than 10 to 15-cents per-customer, per-month going forward."
In essence, the Verizon Wireless plan is a commitment by Verizon Wireless to treat its customers who want to switch providers exactly the same as its other customers.
"Our plan at Verizon Wireless is to treat porting customers the same way we treat any customer today. No change. Whether they are joining us with a number, or leaving us with their number after November 24. No change from today," said Strigl. "We intend to activate customers coming from other carriers in the same time frame we use today. No standing around the store for hours, or waiting days for your new phone to work."
Customers who break existing contracts with Verizon Wireless will be liable for any early termination fees, but the early termination fee will appear on their final bills - which they will receive after moving to another service provider.
"I encourage all service providers to adopt our straightforward plan for consumer-friendly porting, and for the FCC to give its stamp of approval immediately," said Strigl. "It is imperative that all processes be identical, operationally tested and fully functional before November 24. Each service provider has the obligation to ensure it is ready to go and in compliance by that date."
Under number portability, the public must be educated about what number portability really means. For example, the public should be aware that initially, only those customers in the top 100 Metropolitan Statistical Areas will be able to keep their numbers, and that wireless customers can only keep their phone numbers if they stay in the same geographic location - not when moving from region to region, such as from Boston to Atlanta.
"As an industry leader, I'm concerned that we meet not only the letter - but the spirit - of the LNP requirement
and get this right for the consumer - or risk justifiable backlash from current and potential customers," said Strigl.
The company has been actively preparing for the November 24 start date for number portability. Just last week, Verizon Wireless began accepting applications for employment at its new state-of-the-art customer call center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., which will become the company's hub for number portability transactions. The company announced plans to hire 450 new employees over the next three months, with training starting in August and the call center beginning operations in October.
Sprint PCS is going to be charging customers $1.50 per month for LNP and 911 enhancements, AT&T Wireless will be charging $1.75 per month, Cingular will charge 32 cents per customer and Nextel will be charging $1.55 per month. T Mobile won't be charging a fee. Now, didn't the other wireless carriers already factor this expense into their operating budgets? FCC
Chairman Mr. Powell believes that the wireless companies are probably well on their way to recovering the expense on the mandate since number pooling was already a requirement. I find it quite odd that only Verizon and T Mobile had the foresight to factor this expense into their operating budgets.
But my statement is a bit misleading in regards to Verizon and T Mobile. Verizon stated they will revisit the issue in November 2003 and if they do charge a fee, it will be no more than 10 to 15 cents per subscriber. If that happens, T Mobile is likely to follow suit. There is no reason for T Mobile to be the last carrier out of the chicken coop and let the other carriers grab a competitive advantage.
These fees may not sound like much, but multiply this fee times millions of subscribers and we have millions of dollars each month being collected. So let's say that these fees are assessed and we forget about them after a while. When exactly are these fees going to be eliminated from the wireless bills? From all indications, it appears as if wireless subscribers are being led like sheep into paying these fees.
Senator Schumer, D-NY, thinks the fees imposed by the carriers will generate around $100 million dollars for the wireless carriers. The senator also pointed out that a new study indicates that wireless companies have raised close to $600 million in the first half of 2003 through surcharges which was meant to partially pay for LNP implementation. An attorney in Maryland decided that he didn't think it was fair either and has already started taking action.
Mr. Richard Greenfield, a class-action attorney based in Royal Oak, Md., recently filed a lawsuit against Sprint PCS Circuit Court. He has previously filed two complaints against Nextel as well. Greenfield allegedly called these extra fees "jack-in-the-box" charges because they are buried in the back of the customer's monthly wireless bill with the state and local taxes. It was reported that he believed that carriers were trying to recoup money through the back door on what they were losing on the front end due to the increased competition.
His lawsuit claims that Sprint PCS is collecting more than 50 cents allowed by Florida state law and calls Sprint PCS's surcharge a Bait & Switch scheme that has been fraudulently imposed on wireless phone subscribers under the guise of a federal mandate. Sprint is of course disputing that claim. Which brings us back to the Missouri State Attorney General's lawsuit against Sprint PCS and Nextel for what he claimed to be deceptive billing practices.
The bottom line is that Local Number portability will happen provided the
lobbyists don't get their way. In return, we will have to pay some fees to the carriers who are less than ready to bury the hatchet. Therefore, we would suggest that all but Verizon Wireless and T Mobile should be boycotted as wireless carriers until they repeal these ridiculous fees for LNP and 911 enhancement implementations. There are enough of you reading this publication that if you were to share this article with people in your email address book, the momentum would build up very quickly.
With that said, I shall consider this article finished because I just got an acute case of arthritis in just writing this book of an article here. Seriously, you can do something about this situation and you shouldn't stand back and allow it to happen. Let them have one inch and they will take a mile. Don't believe me? Just take a look at the back page of your wireless bill and see how much it adds on to your actual monthly expense for wireless service. The choice is up to you.
SURVEY SAYS SMARTPHONES NOT SMART AND SAMSUNG IS GOING TO PUSH THEM
We have always said since the introduction of Smart Phones that we weren't all that confident that they were going to be a world shaking movement by subscribers to grab up smart phones. But what do we know, we just conduct real life research on the industry. Well, a recent survey recently came out stating what we have been saying all along. Smart phones may not be that smart for the US market. We aren't the country for high tech gizmos.
Now some of you may be wondering why we don't adopt technology as quickly as others. I have a theory on that. We are a very large, sophisticated, wealthy industrial nation. Ah... right, and as a general rule of thumb, we are cheap to boot. But on to the larger points of my theory. As a large and industrial nation, we are constantly on the fast walk. Everywhere we go, we zip to and fro. When we get off of work, we like to leave work at work.
If we need a retreat, we have our family that we can pack up and take off to the countryside or some other interesting place. I mean we have 3,000 miles to travel between the east and west coast and about half that from north to south. What time we do have left, we try to spend with family, or watching our favorite TV program, or better yet getting into that book that has been sitting there for a couple of months. The bottom line is that when we disconnect from work, we like to keep it that way until the next morning. Nor do we have a need to retreat into a little gizmo's display screen as a sanctuary. (That's why we have TV, at least the screens are larger.)
I think it comes from a deep down feeling that we have called Americanism. The absolute need to be free. No chains, tethers, or leashes. Add to
that our mistrust of the government who is always trying to find ways to snoop on us, monolithic corporations who suck up to the government for that almighty dollar, and general disinterest in expensive new technology, and we see why we are not the fast adopters of new gizmos. I know my theory is a bit lame but it is a work in progress.
So, let's move on with the real topic at hand. A recent survey by Jupiter research had some interesting but unsurprising results. A majority of US consumers would not buy a Smart Phone even if it were priced at under $50. Which trashes my statement that we were just cheap as a whole. Neither was there a great deal of interest in cellular phones that had built-in video cameras, PDAs, or MP3 players. Whereas in Europe, it is just the opposite and Smart Phones are finding their place in that market.
In America, voice and text messaging seem to be the most appealing features. Brew and Java capabilities on phones had shown some interest but nothing to indicate they were on fire with American consumers.
Cameras built into phones tend to be more appealing to Europeans. No surprise there as they have a lot of history and old buildings to show off. The best we can do is some old run down log cabins and rocks covered in moss.
Enter Samsung. They have been struggling a bit with earning marketshare and their solution to the problem is to introduce at least seven smart phones this year. Based on the current US activity on the purchases of Smart Phones, we can only assume that they are destined for a non US market. But what makes this really interesting is that Samsung has made a very bold statement on their expectation on the marketshare that Smart Phones would hold.
They anticipate that Smart Phones will command 30% of the handset market by 2006. That is only three and a half years from now. Why or how they came up with that number is unknown to us. They might know something we don't and it is certainly a statement worth thinking about if not pursuing. We hadn't realized that European market was poised for that amount of growth in such a short period of time. It won't be long before we find out if that statement has any credibility.
Those of you who like to bet on mobile phone futures, may want to proceed with caution though. The winds of change are constantly churning.
DEMOCRATS PUSHING NATIONAL CELL PHONE DRIVING BAN & OTHER TIDBITS
This one isn't so much an article as it is a compilation of different events within the industry. Highlighted Briefings if you will. Worth a scan and if something should
pique your interest, then by all means feel free to pursue it with a little research. We didn't get a chance to research them but felt that it was worth at least giving an honorable mention here in our trusty little publication. Enjoy!
Sendo UK drops its lawsuit against European wireless carrier Orange when it signs a new licensing deal with Texas Instruments Inc. This at a time when Texas Instruments Inc. is slapped with a lawsuit by Qualcomm for disclosing information in public that is allegedly in breach of confidentiality agreements. Related? Don't know but sounds plausible. Sendo UK states that they will continue with their fight against Microsoft. Orange has sold approximately 70,000 Smart Phones this year.
Legislation will be introduced in Congress soon to ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving. The measure is expected to be sponsored by Rep. Gary Ackerman
(D-NY) and Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ). Any surprise that a New Jersey and New York politician proposed this type of legislation? The two lawmakers backed a cell-phone driver distraction bill in 2001, but the legislation stalled. The National Transportation Safety Board did not call for a prohibition on operation of cellular phones while driving saying more research is needed to determine the relative risk of cell phones to drivers compared with other distractions
Looks like Tracfone spends about $6 million a year on advertising. The ad agency that Walmart and Tracfone were using called Bernstein-Rein wanted to create an extra special advertisement for Tracfone. It was supposed to be in correlation with making it simple and easy instead of hard to do. Therefore a reference to Viagra was used. Tracfone is now using an agency called The Republik for their non-Walmart advertising campaigns. Not that this is relevant but when we called the agency, they were quite snotty and holier than thou and this is to show them that they are not that special and should tone down the self worship.
The State of New York to implement Wireless Recycling Program. The New York State Assembly has passed a bill requiring the recycling of cellular phones. The state Legislature unanimously passed the bill 147 to zip. The measure would require manufacturers and retailers that offer take-back programs to provide an outlet for consumers to recycle wireless phones. It also would prohibit the disposal of the cellular phones and accessory items as solid waste.
A common practice among many states with a budget crunch is to raid the e911 fund for public safety. Those are the 911 fees collected on wireless phone bills. Tennessee has stepped up to the plate by passing a law that allows for funding to be withheld if local governments are not using the funds for appropriate projects such as the implementation of enhanced 911 wireless services. It also requires that wireless carriers collect 911 surcharge fees from prepaid cellular subscribers. More states are getting on the bandwagon and will probably introduce laws of a similar nature.
Wireless in Iraq. A few middle eastern companies are getting in on the act. One is a Kuwaiti company with ties to the UK-based wireless company Vodafone Group who has been given permission to establish services in Basra, an area controlled by British troops. Baghdad is still up for grabs with some other middle eastern companies including a Saudi Arabian interest trying to get in on the action. The remainder of Iraq doesn't appear to hold much interest to commercial enterprises at the moment.
AARP A HEAVY WEIGHT GROUP FOR SENIORS BACKS LNP MEASURE
The American Association for Retired People is a heavyweight that politicians fear and with good reason. They boast a membership well above that of most associations and they have voting power that can make or break a politician. They recently conducted a study to find out what people thought about the service quality of their respective carriers. The results are quite interesting.
Those who spent more than $100 per month have the highest potential for churn. The two main reasons for not switching providers although they were not as satisfied with service indicated that 17% wanted to keep their cellular phone number and 34% wanted to avoid paying an early termination fee. Three percent spending between $51 and $100 didn't switch due to the LNP issue and those spending between $21 and $50 came in with 2% of respondents not switching due to a desire to keep their existing wireless number. That comes to 22% of respondents not switching because they wanted to keep their existing wireless phone number.
It also found that people in the age brackets of 50 to 64 were likely to have cellular phone service. Coming in at around 50% in comparison to the age group of 18-49 which has a 55% ratio. At the age of 65 and older, the numbers drop to only 27% having cellular phone service. The 50 and over age group appears to be about three times that of pre-adult demographics based on our research. Noting that this observation could be in error on the figure.
An interesting correlation in the study showed that those who spend the most are the more likely candidates to be dissatisfied with service and experiencing the most problems with network technical difficulties. The study showed that nearly 47% of respondents felt that keeping their current wireless phone number was important in switching wireless service providers. In addition, 20% of those surveyed find that number portability is very important.
Almost half of cellular phone subscribers (46%) didn't know who to contact to file complaints regarding their cellular service. (That must be those who aren't subscribed to our publication!) 14% of respondents said they would file complaints with the BBB and only 4% said the FCC. One percent said they would call the State Attorney General's office to file a complaint. For a more comprehensive review of the study conducted by the AARP which includes graphs, visit their website at
www.aarp.org or try using this link to reach the survey directly. http://research.aarp.org/consume/dd89_wireless.html
SURVEY SAYS NEW YORKERS ARE RUDE - DID THEY NEED A SURVEY FOR THAT?
I will take a leap here and add New Jersey people to that. Not that I had to deal with the rudeness most of the time because I lived on the Jersey shore in the central part of the state and I made it a point to stay home with the tourists from upper New Jersey and New York came down. The only time I had to deal with it was when I had to take the coast line train to NYC. But even with all that, I still have to say that I love New York! Some Penn Station commuters may have been surprised when they were hushed by Grandma ladies, courtesy of AT&T Wireless who were there solely to "hush" people.
First, we should point out that Harris Interactive conducted a survey on behalf of AT&T Wireless which is what led to this little publicity stunt. The
Grandmas distributed coupons for $25 in accessories and candy as positive reinforcement to cellular phone users observing cellular phone etiquette. Those who were in violation of cellular phone etiquette were shushed. Let me break off here for a second and say that at least we know that somebody is reading our publication and taking notice.
As far as we know, we were the first website to publish cellular phone etiquette and then six
months later -- BAM! -- everybody has a piece posted on their websites. Cingular then begins pushing their courtesy desks and AT&T is publicly promoting cellular phone etiquette. Now that is what I call momentum. The month of July will have found AT&T etiquette promotions in Chicago, New York, Boston, and San Francisco. You know why?
Because the survey that AT&T Wireless sponsored showed that 86% of respondents believed that they were never or rarely discourteous in the use of their cellular phones. However, 50% of them believe that everyone else is discourteous! In addition, over half of the people surveyed said they were uncomfortable leaving home without their cellular phones. (That doesn't include me. I make it a point to forget that I have one as often as possible.)
Ninety Seven percent said they have either used or seen someone else use a wireless phone while in a restaurant, 35% have seen someone using a wireless phone during a play, and 25% have seen someone use a cell phone during a class. But that will probably come down in New York now that they passed those laws banning cellular phone use in a play.
Although a majority of those surveyed believe features like a vibrating ringer, voicemail, and text messaging promote courtesy, 45% do not use voicemail, 50% have never used a silent or vibrating ringer, and 77% have not used text messaging. Yet, 86% of the respondents do not believe they are discourteous when using a cellular phone! But I don't know that text messaging is that big of a deal because I don't use mine either. I just leave my phone off and let voice mail pick up the call most of the time.
Which means I should give myself a good star for being a good boy and dedicated disciple of cellular phone etiquette. The fact that I throw my cell phone in the hallway cubby hole just adds to my disinclination to be discourteous and rude when it comes to using a cellular phone. I prefer to be rude and discourteous in person. By the way, the survey that said that New York People were rude was my personal contribution. I surveyed a whole total of three people with an error for margin of zero.
WIRELESS SPAM ADDED TO PENDING FEDERAL ANTI SPAM LEGISLATION
It doesn't look like cellular phone spam is going to reach the proportions as we see it on the internet. In a bi-partisan move on Capitol Hill, many of our dedicated representatives are working hard to include wireless phones on that Anti-Spam legislation that is under consideration in Congress. With Europe's and Japan's problems with wireless spam, they hope that passing legislation now will prevent that becoming a reality here in the US. It appears that there may be three bills pending consideration to combat wireless spam.
The Burr/Tauzin bill and the Wilson/Green bill. The Wilson Green bill would have been the stronger of the two, however, certain segments of the business community lobbied against the Wilson Green bill since it would allow for class action suits to combat spam. Both the House and the Senate have passed anti-spam bills but they are still tied up for the moment. The Burr/Tauzin bill is on the fast track and may soon be up for a full vote by the House.
It is hoped that there may be a compromise on the two bills to allow for a stronger penalty against spammers who violate federal law by those who are considered victims of spam. An attorney for a consumer advocacy group appears to be pushing for a ban on all unsolicited messages via a wireless phone. We believe that this may stem from the recent practice of wireless carriers attaching special announcements to alerts sent to their subscribers.
Because it is an alert sent by the wireless carrier to a subscriber with whom they have an existing relationship and the recipient is not charged for the message, it is not defined as being spam. What may come of that is an addendum being added which requires wireless carriers to give subscribers the option to "opt out" of receiving these attached messages to their alerts. A point that is strictly speculation on our part.
Those of you who would like to learn more about the Anti-Spam legislation pending in the Senate and Congress may wish to visit the Cauce Organization. Also known as the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email. You can find their website by clicking on this link.
http://www.cauce.org/ We, at CPN do not officially endorse this organization and only provide the link as a educational resource. But they do make a good case against spam of all kinds.
VERIZON AVENUE DEBUTS THE FIRST CORDLESS/WIRELESS HYBRID PHONE
Verizon is now rolling out a new hybrid cordless and wireless phone. A good way to really push that bundled package of wireless and local/long distance service. I have to admit that it is a crafty way to gain a competitive edge. In a time when everyone is starting to look like clones of one another again, it is an ingenious idea. How ingenious is going to depend on how many people actually go for it. For those who have an interest, here you go.
Phone jugglers can soon put one phone down with Verizon Avenue's new hybrid cordless-cellular phone. Verizon Avenue has unveiled its prototype cordless-at-home and cellular-on-the-go phone -- and a new, expanded service bundle that includes free wireless Internet access in common areas in multiple-dwelling units.
The new phone, named Verizon ONE, will be rolled out early next year, state-by-state, exclusively to residents of selected multi-family communities where Verizon Avenue offers bundled telecommunications services. The company provides local, long-distance and high-speed Internet access service bundles to multi-dwelling apartment, high-rise and condominium residents.
"We're delivering cutting-edge technology that both simplifies residents' lives and provides multifamily community management with a competitive edge," said Andrea Custis, president and chief operating officer for Verizon Avenue. "Our customers are early adopters who are technology savvy. They prefer dealing with one company for all their telecommunications and high-speed Internet needs, including mobile access."
Beginning Oct. 1, Verizon Avenue's new bundled telecommunications service plan will be available with these features:
a.. High-speed Internet access up to a maximum connection speed of 1.5 Mbps (megabits per second)
b.. Lower rates for three and five-year bundled telecommunications contracts
c.. Up to six free wi-fi (wireless fidelity) hot spots in multifamily common community areas
d.. Six e-mail addresses and 20 MB (megabytes) of storage
Wi-fi "hot spots" provide a wireless high-speed connection to the Internet for subscribers who have a wireless-enabled laptop or PDA. Common areas where free Verizon
Avenue-provided hot spots could be installed include the manager's office, lobby areas, clubhouses, pool areas, and health clubs.
Verizon ONE is two phones in one, so there's only one number to remember and one voice mailbox to check since the phone travels with its owner. The phone comes with eight special calling features such as Caller ID and voice mail.
According to Custis, residents appreciate the "plug and play" ability of Verizon Avenue's services. Apartments and condominium homes are already wired, and residents can go online the day they move in.
"Providing technology-based amenities that residents want are the key to attracting and keeping residents in today's ultra-competitive, multi-family communities," Custis said.
Coming up with new and innovative ways to boost the overall bottom line is going to be the name of the game for wireless and landline carriers in the next few years. We expect to see more and more carriers merging and bundling services. How many of them will take on Verizon's lead and offer hybrid phones will have to be determined at a later date. For the moment, Verizon has one up on their competitors.
MOCK WIRELESS BUSINESS MODEL PUT INTO REAL LIFE PRACTICE GETS RESULTS
Do a search on Google for "Wireless Phone Accessories" and you come up with 1,250,000 listings. There are so many listings that the search engine will only display the first 59 pages or 590 listings. Search on specific cellular phone accessory products and you will get hundreds of thousands of listings there too. Most of the companies we have never heard of and those that we had, could only be said to have been recognized for their online advertising. This lead us to implement a mock business model and actually put our activities into practice as if it were real. We wanted to get a "real life experience" and we did that.
So we conducted some research to find out why so many people thought that being online was the answer. It wasn't what we expected. The first most common reason was because it was a cheap way to start a business on a low budget. The second most common reason is because people didn't know how to advertise offline on a budget, and the third most common reason is because people didn't know how to or were uncomfortable with conducting outbound telemarketing or sales calls.
That forced us to take our research a step further. We found that offline advertising did work for cellular phone sales and to a lesser extent for accessory items. But what did the best was outbound telemarketing to businesses. In our case, we were selling the products from a specific manufacturer. An average order was $100 for accessory items. In a surprise turn of events, some businesses were even willing to put up notices in the breakroom for their employees to review regarding the products.
We tried two different approaches to the sales cycle with one being done for a quick shot at a sale and the other for a long term account. We tried three different industries with two out of the three offering a better return on our efforts. In many cases, business accounts assume they are under contract for both the services and products. An obstacle that we became experts in disenfranchising very quickly. Some of the higher and larger accounts are given accessories for free by their respective wireless carriers to keep their business and others are not.
Our best guess on that is these are accounts that had problems with the service in the past and the wireless carrier was making good on their error to keep the competitor's offer from being more attractive. In the case of Nextel, they will usually buy back used phones from their business subscriber accounts and add a credit to the company's wireless bill in exchange for sending in the used phones. This is how Nextel is able to keep the availability of their used phones to a minimum on the secondary market and keep handset profit margins up. They are by most accounts, the only source to purchase from for their specific type of handsets.
We won't go into what it cost us to conduct this research but it was very expensive and required thousands of outbound calls to be made. Nor are we going to create a report and charge everyone five grand to read it. Instead, we will add it to our pile of information and create customized reports and supplemental material for those who seek our consulting services. We can also issue a telemarketing script with our approaches and pointers on which industries to contact, how to reach the decision maker, and rebuttals to objections or other obstacles.
For a fee of course which has yet to be determined. We tested our scripts for both accessory product sales and as a lead generation tool to steal accounts from other wireless carrier services. Before you ask, we are a publication and consulting service and therefore, we have neither the storage space nor the staff to do something like this on a full time basis. That and we don't want to put ourselves in a position with a conflict of interest.
What this means for wireless carriers, handset dealers, cellular phone accessory marketers, and manufacturers is that there is plenty of business out there if you know where to look and how to go about getting it. Let's call this the first step in our contribution to helping rebuild the wireless industry economy. As further clarification, thanks to the companies who assisted us in the supply and shipment of products, the logistics was virtual although we carried out our activities as if we were carrying the actual stock.
In an attempt to fully understand the concept and to make comparisons, we randomly waited for an order to be placed prior to ordering the product from the manufacturer as is done by many online wireless accessory retailers as well as testing customer reactions to out of stock or back ordered items on an order. We found it to be bad mojo for single item and smaller sized orders unless they were hard to find items and not such an issue for orders with multiple products in larger numbers.
Obviously, our research provided us with more information than we can possibly hope to print here. The bottom line is that sometimes a change in strategy is needed if a business is to succeed or expand. To think otherwise is opening the door to allow your competitors to get the jump on you. One more thing we found in our research. Price helps but quality if definitely a major issue for customers.
SOMETHING FOR THE WIRELESS RETAILERS - IT COULD SAVE YOUR BUSINESS
We have heard that some wireless retailers are actually trying to get their accessory products even cheaper by importing their products directly. I can only say that trying to save a quarter or so on an accessory item is really cheesy. Nor are you really going to save any money either. In fact, by trying to be cheap on your purchases, you are going to end up paying far more than those who realized they weren't experts in the importing business.
From our understanding, wireless retailers in the US are being contacted by companies in China with offers of accessory items on the cheap. About half of what would be paid if they purchased from a manufacturer's office here in the US. It is not until these retailers get the bill from customs that they find out how much it really cost them to import directly. The cost of the customs fees generally increase the cost of the product by about four times that which they would have paid if they had purchased it from a company with an office here in the US.
You see, there is this little practice known as purchasing imported products in bulk to spread the cost of the custom fees over a large volume of products whereby reducing the overall cost of the individual unit. We aren't talking about a hundred or even a thousand items. We are literally talking about container loads of thousands and thousands of wireless accessory products. Anything less than that is not even going to be close to being cost effective for you to import directly.
If you are going to put money into the buckets of the Chinese government, do yourself a favor by saving some money and ensure that a little bit of that money going back to China is filtered off in the American economy by purchasing from a US source. Better yet, purchase accessory products made in South Korea since they have access to the Japanese technology for cellular phone battery cells which is the best in the world and gives your customer the highest quality of product available.
Now, if you decide to go ahead and directly import your products from China after being warned in this article, you deserve to get burned by paying more for your products than everyone else and lose out on your profit margins. The other most common complaint that we have heard about from readers and visitors
is the level of customer service provided on the front end. People are more inclined to come back for accessory items if the store personnel are friendlier and more helpful than elsewhere.
You are throwing away money by trying to make a quick sale. In addition, train your sales reps on how to upsell and cross sell too. How many people leave the store with a new phone without a leather case, a spare battery, or a car charger? It is really as simple as just asking people if they want them. If they say no then no harm done but we have estimated that by doing so increases accessory item sales by 10 to 15% based on our research.
Last but not least. Pay attention to what your competitors are doing. If a customer can walk into Circuit City and pay $9.95 for a leather case and you are charging $19.99, who do you think is going to get the most foot traffic, sales, and potential opportunities for cross selling other products? Online retailers are not really a threat with offering leather cases for $6 each because they have to charge shipping and people may have to wait up to a week for it to be delivered.
Most people will just drive to their local retailer and basically pay the same amount and get their products on the same day. You might want to consider using that type of consumer behavior to your advantage. If all you are looking for is a one time shot at a quick sale, then keep on doing what you are doing. But if you are looking for boost your bottom line with repeat business, you should probably review your store operations again to see where improvements can be made.
It's off the soapbox I go. Your business is your business and you will decide on what to do with it. Good Luck!
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