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Study Shows Substantial Demand for Mobile High-Speed Data
October 18, 2002
An in-depth study sponsored by Lucent Technologies found substantial
demand for high-speed mobile data access among U.S. and European
businesses, particularly for e-mails with data-heavy attachments
and Internet and corporate Intranet access. The study also indicated
that third-generation (3G) mobile operators are in a good position
to provide these services to enterprise customers, a market segment
characterized by high subscriber loyalty and a willingness to incur
some incremental costs in exchange for nationwide high-speed data
coverage.
Other research also has identified a sizeable market for mobile
high-speed data services for businesses. According to International
Data Corporation (IDC), for U.S. businesses alone, the total addressable
market for wireless data services, including messaging and Internet,
will grow to $16.8 billion by 2006. The Lucent study, completed
in September 2002, was conducted by a third-party research firm
and was based on in-depth interviews with more than 1500 telecommunications/information
technology (IT) managers, the ultimate decision makers for technology-related
purchases. Lucent was not revealed to respondents as the sponsor
of the study.
The research indicates that businesses want a wireless data solution
that addresses the main problems of accessing data on the road --
speed and ease of connectivity. 3G technology can satisfy business
user requirements in these areas, according to the research. Additionally,
mobile operators were selected by 44 percent of the respondents
as the most likely provider of a high-speed mobile data service.
IT/networking suppliers were second with 34 percent.
"As this study shows, there is a significant pent-up demand among
enterprise users for 3G high-speed mobile data services due to improvements
that can be made to critical business processes, and the resulting
increases in productivity and customer satisfaction," said Scott
Erickson, senior vice president of marketing and sales, Lucent Mobility
Solutions Group. "Lucent is already working with enterprises in
particular market segments -- including insurance, finance, energy,
professional services and manufacturing -- to better define their
needs for high-speed mobile data services. We're then bringing these
findings to mobile operators and helping them develop a 3G business
model that will serve these customer needs."
This research is part of a series of investigations into global
trends in wireless data demand. The study focused on 22 different
types of businesses, or vertical market segments, which helped identify
those segments most likely to be early adopters. In the European
studies, the geographic focus of the research was on five markets
-- France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, which are
expected to be the earliest adopters of high-speed wireless data
services, according to Lucent.
High-speed Mobile Data Needs and Most Interested Market Segments
Telecom/IT managers cited remote e-mail and Internet/Intranet access
as the main requirements for traveling employees, with a particular
focus on applications including data-heavy e-mails, word processing,
spreadsheet and presentation programs. The respondents also cited
remote access to office applications as most critical for sales
professionals and service representatives. Those business segments
most interested in high-speed mobile data access to support sales
functions included banking, manufacturing, business and consumer
services, media, transportation and wholesale/retail. Those most
interested in support for service functions included insurance,
utilities and maintenance-related businesses.
Traveling employees or "road warriors" who need to access critical
applications while on the go are most often salespeople or service
reps. "Road warriors" spending the most time away from the office
were found to be in the wholesale/retail, media and communications,
business and consumer services and manufacturing industries. Although
there were distinct differences by vertical segment, the top five
locations for accessing data included customer sites, branch offices,
suppliers' offices, hotels and the home.
The study also evaluated telecom/IT managers' technology preferences
when considering a solution to provide employees with mobile data
access, and their strategies for rolling out such services to their
employees. In addition, it explored these managers' selection criteria
for choosing a mobile high-speed data service provider, which included
reputation, brand recognition, and price.
3G Wireless Networks Meet Need for High-Speed Mobile Data Access
The study revealed that 3G wireless networks meet many of the needs
that businesses identified as necessary for a wireless data solution
-- speed, ease of connectivity and coverage.
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