3GScottishUser
3rd November 2005, 06:53 PM
Well it's November and it's not been a good time for 3 UK lately.
The handset range has been pretty stagnant with a few new LG clones but nothing of any great interest.
The 'Walled Garden' became a 'Walled Park' and the fully free and open data offering has no data card and is poorer value than other services available.
There is little pre-pay to speak of aside some dodgy 'refurbished' oldies at discount prices. The rest of the range are miles more expensive than compeditors. (ie Orange LG 8150 now £49.99, 3's LG 8360 is £ 229.95).
All the networks are now doing 1/2 price line rental on just about every handset including popular new models like the Samsung Z500 and D600, so the price advantage seems to have been lost in the High Street.
Mobile TV has taken on a whole new meaning with Vodafone's SKY offering, free for 3 months then just £5 for 10 channels including Sky Sports etc.
Add to the above the fact that 3 UK have notified customers of price increases of up to 100% on calls outwith inclusive minutes, allowing customers to terminate early.
3 have now also publicly axed 39 dealers blaming them for poor customer profiles and churn.
All in all, with 02 acquiring customers at 3 times the rate of 3 and none of the other majors posting results that reveal any significant loss of customers, the question has to be asked just how well are 3 doing these days? The indicators dont look good and as time progresses all the rest have more compelling products and it looks like 3 UK will have to shell out even more than before to gain customers.
A tell-tale indicator was 02's sale this week to Telefonica. In a market where they have an aggressive new compeditor and 3 others they managed to increase their worth (in the open market) by over 100% in 12 months. That tells you something about the state of things and the effect of 3 UK and the rest on their business prospects.
With cheapie ZTE's on the horizon, a new ThreePay deal and better Nokia, Motorola and LG offerings coming, will 3 have enough to make an impact or has the bubble burst due to the poor user experience from earlier times?
The handset range has been pretty stagnant with a few new LG clones but nothing of any great interest.
The 'Walled Garden' became a 'Walled Park' and the fully free and open data offering has no data card and is poorer value than other services available.
There is little pre-pay to speak of aside some dodgy 'refurbished' oldies at discount prices. The rest of the range are miles more expensive than compeditors. (ie Orange LG 8150 now £49.99, 3's LG 8360 is £ 229.95).
All the networks are now doing 1/2 price line rental on just about every handset including popular new models like the Samsung Z500 and D600, so the price advantage seems to have been lost in the High Street.
Mobile TV has taken on a whole new meaning with Vodafone's SKY offering, free for 3 months then just £5 for 10 channels including Sky Sports etc.
Add to the above the fact that 3 UK have notified customers of price increases of up to 100% on calls outwith inclusive minutes, allowing customers to terminate early.
3 have now also publicly axed 39 dealers blaming them for poor customer profiles and churn.
All in all, with 02 acquiring customers at 3 times the rate of 3 and none of the other majors posting results that reveal any significant loss of customers, the question has to be asked just how well are 3 doing these days? The indicators dont look good and as time progresses all the rest have more compelling products and it looks like 3 UK will have to shell out even more than before to gain customers.
A tell-tale indicator was 02's sale this week to Telefonica. In a market where they have an aggressive new compeditor and 3 others they managed to increase their worth (in the open market) by over 100% in 12 months. That tells you something about the state of things and the effect of 3 UK and the rest on their business prospects.
With cheapie ZTE's on the horizon, a new ThreePay deal and better Nokia, Motorola and LG offerings coming, will 3 have enough to make an impact or has the bubble burst due to the poor user experience from earlier times?