© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
Research Report
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013:
voice and messaging
June 2013
Stephen Sale
© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
Contents
6. Executive summary
7. About this report
8. Executive summary: IP-based communication services, particularly
messaging, are gaining traction in the smartphone customer base
9. Executive summary: the success of unlimited SMS plans suggests that
operators urgently need to expand their adoption
10. Executive summary: voice remains the major marker of value for mobile
subscribers, but is losing out to data among younger users
11. Executive summary: fixed–mobile line substitution is stable – very few
fixed voice users intend to give up the service
12. Implications and recommendations
13. Implications and recommendations [1]
14. Implications and recommendations [2]
15. The impact of IP-based voice and messaging services
16. Traditional operator-provided services face competition from a wide
variety of communication services
17. IP-based communication services, particularly messaging, are making
strong inroads into the smartphone customer base
18. Skype is successfully migrating to the smartphone, but a new generation
of messaging apps is displacing the old IM services
19. Mobile VoIP has inherited fixed VoIP’s inclusive usage profile, but
mobile IP messaging usage is heavily concentrated among younger age
groups
20. Despite a modest overall penetration of IP messaging services, the
German and UK messaging markets are highly vulnerable to
substitution
21. Why almost 90% of smartphone owners do not actively use mobile VoIP
apps
22. iPhone users are more likely to use VoIP services but penetration of IP
messaging services is high across all major operating systems
23. Usage of traditional mobile services
24. The vast majority of mobile users continue to use traditional services in
volume, despite gains made by IP-based alternatives
25. Operators are using hybrid deals to attract profitable prepaid users, but
there is still more ‘low-hanging fruit’
26. Unlimited mobile voice bundles are relatively rare, but the success of
unlimited SMS suggests that operators need to expand their adoption
27. Operators still have work to do in right-sizing contract customers
28. Minimising mobile churn
29. Most customers claim to be generally satisfied with their mobile
services, particularly those with hybrid tariffs – flexibility is valued
30. Longer contracts may have had only a short-term effect on mobile
handset churn rates – lack of flexibility is contributing to dissatisfaction
31. Price followed by customer service are the major drivers for churn in
mobile services
32. Voice remains the major marker of value for mobile subscribers, but is
losing out to data among younger users
Slide no. Slide no.
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© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
Contents
33. Bundling with fixed services may help reduce mobile churn rates
34. Trends in fixed–mobile substitution
35. Reported penetration of fixed voice services is markedly down in some
countries suggesting that it is irrelevant to many people
36. Young people are more likely to use mobile voice services than older
people, and this disparity continues to increase year-on-year
37. Fixed–mobile line substitution is stable – fixed voice users are satisfied
and very few intend to give up the service
38. All-inclusive voice service bundles may help fixed operators to counter
the risk of mobile usage substitution
39. Panel information and methodology
40. Methodology
41. Panel information: UK
42. Panel information: France
43. Panel information: Germany
44. Panel information: Spain
45. Panel information: Poland
46. Panel information: USA
47. About the author and Analysys Mason
48. About the author
49. About Analysys Mason
50. Research from Analysys Mason
51. Consulting from Analysys Mason
Slide no. Slide no.
3
© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
List of figures [1]
Figure 1: Countries covered individually in this report
Figure 2: VoIP and IP messaging service penetration, by country
Figure 3: VoIP and IP messaging service penetration, by age
Figure 4: Voice minute allocations within mobile contract bundles, by
country
Figure 5: Penetration of unlimited voice and messaging bundles, by country
Figure 6: Top-six criteria for choosing next mobile service
Figure 7: Selected criteria for consumers choosing their next mobile
service, by age
Figure 8: User satisfaction ratings for fixed voice services, by country
Figure 9: Reasons given by fixed voice users planning to give up the
service
Figure 10: Penetration of selected communication activities across all
devices
Figure 11: Penetration of selected communication activities across all
devices, by age
Figure 12: VoIP and IP messaging service penetration, by country
Figure 13: VoIP and IP messaging services, penetration of installed base
Figure 14: VoIP and IP messaging service penetration, by device
Figure 15: VoIP and IP messaging service penetration, by device and age
Figure 16: IP-based messaging penetration, by age and country
Figure 17: VoIP service users’ reasons for not using VoIP on a mobile
handset
Figure 18: VoIP and IP-based messaging penetration, by operating system
Figure 19: IP-based messaging services, penetration of installed base for
selected operating systems
Figure 20: Estimated monthly mobile voice usage, by country
Figure 21: Estimated monthly mobile SMS usage, by age
Figure 22: Estimated monthly mobile voice usage, prepaid users, by country
Figure 23: Penetration of monthly minimum spend plans, prepaid users, by
country
Figure 24: Voice minute allocations within mobile contract bundles, by
country
Figure 25: Penetration of unlimited voice and messaging bundles, by country
Figure 26: Reported utilisation of voice minutes in a mobile contract, by
country
Figure 27: User satisfaction ratings for mobile voice services, by country
Figure 28: Average user satisfaction ratings for mobile voice services, by
type of tariff
Figure 29: Intentions of users, by country
Figure 30: Intentions of users to change network provider, by type of tariff
Figure 31: Reasons given for wanting to change network provider, by
country
Figure 32: Top-six criteria for choosing next mobile service
Figure 33: Selected criteria for consumers choosing their next mobile
service, by age
4
© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
List of figures [2]
Figure 34: Six-month plans for fixed broadband, mobile broadband and
mobile voice service, by time with service provider
Figure 35: Voice service penetration, by country, 2010–2012
Figure 36: Voice service penetration, by age and service type
Figure 37: User satisfaction ratings for fixed voice services, by country
Figure 38: Reasons given by fixed voice users planning to give up the
service
Figure 39: Type of monthly fixed voice subscription, by country
Figure 40: Survey respondents’ demographic data: UK, 2012
Figure 41: Survey respondents’ demographic data: France, 2012
Figure 42: Survey respondents’ demographic data: Germany, 2012
Figure 43: Survey respondents’ demographic data: Spain, 2012
Figure 44: Survey respondents’ demographic data: Poland, 2012
Figure 45: Survey respondents’ demographic data: USA, 2012
5
© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
18
–2
4
25
–3
4
35
–4
4
45
–5
4
55
–6
4
65+
Pe
ne
tration
of
de
vic
es
VoIP (PC or laptop)
VoIP (smartphone)
IP messaging (PC or laptop)
IP messaging (smartphone)
Mobile VoIP has inherited fixed VoIP’s inclusive usage profile, but mobile
IP messaging usage is heavily concentrated among younger age groups
The age profile of mobile VoIP users supports the argument
proposed in slide 17 that the service remains marginal for
most users and has not yet gone mass-market as a fully
substitutive voice service.
Our results show quite even usage across age groups, which
is consistent with fixed VoIP and suggests that usage
patterns are similar on both fixed and mobile platforms. It is
likely that VoIP services such as Skype are being used for
specific kinds of calls. These are typically pre-arranged
longer calls among friends and family.
Penetration rates of IP messaging services are much higher
across the age groups, particularly on smartphones. The
service is very well suited to mobile devices. The age
distribution of IP-based messaging users is much more
heavily biased towards younger age groups suggesting
concentrated usage among peer groups (friends, rather than
family).
As we saw on slide 16, IP messaging has a similar usage
distribution to SMS, which is also popular among younger
age groups. Younger users are leading the use of IP-based
alternatives to SMS, but high adoption levels among older
users will also create concern among operators that are
aiming to secure the mass market with their own services.
Figure 15: VoIP and IP messaging service penetration, by device and age
[Source: Analysys Mason, 2013]1
1 Questions: Various; n = 6610.
19
© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
0% 50% 100%
Total
65+
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
Percentage of respondents
0
1–50
51–100
101–200
201–500
501–1000
More than 1000
0% 50% 100%
USA
UK
Spain
Poland
Germany
France
Total
Percentage of respondents
No calls
1–50
51–100
101–200
201–500
501–1000
More than 1000
The vast majority of mobile users continue to use traditional services in
volume, despite gains made by IP-based alternatives
Reported voice usage varies significantly from country to
country. Respondents in Germany continue to report
relatively low usage volumes (for both voice and messaging).
Surprisingly, French users reported low volumes, too, but
there is little evidence of this on a national scale. The highest
usage levels were reported in the USA.
Voice usage did not vary significantly across age groups,
except for the over 65s who reported lower levels. Each of
the other age groups included a significant proportion of low-
volume users – younger age groups had more very high
volume users (31% compared to 14%).
Younger users were much more likely to use high volumes of
SMS and MMS, and also to be able to estimate usage levels.
Of 18–24 year olds, 47% claimed to send over 500
messages per month, compared to only 5% of over 65s. We
have already seen that SMS penetration is much higher
among the young, but the reported volumes underline the
age bias in the market.
Only 6% of 18–24 year olds claimed not to use SMS or MMS
services and only 26% said that they sent fewer than 100
messages per month. Despite high penetration levels of IP-
based alternatives, full messaging service substitution has
not yet occurred in most countries. The persisting relevance
of SMS gives operators some leverage in the messaging
market.
Figure 20: Estimated monthly mobile voice usage, by country [Source:
Analysys Mason, 2013]1
2 Question: “How many text messages (SMS or MMS in total) do you send per month?”;
n = 4776; respondents with a mobile phone, excluding those answering ‘unsure’.
Figure 21: Estimated monthly mobile SMS usage, by age [Source: Analysys
Mason, 2013]2
24
1 Question: “How many minutes of calls do you actually make per month?”; n = 4206;
respondents with a mobile phone, excluding those answering ‘unsure’.
© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging 47
Executive summary
Implications and recommendations
The impact of IP-based voice and messaging services
Usage of traditional mobile services
Minimising mobile churn
Trends in fixed–mobile substitution
Panel information and methodology
About the author and Analysys Mason
© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
About the author
Stephen Sale (Principal Analyst) is the lead analyst for Analysys Mason’s Voice and Messaging research
programme. His primary areas of specialisation include consumer VoIP, OTT player strategies, fixed–mobile
substitution and pricing strategies. Before joining Analysys Mason in 2004, Stephen worked in a number of research
and marketing roles within the telecoms industry and has several years’ experience in VoIP and broadband access.
He has a degree in economics and an interdisciplinary MRes from the University of London.
48
© Analysys Mason Limited 2013
The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
About Analysys Mason
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The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
Research from Analysys Mason
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The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
Consulting from Analysys Mason
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The Connected Consumer Survey 2013: voice and messaging
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