3GScottishUser
6th September 2006, 09:23 AM
Some interesting comments by 02's UK CEO in Computer Active:
Q: 3G has so far been a disappointment for many businesses, with complaints of poor coverage and high costs. Will 3G ever live up to its promises?
It’s no secret that the mobile industry as well as everyone else has been a bit disappointed with this much-heralded 3G. It has been around for long enough now to see a pattern of how people use it and when they use it, and if it really brings true customer benefits. Until it brings true benefits, people won’t use it.
If people can buy solutions, they are more likely to use the technology. If we can put a service over 3G instead of GPRS, the customer’s experience will be a bit better. Should the customer have to pay a premium for that? They are buying the same solution, so no. Until we bring real customer solutions that make a real difference with 3G, the development of the market will still be slow.
The faster speeds from using HSDPA technology will make a difference, but there are two or three things that need to be in place before it really starts to penetrate the market. Devices is a key one – 3G devices are getting to the point where they are comparable in cost, form factor and battery life to 2G/2.5G devices. But they are not to the mass-market point yet, although they probably will be in 12 to 18 months. The second thing is the quality of the network and the technology. We are all still building out or developing the quality of the technology. It is getting there, and a lot of users won’t notice the difference. But we’re still not happy with it. The difference is starting to be quite small between 3G and 2.5G, but we are still investing in the quality of the customer experience. The technology is still maturing.
Until those factors work together, driving mass-market penetration is very difficult. We will get there, but it will take another 18 months to two years before we start to see mass adoption.
Q: Do you expect to meet Ofcom’s target of 80 per cent of the population with 3G coverage by the end of 2007?
It is not just geographical coverage, it is quality where you have the coverage. We are over 50 per cent coverage, and we are building the network to customer demand.
We have done in-depth analysis of where people are going to use 3G, and it is classically on train lines, bus routes, motorway service stations, offices, conurbations, and that is where we are focusing our build and investment.
There is a balance to be had between missing 80 per cent and building to demand. Where we have built, we are now going back and improving quality as well, and we are expanding geographic coverage.
We will have discussions with Ofcom about what it really means by that 80 per cent, because there is a big quality push in there as well.
To build 80 per cent coverage for the sake of it is not a sensible commercial or investment decision from the customer’s perspective.
Q: Given the problems with 3G, will users just opt for other wireless services such as WiFi or WiMax instead?
A lot of these technologies are still relatively immature. I think it will end up being a patchwork quilt of different technologies. It will be the right technology at the right place at the right time that wins. Customers aren’t interested if it is WiFi, WiMax, 3G, 2.5G or whatever. They are interested in the customer experience, in terms of product, quality, price, and so on. Until they get the right mix of those elements, they will not be interested in buying 3G or WiFi or whatever, they are interested in their experience and the real use.
If you can see real benefits in investing in 3G now, then invest, That technology will mature and continue to improve the use it can have in business. If it’s right for your business, invest. If you can’t see a proposition that brings productivity benefits, then wait for the next iteration. It has to be a business by business decision.
The boundaries of mobile are becoming very blurred now. In a couple of years’ time I have no doubt a lot of in-building services will be delivered by WiFi over broadband. Voice over IP over broadband is going to happen. We can’t bury our head in the sand and hope it isn’t going to affect us, so we are embracing it and trying to use all the different technologies.
Will we be a pure mobile company in three years’ time? Absolutely not.
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computing/analysis/2163179/q-o2-uk-chief-executive-matthew
Q: 3G has so far been a disappointment for many businesses, with complaints of poor coverage and high costs. Will 3G ever live up to its promises?
It’s no secret that the mobile industry as well as everyone else has been a bit disappointed with this much-heralded 3G. It has been around for long enough now to see a pattern of how people use it and when they use it, and if it really brings true customer benefits. Until it brings true benefits, people won’t use it.
If people can buy solutions, they are more likely to use the technology. If we can put a service over 3G instead of GPRS, the customer’s experience will be a bit better. Should the customer have to pay a premium for that? They are buying the same solution, so no. Until we bring real customer solutions that make a real difference with 3G, the development of the market will still be slow.
The faster speeds from using HSDPA technology will make a difference, but there are two or three things that need to be in place before it really starts to penetrate the market. Devices is a key one – 3G devices are getting to the point where they are comparable in cost, form factor and battery life to 2G/2.5G devices. But they are not to the mass-market point yet, although they probably will be in 12 to 18 months. The second thing is the quality of the network and the technology. We are all still building out or developing the quality of the technology. It is getting there, and a lot of users won’t notice the difference. But we’re still not happy with it. The difference is starting to be quite small between 3G and 2.5G, but we are still investing in the quality of the customer experience. The technology is still maturing.
Until those factors work together, driving mass-market penetration is very difficult. We will get there, but it will take another 18 months to two years before we start to see mass adoption.
Q: Do you expect to meet Ofcom’s target of 80 per cent of the population with 3G coverage by the end of 2007?
It is not just geographical coverage, it is quality where you have the coverage. We are over 50 per cent coverage, and we are building the network to customer demand.
We have done in-depth analysis of where people are going to use 3G, and it is classically on train lines, bus routes, motorway service stations, offices, conurbations, and that is where we are focusing our build and investment.
There is a balance to be had between missing 80 per cent and building to demand. Where we have built, we are now going back and improving quality as well, and we are expanding geographic coverage.
We will have discussions with Ofcom about what it really means by that 80 per cent, because there is a big quality push in there as well.
To build 80 per cent coverage for the sake of it is not a sensible commercial or investment decision from the customer’s perspective.
Q: Given the problems with 3G, will users just opt for other wireless services such as WiFi or WiMax instead?
A lot of these technologies are still relatively immature. I think it will end up being a patchwork quilt of different technologies. It will be the right technology at the right place at the right time that wins. Customers aren’t interested if it is WiFi, WiMax, 3G, 2.5G or whatever. They are interested in the customer experience, in terms of product, quality, price, and so on. Until they get the right mix of those elements, they will not be interested in buying 3G or WiFi or whatever, they are interested in their experience and the real use.
If you can see real benefits in investing in 3G now, then invest, That technology will mature and continue to improve the use it can have in business. If it’s right for your business, invest. If you can’t see a proposition that brings productivity benefits, then wait for the next iteration. It has to be a business by business decision.
The boundaries of mobile are becoming very blurred now. In a couple of years’ time I have no doubt a lot of in-building services will be delivered by WiFi over broadband. Voice over IP over broadband is going to happen. We can’t bury our head in the sand and hope it isn’t going to affect us, so we are embracing it and trying to use all the different technologies.
Will we be a pure mobile company in three years’ time? Absolutely not.
http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computing/analysis/2163179/q-o2-uk-chief-executive-matthew