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European Wi-Fi prices decline |
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Saturday, 10 July 2004 |
08 July, 2004:
Pricing for Wi-Fi public access services in Europe has shown a marked
decline over the past six months, although regionally still remain much
higher than benchmark prices in the US and Asia.
A new report, 'Wi-Fi Tariffs Europe',
researched by BroadGroup, reveals that pricing is continuing to trend
downwards, and focusing on standard time bands. The average price for
24-hours, offered by 42% of all service providers, and the second
largest tariff category, now stands at approximately €14.02 (US$17.32).
No
apparent relationship however appears to exist between a higher than
average number of players in a country market, and lower prices. The
report finds that, of the country markets where 24-hour pricing is
offered by four or more players, the UK and France are still above
average European pricing. The report believes this illustrates the
influence of the main service provider - usually a telco - in setting
market prices and control in the distribution of hotspots. Conversely,
it could also suggest the precarious nature of some business models
being used, and lack of effective target marketing. Portugal is the
cheapest country for one-month subscriptions, and Germany the most
expensive.
Ownership
of hotspots in Europe is increasingly controlled by telcos and mobile
operators, who collectively manage 67% of the total. A further 20% is
controlled by The Cloud, the largest hotspot owner in the region.
Around 70% of all hotspots included in the survey are now located in
the UK, Germany and France. The report recorded growth of 110% across
the service providers and countries covered, since the end of December
2003.
Payment methodologies have remained largely unchanged, and retain a
significant bias (75%) towards prepayment schemes in this market
sector, emphasising the transient nature of Wi-Fi in service marketing.
Payment via SMS has increased, and PAYG is beginning to be introduced.
www.broadgroup.com
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