By its nature, mobile broadband is a commoditised product, consisting of the sale of raw bandwidth for laptop PCs. However, in the face of eroding margins and the high cost of further network deployment, MNOs must explore options for bolstering revenue from mobile broadband subscribers. This consists of two elements: introducing value-added services that increase ARPU, and differentiating their offer from that of their competitors, thus reducing the need to discount prices in order to acquire new customers.
In the last three years, mobile broadband offers have been relatively unsophisticated, with MNOs typically deploying a single ‘all-you-can-eat’ (albeit usually with fair-usage limits) offer with few additional features. This was partly because it allowed MNOs to get their offer quickly to market, and partly because they lacked the network capabilities to be more sophisticated. Today, numerous vendors offer the ability to introduce service features that would allow MNOs to segment their offers and improve margins.
This report examines all the options that MNOs should employ for differentiating their mobile broadband service, as well as driving additional revenue from new service features and value-added services. Options examined include network capabilities (including both macro and local-access networks), pricing and segmentation, fixed–mobile bundling, devices, customer care, software subscriptions, and music and video content.
Differentiate or die: strategies for improving mobile broadband ARPU and margins answers your key questions:
- What are the best options for differentiating a mobile broadband offer?
- In positioning such a commoditised product is it all about the network speed and capacity?
- What is the impact of differentiation on adoption, ARPU and revenue compared with a commoditised market?
- What additional services can MNOs sell to boost ARPU?
- Which service features should be enabled to maximise mobile broadband revenue?
- How can segmentation help to boost ARPU and reduce network loading?