Roaming Regulation Has Little Impact On Cost-Conscious Consumers’ Mobile Phone Habits

Majority aware of new legislation, but more than three-quarters say it has made no difference to usage habits

LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- EU roaming regulation is having little impact on consumers’ mobile usage habits while abroad, new online research from mobile roaming expert MACH and YouGov has revealed today. Although 56 per cent of respondents with a mobile phone stated that they were aware of the rules regarding roaming, 77 per cent of these said that it had made no difference to how they used their mobile phone when travelling abroad.

Despite the introduction of legislation specifically designed to lower the cost of using a mobile phone within the EU, the perceived expensive nature of roaming charges appears to continue to weigh heavily on consumers’ minds. More than one-third (38%) of online respondents indicated that they did not use their mobile phone at all while abroad, with 54 per cent of these identifying the cost of usage as a reason why.

Regardless of this current reluctance and as the mass-market uptake of sophisticated smartphone devices continues to grow, there is a growing consumer desire to use mobile phones for social networking and micro-social blogging while abroad. 50% of all online respondents with a mobile between the age of 18 and 34 said they would most like to access some form of data service (e.g. Facebook, Twitter or email) when travelling abroad, with 62 per cent of these highlighting cheaper roaming rates as the factor which would encourage them to do so.

According to Paul Merry, senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, “There is a clear demand to use mobile data services while abroad but the perception that doing so will lead to unacceptably high bills often prevents users from doing so. In their home market, users are accustomed to paying flat–rate fees to use mobile data services, but when they roam it is often usage based, which impedes visibility on cost.” Merry added: “There is significant latent demand among mobile users to access the Internet from their mobiles when travelling and it is up to operators to stimulate this demand with a combination of pricing and effective marketing. Technology solutions can also play a role in stimulating usage of roaming services and operators should thoroughly assess whether to deploy those which have proven most effective in doing so.”

Artur Michalczyk, Chief Product Officer, MACH commented: “Technology solutions such as MACH’s Retail Roaming Solution enable operators to develop bespoke roaming tariffs which are tailored to complement their individual customers’ needs and usage patterns. MACH’s new Data Roaming Engine, to be launched in Q2, will enable operators to effectively empower their subscribers to select the services they wish to use abroad - the holidaying consumer may opt for Facebook-only access and the small business user for Email-only access. We expect that operators implementing these services, which offer users transparent and predictable cost, will see significant uptake in the use of data services while roaming.”

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Research

This research was carried out on behalf of MACH by YouGov, the international marketing research agency, betwen 17/12/10 and 20/12/10, using an online interview administered to members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 280,000+ individuals. An email was sent to panellists selected at random from the base sample according to the sample definition, inviting them to take part in the survey and providing a link to the survey. (The sample definition could be "GB adult population" or a subset such as "GB adult females"). The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2079 adults, of which 1983 have a mobile phone. Fieldwork was undertaken between 17th to 20th December 2010. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all online GB adults (aged 18+).

About MACH Retail Roaming Solution

MACH Retail Roaming Solution is an integrated platform designed to enable mobile operators to better manage their retail roaming business. The solution provides a comprehensive combination of integrated business intelligence, re-pricing and roaming policy control, which together maximise the revenue and profit opportunity of a retail roaming business.

About MACH Data Roaming Engine

MACH Data Roaming Engine, due to be launched in Q2 this year, is designed to help Mobile Network Operators design and implement tariffs for subscribers wishing to access mobile data when abroad. The solution allows operators to offer services highly tailored to the needs of their subscribers, driving uptake while reducing the final cost to the end user and empowering them to select the services they want to use abroad.

About YouGov

YouGov is an international, full-service research company primarily using online panels to provide quantitative and qualitative research across a range of specialisms. YouGov operates a quality panel of about 320,000 UK members representing all ages, socio-economic groups and other demographic types, with excellent response rates.

YouGov has been acclaimed as the UK’s most accurate opinion pollster and dominates Britain’s media polling. YouGov is one of the most quoted agencies in Britain and has a well-documented and published track record illustrating the success of its survey methods and quality of its client service work.

For further information visit www.yougov.com

About MACH

MACH connects and monetizes the telecom world. It provides its 650 operator customers with roaming, interconnect, messaging, and direct billing solutions, all integrated with its $10bn / year operator settlement capability. We are the largest provider of data and financial clearing solutions for wireless roaming and operate the globe’s largest and fastest growing open connectivity roaming hub, Link2One. We insert the operator in the content and application value chain and serve the reseller and wholesaler community with our A2P messaging solutions. Headquartered in Luxembourg, MACH has offices in 12 countries and employs more than 1,000 people worldwide. Our customers include Orange, Telefonica, T-Mobile, Telus, Verizon Wireless and Microsoft, as well as enterprise messaging customers like KLM. For more information, visit www.mach.com.

CONTACT:

MACH
Eileen Preston, Global PR Manager
Eipr@mach.com
+44 0207 959 8119

KEYWORDS:   Luxembourg  Europe

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:   Other Consumer  Technology  Consumer Electronics  Networks  Telecommunications  Mobile/Wireless  Consumer

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