$88 Billion to Fund Wireless and 3G Cellular Market, claims Strategy Analytics



Wireless Operators Losing Loyalty Battle to Handset Brands

Boston, MA & London, England -/July 15, 2004 - Wi-Fi Technology News/- According to new research from Strategy Analytics, Technophiles and Business Pragmatists generate $88 billion in cellular service revenues in the US and Western Europe, even though these early adopters have their allegiances firmly in the device camp. According to, "Operators Trail Handset Vendors in Mindshare & Loyalty among Technophile & Business Pragmatist 3G Visionaries," operators will ultimately extract better lifetime value from mass-market and late adopters of new mobile technologies.

This latest research from the Strategy Analytics Wireless Network Strategies service provides a detailed profile of seven segments with distinct behavioral traits and motivations in the cellular market, emphasizing the challenge operators face in building a strong 3G business. The two early adopter segments account for 24 percent of users in both regions, 23 percent of lifetime value to operators, but 38 percent of handset market retail value.

"Tech-savvy early-adopters just don't have the customer loyalty profiles on which operators can build long term 3G business models," comments David Kerr, Vice President of the Global Wireless Practice at Strategy Analytics. "Technophiles and Business Pragmatists will be the first to adopt 3G services, however operators will need to lean heavily on handset partners to keep these segments happy, and offer frequent subsidies to meet their vicious handset replacement cycles."

"It is ultimately the mass market where greater operator value exists," adds Phil Kendall, Director, Wireless Network Strategies. "Digital Youth and Messengers in Western Europe, and Voice Planners in the US, offer greater lifetime value to operators than early adopters. Profitability will ultimately be driven by meeting the more modest needs of these users for location services, m-payments and photo messaging rather than chasing mobile video applications."
For a chart, "Wireless Network Strategies: User Base Segmentation-Western Europe & North America," please see http://www.strategyanalytics.com/press/pr00126.htm


About Strategy Analytics
Strategy Analytics, Inc., a global research and consulting firm, provides timely insights and strategic business solutions to companies operating at the convergence of information, communications and entertainment technologies. With worldwide headquarters in Newton, MA and principal offices in England, France and Germany, Strategy Analytics focuses on market opportunities and challenges in the areas of Automotive Electronics, Broadband, Telematics, Wireless Strategies and Enabling Technologies. For more information, see http://www.strategyanalytics.com