There’s hope yet for 3G. Telcos simply need to unlearn old teachings and reposition themselves.

Kashminder Singh

Consultants usually have big egos. It’s easier to find a debt collector with a heart than to come across a consultant who is willing to admit that he was wrong. So when I heard UK based consultant, Stephen Jones say that he got 3G completely wrong in the beginning, I sat up and took notice. Perchance this guy might have something really useful to say instead of rehashing old 3G success mantras.

 

The setting was a Celcom organised media seminar and my hunch turned out to be right. Steve makes a lot of sense and if Celcom gets down to really taking his advice (and that’s still a big question mark), there’s no telling what might happen.

Steve is dead certain (this time) that the world is on the threshold of a major 3G boom. We have got past the first stage of over exuberance when 3G was hyped up to crazy levels. The inevitable crash that came later is also over.

What’s coming next is a boom. Technology marches on and as GSM networks age, 3G will become the dominant communications technology around. Competitors like Wimax will have a lot of catching up to do and may not even turn out to be competitors. They could end up complementing 3G networks instead.



While he certainly painted a rosy picture for 3G - revenues are expected to be $450 billion by 2010 according to one study – there’s a lot to be done. For one, telco have to give up their current strategies and work on new ones. While I cannot detail everything Steve recommends, there are some key points.

First, get that early adopter. There’s really no need to hype up 3G and advertise like hell in the mass media. Go straight for the early adopters that usually make up 15% of any market. Early adopters are relatively easy to acquire because they would be interested in 3G anyway. Online ads would be a good place to start looking for them. Not to mention advertising in magazines like Mobile World.

Mass media ads create expectations that cannot be fulfilled and that’s the second lesson. Don’t overhype the technology. Better still; don’t even launch services that cannot be delivered satisfactorily. One telco elsewhere even decided that it won’t provide video call service on its 3G network. Spend more on training frontline staff than on mass market advertising. Trained staff can speed up the learning curves of 3G users which will translate into satisfied customers and help create a positive buzz. Cut some of the TV and paper ads and put the money into creating a delightful user experience.

Come up with aggressively pricing packages. Telcos have to realize that they cannot keep charging for services and applications separately. Consumers are interested in an all-in-one price.  Don’t try to lock up customers. There’s enough money to be made from becoming excellent carriers. There’s no need to try and charge for stuff that should be free. Experience elsewhere has shown that when telcos try to charge, content finds a way to go free directly to users. Don’t forget that 3G is also broadband Internet, and there is so much free content on the Net.

And the biggest lesson that has been learnt thus far is that the applications that were supposed to be killer apps have largely failed. Interestingly, localized applications are proving to be hits across the world.

The way forward, according to Steve, are applications that provide new and improved ways of keeping in touch with friends, family and others in everyday life. There’s a name for this type of applications: Mobile Social Software (Mososo). In simple words; Mososo applications will help friends and families keep in touch and share things. Look at what the humble SMS has done in this respect for 2G. Any telco that can bring in an application that will bring people closer on the 3G platform will be a big winner.