Quack

This might seem a strange topic - doesn’t everyone love the pre-paid business because it eliminates things like fraud and bad debt? This was the question on my mind as I listened to a presentation from Telstra on this very topic at a recent Billing and Revenue Assurance conference. (more…)

OK, now I have seen it all. There are certainly moves about by regulators to put the onus on telecomms providers to protect their customers from overspending, or at least making them more aware of charges that are accruing. In principle, this is not unreasonable. (more…)

There are more and more mobile phone and VOIP offerings appearing that feature a set number of “minutes” per month, and sometimes different categories of minutes. This style of pricing has always been common in the USA. I wanted to discuss a couple of issues that this raises. (more…)

I’ve been slack. Very slack. After several months of sustained production, it’s fair to say I hit a patch of “writers’ block” when it came to material for the blog. There was enough going through my head, but the discipline of putting finger to keyboard seemed to fade. Then I read a fantastic quote from the great Jodi Picoult. (more…)

Deakin University have released some research (also here) about mobile phone spending habits among youth. They are concerned about the “economic impact” of mobile phones. (more…)

Some interesting things are happening in the world that might be a step backward. In the US, ISPs are starting to lock customers in to 24 month contracts. In other developments, Orange in the UK have extended their contract periods on new handsets to 24 months. (more…)

The world is shrinking. I am currently in the US and able to work as if I’m at my desk at the office. As well as that, I’m in the middle of an array of family celebrations spanning several continents. It’s really a case of “if it’s Tuesday, this must be New York”.

Phone call rates continue to trend down, but roaming rates (more…)

Despite what anyone tells you, your view of mobile phone coverage is an extremely subjective thing. Whether it’s Telstra with 98% of the population covered, 90%+ of the geographic coverage, or Optus spending several hundred million to increase just 2 percentage points in their own coverage, what actually affects you (and me) most is that nasty blackspot that you pass by every day or so. (more…)

Well, it’s finally happened. The English have caught up with the rest of the world as far as answering a mobile phone anywhere and everywhere goes.

Research from Dial-a-Phone (also here) shows that people will answer the phone almost anywhere, (more…)

Some interesting stories in the press recently about Telefonica, a leading Spanish telecomms operator and their plans for Mobile TV. They have held back the broader launch until they can understand the value proposition their customers expect (more…)