14 DAY TRIAL // Over 50 percent of all mobile phone users in the United States are said to find femtocells appealing, a recent survey from International research firm Parks Associates shows. The survey, U.S. Consumer Attitudes on In-Home Mobile Services and Femtocells, conducted on behalf of the Femto Forum, shows that people are interested in the benefits femtocells have to offer and would be willing to pay for the necessary device and services. Moreover, the survey shows that the consumer satisfaction can be greatly improved via femtocells.
It seems that only a small number of consumers are familiar with what femtocells are all about, namely less than 10 percent of them. However, it seems that 56 percent of mobile phone users in the US consider femtocells appealing, of which two thirds consider them very or extremely appealing. Among users already familiar with femtocells, 89 percent say the solutions are appealing, and that the interest in them should increase as awareness grows.
The main reason for which people found femtocells to be appealing is the possibility to improve the in-home coverage via them. The increase in handset battery life was another driver, followed by faster mobile broadband, advanced femtocell services and home-zone calling tariffs. According to the survey, 72 percent of those who thought femtocells were appealing were also interested in learning about at least one service.
“Examples of such services include Virtual Home Number, which rings every cell phone in the home, or Family Alerts, which warn when a subscriber has left or returned home. Furthermore, half of these respondents indicated a willingness to pay $4.99/month for their single favorite service or $9.99/month for a bundle of their favorite three services, illustrating a new revenue opportunity for operators,” the research firm notes.
Consumer satisfaction and loyalty can be influenced by femtocells too. According to the study, 44 percent of those who were interested in changing the carrier within 12 months said that they would reconsider that decision in case the current carrier offered a femtocell. Additionally, 35 percent of those who benefit from services from multi-operators said they would remain with a single one in case it offered a femtocell.
“The clear message from this research is that femtocells have widespread appeal and consumers are willing to pay for them. There is a major opportunity for operators to gain new subscribers by taking over the contracts of whole families, and by better retaining their existing subscribers,” said Harry Wang, director of mobile product research, Parks Associates. ”However, operators need to build their business models on market share gains and new service revenues rather than on upfront device purchase revenues alone.”
“It is rapidly becoming clear that there is widespread consumer interest in the benefits that femtocells bring. This research has shown that consumers want the core benefit of improved indoor coverage, but they are excited about the advanced services femtocells can offer as well. The survey also neatly illustrates how femtocells and Wi-Fi are actually complementary rather than competitive,” said Simon Saunders, The Femto Forum’s chairman. “From an operator perspective, this survey presents persuasive evidence of the opportunity femtocells pose for mobile operators to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty while providing new and enhanced services.”