2013
Mobile Data Plans: The Options for Aligning Services with Consumer Needs
There are very few constants in our rapidly changing world. In fact, I have characterized the current time period as “The Age of Acceleration” where the only constants are change and the speed at which it is increasing. That said, there actually is one constant that is crying out for change. We all would like a mobile data plan that takes into account such things as:
- How many devices we would like to be connected
- How many people we would like included on a plan
- How much data do we consume and can we be alerted when we are about to bust our limits?
- Is there a plan that gives me one view and one “throat to choke” that accounts for all of our modes of access (fixed, Wi-Fi, cellular) and usage?
- Can the industry develop options that accommodate all of our unique needs including getting a bill that makes sense?
There is also the challenge to the industry regarding the explosion in mobile data and how to monetize profitably without limiting the number of people using it because of real and perceived pricing issues. We have all seen the analyses about the tsunami of data usage the proliferation of personal devices is creating and the speed at which it is growing.
The problem for operators is accommodating the traffic and satisfying the desires of an increasingly fractionated market without pricing themselves out of most peoples’ budgets. As a recent TechZine article, “It’s Time for New Mobile Data Plans,” by Daisy Su, senior strategic marketing manager, Corporate Marketing Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert), highlighted, it is complicated.
