2005 Wireless User Surveys.

Yankee Group revealed the highly sought after results for its 2005 wireless user surveys. The surveys give an unparalleled picture of the drivers shaping the US and European consumer and business markets and provide insight for carriers, handset manufacturers and other companies involved in the quickly evolving mobile ecosystem. Key findings in each market include:

US Consumer

Although price and coverage continue to govern the service provider selection process, other influences such as family and peer groups, as well as customer service, are increasingly affecting the choice of provider. These same factors are also driving customers to switch service providers or churn. Family plans are a fundamental driver of growth in the mature US market, with almost half of all postpaid users choosing this option.

Significantly, mobile data and other advanced services continue to have little impact on service provider selection. Consumer awareness and penetration levels for more mature mobile data services began to plateau. Picture messaging has emerged as one bright spot: The proportion of users who indicated they have phones with that capability doubled. The 25-and-younger crowd continues to lead in adoption and regular usage of most mobile data services and applications. As in Europe, music-based applications are arousing interest, particularly among youth segments.

European Consumer

As in the US, price is the number-one factor governing choice of wireless carrier, and most subscribers are dissatisfied with the value they receive from their provider. Respondents rate operators poorly for customer service, indicating that operators should focus on this area as a differentiator. Use of the mobile continues to grow dramatically as illustrated by increasing fixed-to-mobile call substitution. However, users are choosing not to “cut the cord,” retaining their landlines for broadband and cheaper incoming calls.

Advanced mobile data services are starting to arouse some interest. Unlike the US, picture messaging is becoming more widely understood and used, indicating the potential of a more successful year. Messaging and music-related applications are the most appealing.

US Business

On average, US businesses spent $5.7 million on wireless voice and data services. For companies with more than 500 employees, a full 40% of them are mobile. This translates to just less than 50 million mobile workers in the US, indicating there is a mass market for wireless business products and services.

The US continues to lead in wireless wide-area data (WWAD). Thirty-five percent of companies have deployed or are piloting WWAD, but 36% of survey respondents had no plans or did not know of any plans to deploy WWAD.

European Business

In 2004, European workers increasingly became untethered:48% of all workers in businesses with less than 500 employees, and 37% of all workers in businesses with more than 500 employees, were considered mobile. Europe’s large companies spent an average of $35.5 million toward wireless voice, video, data and WLAN services, outstripping US large businesses.

Although aggressive rollout of WLANs continues, Europe’s large business sector lags the US in WWAD deployment. Twenty-seven percent of large companies have deployed or are piloting WWAD, but tellingly, 37% of respondents had no WWAD plans. At the same time, Europe’s robust SMB market, in contrast, is much more positive on WWAD: 56% of SMBs surveyed have deployed or are piloting WWAD and 12% had no WWAD plans.

“These findings once again prove Yankee Group leads the way in understanding the evolving wireless world,” said Keith Mallinson, executive vice president, Wireless Mobile Research, Yankee Group. “We’ve painted a complete portrait for each market, clarifying precisely which strategies will help our clients make winning business decisions.”