T-Mobile UK Uses Free WiFi to Set Its Mobile Broadband Apart
| Jan 17, 2007 | Enterprise Mobility - Europe | Competitive Update
| Analyst: Sandra O'Boyle
Current Perspective: Positive/Neutral
Vendor Importance: High
Market Impact: Moderate
Event Summary
January 9, 2008 -- T-Mobile UK has integrated ‘free’ WiFi access into its web‘n’walk Plus and Max mobile broadband services, which start at GBP 12.50 per month when connecting with a Flext voice plan. Laptop users utilising their 3G mobile handset as a modem, or customers using WiFi-enabled smartphones, can access 1,200 T-Mobile hotspots in the UK. T-Mobile UK WiFi hotspots typically cost from GBP 5 for 60 minutes, GBP 10 per month for subscription or GBO 20 per month for those without a T-Mobile phone.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Slightly positive on T-Mobile UK’s decision to bundle free WiFi access at 1,200 UK hotspots with selected 3G data plans, because it makes sense for T-Mobile to use its WiFi assets to differentiate itself in the mobile broadband space against strictly 3G competitors. Our main gripe is that the free WiFi offer is limited to high-end web’n’walk 3G data plans and T-Mobile UK has missed the opportunity to take the lead in mobile broadband by extending the offer to all web’n’walk customers.
• Vendor Importance: High to T-Mobile, because it allows the MNO to exploit a significant but perhaps underused asset in its wholly owned WiFi hotspot footprint to gain a competitive advantage in mobile broadband. Business customers would be attracted to saving money on data usage by finding T-Mobile WiFi hotspots at cafes and airports when they need to download large files.
• Market Impact: Moderate on the UK mobile data market, as rival MNOs may find themselves under pressure to respond by offering free hotspot access as well, something that is far more difficult for Vodafone UK, 02 UK and Orange UK to do because they do not own their own hotspots, but instead have to offer them via partnerships with other providers or aggregators. On the other hand, MNOs with wide 3G/HSDPA coverage will argue that customers do not need WiFi if 3G/HSDPA connectivity is widely available.
Recommended Competitor Actions
• Rival MNOs Vodafone, 02 and Orange should focus on expanding 7.2 Mbps HSDPA coverage to negate customer need for WiFi access at all, and they may need to examine ways to reduce the cost of the WiFi hotspot access they offer to UK business customers through partnerships with providers such as BT Openzone and The Cloud.
• Vodafone UK should ensure its mobile broadband e-mail and Internet access solution remains competitive with T-Mobile Flext + web’n’walk packages by expanding its 7.2 Mbps HSDPA coverage and contrasting its aggressive flat-rate 3G data plans against them.
• Orange Business Services already offers multi-bearer mobile access solutions in its Business Everywhere solution and can counter any threat from T-Mobile to its SME customers by accentuating its integrated fixed and mobile, voice and data offers, including broadband combined with end-point security applications. Orange Business Services can highlight its new mobile data USB modem for Business Everywhere users, which contains the upload for the Business Everywhere dashboard, and its support for multi-bearer access.
• 02 UK should tailor its monthly WLAN access price plan and Connection Manager software to present better value to business customers and put more focus on hooking SMEs with mobile VPN and Web services combined with its professional services expertise.
CLIENTS ONLY
Competitive Positives and Concerns
Recommended Vendor Actions
| Client access - Full report in Enterprise Mobility - Europe | More information
Top
|
