Money spinner or missed millions for mobile operators?
The proliferation of camera phones means that this year's World Cup in Germany
is set to be the most photographed sporting event in history says mobile device
management company SmartTrust. Based on existing rates of camera phone usage,
the company estimates that 4.5 million images will be captured on spectators'
phones over the tournament's four week duration.
The findings are based the Mobile Trends survey , which showed that 63 per cent
of mobile users now own a camera phone. Those actively using their handset's
camera during their trip are expected to take an average of six pictures each.
The challenge for operators, SmartTrust says, is relating this opportunity into
revenue after the same survey discovered that a photo taken with a camera phone
has only a 30 per cent chance of being forwarded by MMS. When being sent from
overseas (roaming) SmartTrust suggests that the figure could drop even further.
Fewer than one million of the 4.5 million photos taken on a mobile phone during
the tournament will be used in an MMS during the four week period. Existing
barriers to using the service, such as inaccurate configuration of the handset,
and consumer concerns over pricing and interoperability will be exasperated by
the fact that users will be 'roaming' on a foreign network.
What consumers said:
· 90 per cent are unsure of MMS pricing when roaming · 64 per cent are unsure if
the message would be received back home · 18 per cent have suffered a failed MMS
delivery because of poor handset configuration.
"Three million fans are expected to attend games during June. There is enormous
opportunity to benefit from spectators keen to make their friends jealous by
sending home an MMS of one of the greatest tournaments in the world. This is
exactly what MMS was designed to do; enable a mobile user to capture a moment
and share it with friends. This is an event where a picture paints a thousand
words and a simple SMS or voice call just won't be enough. Mobile operators have
made significant investment in MMS - most notably in subsidizing camera phones
for their customers. Events such as this are a great means of demonstrating the
power of multimedia messaging and building a base of future users," says Tim De
Luca-Smith, communications manager at SmartTrust. The company's mobile device
management solutions are used across more than 30 mobile networks worldwide,
helping operators to better manage the configuration of services such as MMS,
WAP and GPRS.
"Despite the popularity of the camera phone, we know that there are barriers to
MMS usage. In fact we have already seen growing instances of mobile users (most
notably males under the age of 30) bypassing their operator's network altogether
and transferring camera phone pictures to their PCs before emailing them to
friends and family. Something is blocking the camera phone experience going
full-circle and, ideally, culminating in the sending of an MMS. It's too easy to
chalk it down to cost alone; we know consumers are willing to pay for mobile
services that they value. Instead, there needs to be a combination of simplicity
and transparency, especially for those looking to make the most of their handset
when overseas," adds De Luca-Smith.
The figures are based on findings from the company's Mobile Trends Guide 2005 /
06; a report that studied mobile user habits across 15 countries and 6800
consumers. The same research suggests that it is the prepaid segment that
suffers that most. Instances of poor handset configuration - which can result in
a failed message - were notably higher than those amongst contract customers.
