Multi SIM phenomenon continues in emerging mobile markets
One in ten mobile phones sold in the Middle East and Africa are now dual SIM. In Asia 16% of all mobile phones sold have dual SIM card facilities which represent an increase from 13% at the beginning of 2010.However, it is when you look at the extreme trends in specific countries that it becomes clear that this is not a blanket phenomenon. In Nigeria, over 30% of handsets are dual SIM and in Indonesia, Vietnam, Ghana and India the market has grown from one in ten last year to one in four by Q4 2010.
According to GfK Global Telco Marketing Director, Aaron Rattue, they are already seeing triple SIM card devices being launched and this multi SIM behavior looks set to grow as a phenomenon, especially amongst the newer and more emerging markets. The multiple SIM facilitates the consumer-lead desire to utilize different tariffs throughout the week, depending on time and usage.
France almost hit 100% population penetration at the end of 2010
French telecoms regulator without any commentary has revealed that France had 64.4 million SIM cards in late December 2010. The annual growth rate was around 5% for three quarters, and the penetration rate is almost 100% at the end of 2010- 99.7% to be exact.
Arab World relays on mobile Internet
A survey has revealed that a significant number of Internet users across the Middle East and North Africa are accessing the Internet using their mobile devices and using mobile applications. The survey of over 12,700 internet users across the Middle East and North Africa found that half of all Internet users in the UAE used mobiles to access the Internet, with over 71% of mobile internet users in the region ranking email as their biggest mobile internet activity.
People are increasingly using mobiles as Internet access devices in the Middle East and are starting to access social networks as well as news, sport and other information services using their mobiles. The primary application for mobiles is still email, but over 85% of users have downloaded mobile applications for their devices and the spread of services being accessed is very wide. Social networking, in particular, is a strong and growing trend, with 40% of women who use the mobile Internet doing so to access social networks.
South Africa observes high mobile banking usage
Cellphone banking has increased in the past year, as South African consumers gain confidence in their handheld devices as a tool for both communications and efficiency.
According to research, among urban cellphone users, 44% now use cellphone banking services, compared to 27% a year earlier. In smaller centres and towns, 27% now use cellphone banking, suggesting that rural areas lag urban users by about a year in take-up of these services. In total, 37% of South Africans in urban and rural areas aged 16 and above now use cellphone banking.
UK’s Supreme Court to allow Tweeting in Court room
The UK’s highest legal authority, the fairly recently created Supreme Court has stated that it will allow the use of Twitter and text messages during court cases.
Traditionally, broadcasting live from within a court was forbidden, although there have been some recent high-profile cases where Judges permitted the use of Twitter, hence the latest decision from the Supreme Court.
Because cases before the Supreme Court do not involve interaction with witnesses or jurors, and because there is rarely any reason why what is said in court should not be placed immediately in the public domain, the Justices of the Supreme Court stated that they are content with legal teams, journalists and members of the public communicating to the outside word what is happening in the courtroom.
Customers Don’t Like IVRS Phone Systems: Reports
A new report has unveiled that customer service issues that are personally handled by a service representative, either over the phone or at a retail store, are significantly more satisfying to customers than are automated response interactions.
The semiannual study provides a detailed report card on how well wireless carriers service their customers in three contact methods: telephone calls with customer service representatives (CSR) and/or automated response systems (ARS); visits to a retail wireless store; and on the Web. Within each contact method, the study measures satisfaction and processing issues, such as problem-resolution efficiency and hold-time duration.
Overall, among customers who speak with a service representative without going through an automated response system, the customer care index score averages 774 on a 1,000-point scale, well above the industry average score of 739. Among customers who use other methods of contact, satisfaction is considerably lower:
The study finds that one of the main factors contributing to this performance disparity is the quality of the response provided. Service representative-either over the phone or in person-can answer both initial and follow-up questions from customers and clarify answers. This kind of flexibility is very limited in both ARS and Web-based contacts.
As more companies encourage customers to contact them on the Web to save operating costs, they run the risk of increased customer churn if the number of contacts needed to resolve a complaint or issue rises. Switching intent is four times as high among those who rate their wireless carrier below average in customer care, so the challenge for wireless carriers is to offer an easy and efficient customer care transaction experience.
The majority (51%) of telephone contacts are resolved primarily via a service representative. The study also finds that customers are most satisfied with their experience when they can reach a customer service representative quickly and spend only a brief period of time using automated systems to resolve their problem.
While customers tend to be more satisfied when they can reach a service representative quickly, heavy reliance on live representatives is much more costly for wireless carriers. If wireless carriers can drive improvements in satisfaction with non-human interaction channels, overall customer care performance scores will improve dramatically by making the process more intuitive and efficient, and likely so in a much more cost-effective manner.
T-Mobile ranks highest in wireless customer care performance for a second consecutive time with an overall score of 758. T-Mobile performs particularly well in phone contacts that originate in the ARS channel and are then transferred to a live service representative, and through phone calls made directly to a CSR. Verizon Wireless follows in the overall rankings with a score of 743 and performs well among customers who contact their service representative directly and among customers who contact their carrier online.
The study also finds several key wireless customer care patterns:
- Overall, 36 percent of wireless customers contact their carrier due to service and equipment-related issues, while 32 percent contact for general billing issues; 28 percent for incorrect charges; 23 percent for call quality; and 21 percent for price or cost.
- Wireless customers who indicate that they have had a positive care experience are more loyal and are, therefore, less likely to switch carriers in the future, on average. Among customers who indicate they “definitely will not switch” carriers in the next 12 months, customer care index scores average 810, compared with just 566 among those who say they “definitely will switch”-a difference of 244 points.
- Although the vast majority (88%) of customers gets through to their carrier on their first try, 12% of customers are misdirected or put on hold for too long and must make more than one contact. The average wireless customer spends 6.24 minutes on hold when trying to reach their carrier via phone-a substantial increase from 5.27 minutes just six months ago.
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