IDC: Ignore emerging markets at your own risk - they hold the key

Monday, 01 January 2007 01:00  |  Michael Schwartz

Emerging markets hold the key to future telecoms growth and innovation. What is more they account for more than half of the world's total telecom connections - a percentage that will grow to 69% by 2010. These are the predictions of telecoms analyst IDC in a brand-new report Mobile Device ARPU for Leading Markets: US, UK, Germany, India, and China - A Multi-client Study.

While sceptics point to a multitude of problems such as low disposable income and lack of competition, the rate of economic and population growth means that developing regions offer major potential for communications expansion. Telecoms companies should ignore them at their own risk.

Leading handset brands cover the world

The more detailed results of IDC?s recent multi-client study and survey of mobile phone and smartphone subscribers across five countries reveals that top global brands are in demand not only in developed countries, such as the US, UK, and Germany, but also in emerging countries such as India and China. The relative influence of brand on product choice (especially in China and India) suggests that many people seek out global brands and the prestige that they carry.

Logic dictates that one would expect to find the proliferation of relatively inexpensive devices and brands in developing countries, but IDC?s survey reveals quite the opposite phenomenon. Chinese subscribers look more at the brand and style (top two purchase criteria) rather than being concerned with the underlying technology and product features. In India high-end products like the Nokia Communicator 9500 do well precisely because they show off how wealthy and successful an individual is, and users tend to be loyal to the smartphone brands they carry. IDC?s survey revealed that 69% of respondents in India were likely to recommend their smartphone brand to others, higher than the other countries surveyed except for the US.?When you look around the world there is a growing prevalence of premium brands in emerging markets among populations with substantially lower income levels,? in the opinion of Randy Giusto, Group Vice-President for IDC?s Mobility, Computing and Consumer Markets Research. ?Brands such as Nokia, for example, dominate the Indian and Chinese markets from a market share perspective and are much sought after because of the image that they project.?

Features

The IDC special report explores which key mobile device features, operating systems, and applications influence ARPU, and compares and contrasts them among users in the five countries. Data is segmented by mobile phone and smartphone respondents, as well as by smartphone OS and by mobile operator, for each country market surveyed. This document represents a comprehensive study outlining the summarised results of each country, comparing and contrasting results by country, and exploring the role that device features, applications, operating systems, mobile device brands, and mobile operators play across these markets.

* Randy Giusto and other IDC research analysts will be present at 2007 International CES in Las Vegas from 8-10 January.

More info:

• www.idc.com

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