Friday, April 30. 2010I Have Always Disliked Mobile "Marketing".........John Linton .....because of its outright dishonesty and it being based on conning the stupid out of as much money as possible. It isn't a coincidence that both Telstra and Optus make more money out of mobile services than all other services put together. How does anyone think that happens? There is only one way that I know which is to charge an outrageously high mark up on the cost of delivery and rely on the cartel pricing to avoid competition. Fair enough - if the 'markets' are stupid enough not to notice then why give the suckers an even break? Mobile telephony requires a lot of investment so it's only reasonable to get a realistic return on those investments - hard to argue with. After twenty years of flim flammery and out right dishonesty there seems to be no 'marketing' differential between the three mobile providers and they continue to make profits from mobile services that would be the envy of the US or EU carriers in their magnitude and ease of obtainment. I don't think I'm a particularly highly principled person nor do I have no commercial common sense but I have, as both a buyer and a seller of mobile services, always despised the sheer dishonesty of the pricing of mobile services. Therefore I have always been very, very bad at being a part of the process that requires making intrinsically dishonest offers to marketplace long used to accepting lies as truth and complex misdirection as 'standard' and all that can be expected. So it is always with great trepidation that I begin the process of looking at Exetel's mobile pricing which has always been very easy to understand (by a prospective buyer) and always painfully honest. Of course our mobile buy pricing 'power' is very poor as we don't sell anything like the mobile minute volumes that interest mobile carriers and even our requirement to make very small profits does not overcome that massive disadvantage. Our only way to market mobile telephone calls successfully is to use MoIP which allows the user, via downloading a painless mini app, to use a data enabled phone to make voice calls at rates that are lower than any other mobile provider offers - at least currently, and to use SMoIP to be able to offer 5 cent SMS. So I started looking at the 'market' to determine where the lowest costs of mobile calls are at the moment. The consensus from our agents and our forum feedback is that the TPG/Optus offer of 10 cents flag fall plus 10 cents a minute for GSM calls with 10 cent SMS was easily the best on the market. There are many other 'capped' plans from different carriers and carrier re-sellers that deliver the same end result so I took these parameters as a price schedule to 'beat'. I understand that the acceptance of MoIP is less than the acceptance of VoIP but as Exetel are unlikely to be able to buy at volumes that will allow us to effectively compete on GSM pricing we will have to base future mobile plans largely on MoIP....and at such incredibly good rates that all but the very 'timid' mobile telephone user will overcome their fears about VoIP/MoIP. Easy enough to say but not so easy to do even though we had the 'foresight' to develop our own SMS platforms and volume buys starting some three years ago in the expectation this day would come. So my first iteration on MoIP pricing for data capable phones (without running the profit numbers or having any clue as to how to market such a service as a 'mainstream' product) would be: 1) Zero Monthly Fee 2) National Wire line - 5 cent flag fall and then 5 cents per minute 3) National calls to mobiles - 5 cent flag fall and then 10 cents per minute 4) National SMS - 5 cents per 160 characters 5) Data - 200 mb included then 2.25 cents per megabyte As far as I can see that is pretty much the pricing that would be needed together with the Symbion, Android, iPhone etc mini apps that make using MoIP and SMoIP a 'piece of cake'. As always, I could be quite wrong, and if any knowledgeable reader can point out the errors in my thinking I would appreciate it. Copyright © Exetel Pty Ltd 2010
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Hi John,
Personally i'd need to look at the number of minutes i'm spending on the phone each month to work out how the cost of that side of it would compare - rates do look cheap though, so woudl imagine it would be an improvement. My first thought though is that people using smartphones are likely to be using a fair bit of data (i think estimate of average iphone data use is around 300mb/month). Would it be possible to offer an option with say 500mb included, and what would the cost implications be? Comments (2)
Including services on a zero cost plan is very difficult.
The suggested 200 mb is very generous given the other low rates. Comments (7)
That's a fair point. I'd imagine it would affect takeup on something like this, but I guess it depends on who you're expecting to use the service.
More relevantly, I was interested so ran the numbers on my last four bills. Last two months (relatively heavy phone use) would have sat at $52.3 and $56, so limited benefit compared to my current plan. The previous two months however would have been $34.4 and $40.3, so would be a nice saving there. Makes it an interesting option! Comments (2)
I am existing Extel HSPA WM-B - exeMoIP user.
I use 'GSM' at times where MoIP is not optimal in places I infrequently travel to, it comes in handy. I never exceed the $10 minimum spend with $0.25 per min on 'GSM'. WM-A @ $0.50 per min had stung me on this previously hence the switch to a 24-month plan. Although my combined mobile bill has never exceeded $30 in one month in any instance. Otherwise it is MoIP almost exclusively. Comments: 1) Zero Monthly Fee SH- Yes Please. Always has been welcome. 2) National Wire line - 5 cent flag fall and then 5 cents per minute SH- I would rather the exisiting 10c fixed untimed. That is the #1 reason I use this service. 3) National calls to mobiles - 5 cent flag fall and then 10 cents per minute SH- Yes please. 4) National SMS - 5 cents per 160 characters SH- Always has been an awesome rate! Even when it was at 8 cents. 5) Data - 200 mb included then 2.25 cents per megabyte SH- I would rather 0 mb then 1.5 cents per megabyte 'pay as you use'. I am not a fan of 'inclusions'. I rarely exceed 100 mb. Comments (2)
Your points emphasise why I dislike mobile marketing so much.
All component pricing is 'balanced' to provide the ability to make some things more attractive. If you 'cherry pick' then the plan will lose money. The solution is to offer two plans - one where a minimum amount of money is made on each component (like the current plans) and a "TPG like" plan as outlined here where the combination of the pricing makes money but looks more attractive to the buyers whom TPG (and other mobile resellers) aim at. Comments (7)
Understood. My view is obviously of an established user.
I often witness people proudly boasting 'inclusions/caps' like it is a appendage measuring exercise. The more they get for 'nothing' the better. Fine print/excess usage is not an issue/consideration with them. Comments (2)
Hi John,
I'll have to look into the EU and US markets to see what is so foreign about our market that makes it so uncompetitive. I'm totally ignorant to this, but I feel as a consumer, knowing I'm being ripped off wouldn't help anyway, I'm not moving So the tri-opoly will remain. I'd like to hear your thoughts on how those markets got to where they are (cheaper), that is.. if you have any idea Meanwhile I moved off Exetel MoIP over to TPG because the MoIP coverage wasn't 100% and as you've blogged before 'young people' expect perfection from their services It took a long time for me (as an Exetel user) to understand the appeal of caps, and frankly there isn't one except knowing with their $20 cap, I know that it is about 8-10 minutes calls / day 30 days a month. I looked at the past 6 months of Exetel MoIP usage and I never exceeded 250ish minutes / month. I do feel that mobile pricing is getting cheaper. My first Optus prepaid in 2001 was 25c flagfall 30c per 30 seconds I think. In 9 years, the value can be up to 1/10 the cost, provided you give them $20 every month. Moving in the right direction, just no as you say a simple product. Comment (1)
Have you considered "gateway" numbers for people who may not have the up-market phone and will just use their GSM phone?
Regards, Harry. Comment (1)
Harry,
Thank you for the suggestion - I've asked Chris to look in to it. Comments (7)
I agree with HarryL that some user need low usage plans with low cost phone. A MOIP or VOIP compatible phone costs at least $200
Comments (2)
Two quick things:
I have been using Exetel MoIP with Fring on my iPhone, with mixed results - very good over wireless through exetel ADSL2+, but only so so over Optus 3G. The V Phone app that Exetel recommend is now $11.99 on the store, but it does do G729 - I wonder if this makes all the difference in my phone call experiences? Just thinking out loud... Comment (1)
Have you tried the Exetel MoIP app - from the User Facilities?
Way better than Fring. Comments (7)
I have a two suggestions to make.
First is that non Exetel user gets only 100MB free. (Give your Exetel user perceived exstra benefit. You may tempt them to get Exetel ADSL service.) The second is to have some minimum spend. (An amount to just cver your cost every month) An example would be $1 a month minimum for Exetel user and $2 a month for no Exetel user. You save cost for Exetel user because it is part of the Exetel monthly bill. The reason for the minimum spend is that some people will use it on their back up phone and so end up costing you money Comments (2)
I'm using MOIP at the moment and really want it to work - it would be great if we could have a more reliable service/application.
Unfortunately I can't route enough of my mobile call through MOIP at the moment and the "fall back" mobile pricing on HSPA is relatively expensive (with no cap) I don't know if it's MOIP or Optus 3G causing the problem - but I'm in metro Sydney so it's not an unreasonable expectation to have a decent service which should support VOIP If you could solve those sorts of issues then you'd be on a winner Comments (2)
Are you using the Exetel MoIP app?
I have been using it for over a year and have no problems. Comments (7)
Like Bodog, I really would like MoIP to work reliably. Installed Exetel MoIP successfully on my Nokia E63 but call quality is not good. Have very good 3G mobile coverage in Penrith area and no problems with other data access from the phone.
Installed Exetel MoIP exactly as suggested, on the phone memory etc. How do we sort out these issues? Comment (1)
Send an email to:
shermanf@exetel.com.au with exact details of the issues. Comments (7)
Yes - I'm using the latest release of MOIP (downloaded from user facilities around a month ago)on a Nokia 6720 Classic
When it works it works fine - but it doesn't always work; consistency is what I'm after. I understand that areas with poor 3G or trying to use it while on the move in a car are not likely to be sucessful Comments (2)
I have no problems in the Lower North Shore nor in the country towns and the highways within 300 kms of Sydney in Eastern NSW.
I will make some enquiries. Comments (7)
I abandoned VOIP on 3G about 2 months ago after giving it a good go for about 6 months, wanting it to be what it could never be. As a caller, never felt proud making professional calls(non family/friends) because of constant quality issues.
Now very happily using a unique hybrid product from PennyTel using PennySIM. Would love if you could do something similar while providing better support(PennyTel has lot to desire in this front). Here is a summary of PennySIM plan FYI: Monthly fee: $8 Calls via Optus: 16 c/min Calls to mobile via SmartDial: 10.5 c/min Local/National calls via SmartDial: 8c flat Monthly Data 500mb: $8 Disclaimer: I have no interest in PennyTel other than being their customer, just like I am Exetel's. Comment (1)
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