Nextel Communications Inc. in partnership with NII Holdings, Inc. announced the extension of International Direct Connect walkie-talkie service to Mexico, offering an affordable way for Nextel customers to communicate with other Nextel customers in one of the most populous countries in Latin America and the United States’ second largest trading partner.
Telecommunications
AT&T Introduces Unlimited Calling Plan To Six Mexican Cities.
Continuing its innovative support to the Latino community of international callers, AT&T announced the latest addition to its growing portfolio of unlimited calling plans, the AT&T Unlimited Mexican Cities Plan.
Worldwide Mobile Phone Market Grows 29%.
The worldwide market for mobile phones slowed slightly in the first quarter of 2004 due to expected seasonal effects, but still managed to post impressive growth year-on-year. According to IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone QView, worldwide mobile phone shipments decreased sequentially by 5.9% in 1Q04 and increased by 29.3% year-over-year to 152.7 million units. Additionally, the nascent market for converged mobile devices, or “smartphones,” posted a sequential decrease of 5.5% but a year-over-year increase of 85.8%.
Increase In US Hispanic Purchasing Power Will Lead To Shifts In Telecom Marketing Focus.
One out of every three dollars spent on telecommunications services in 2009 will come from US ethic communities, so the spending power of the Hispanic American, African American, and Asian American communities will become crucial to the survival of telecommunications providers over the next five years.
U.S. Consumer Long Distance Calling Is Increasingly Wireless.
A recent Yankee Group report, “2003 TAF Survey Findings Highlight the Consumer Market’s Competitive Challenges,” states that wireless usage is accelerating the decline of landline minutes of use. Although the number of U.S. households that have totally cut the wireline voice cord remains small, 50 percent of wireless households report their wireless usage has
replaced some, a significant amount or all of their regular telephone usage. The most dramatic impact of wireless displacement on wireline voice is in long distance, where wireless users indicate on average that they now make 43 percent of their long-distance calls on their wireless phones.
Landline Displacement To Increase As More Wireless Subscribers Cut The Cord.
While some significant barriers still exist to the widespread displacement of landlines by wireless phones, consumer attitudes clearly illustrate the potential for wireless substitution as the wireline subscriber base and value proposition continue to deteriorate, reports In-Stat/MDR.
Hispanics’ Cellular Bills Are 10% Higher Than The National Average.
Scarborough Research released a study which found that Hispanics spend more on their monthly household cellular phone service than the national average. According to the study, the average monthly household cellular bill for Hispanics is $67, which is more than 10 percent higher than the national average of $60. Nationally, 64 percent of Hispanics live in a household with a cellular phone subscription. This is virtually equal to the national cell phone penetration rate of 66 percent.
