Great excitement surrounds the future of wireless communications. Mobile Internet and Third Generation (3G) wireless multimedia products and services promise a future world of universal wireless phones, global roaming and wireless Internet access. Yet actual customer demand and price and performance requirements for these new products and services remains largely unknown.
To provide manufacturers and wireless carriers with the information necessary to make informed and accurate business decisions about the opportunity for Mobile Internet and Third Generation wireless (MI-3G) products and services, Alexander Resources has initiated a new research program. The research program will conduct an in-depth consumer survey that will be used to detail demand and price and performance requirements for MI-3G.
Objective
Utilizing Alexander Resources' proprietary survey methodologies, the research program will provide detailed answers to the most important questions about MI-3G:
- Who will use these new products and services?
- Which products and services will have the greatest demand?
- Which product and service features and capabilities are most important to consumers?
- How much will consumers be willing to pay for these new products and services?
The research program will both challenge and quantify many of the commonly held beliefs of consumer demand for MI-3G wireless. To accurately predict demand and requirements, the survey will examine current and projected usage of existing products and services that are expected to drive the demand for MI-3G. These include various Internet, computer and wireless products and services. The survey will also examine lifestyle, behavioral, environmental and social influences and predispositions that are also expected to influence demand and requirements.
The results of the survey and accompanying analysis will be published in a report containing the survey data, statistical profiles of consumers, quantified need assessments along with detailed forecasts and product and services requirements.
Groundbreaking Survey Methodology
The research program is groundbreaking in its approach to understanding MI-3G and accuracy in predicating its demand and requirements. First, to overcome problems with having survey respondents attempt to accurately predict need, spending, usage and requirements for MI-3G products and services, which do not currently exist, the survey will utilize Alexander's proprietary survey methodologies. Basically, these survey methodologies use anthropological analysis techniques to overcome inaccuracies of other survey methods. These techniques assess how physical and psychological needs along with social and cultural influences determine human behavior. In other words, by examining past behavior (purchasing, usage, etc.) along with lifestyle, behavioral, environmental and social influences and predispositions it is possible to accurately predict future behavior and needs. Simply put, the survey will have respondents relate rather than speculate.
Second, our approach presumes proposed MI-3G products and services do not reflect any real market demand. As a result, the survey will avoid evaluating proposed MI-3G products and services directly and instead examine user need for new products and services unsatisfied by various current Internet, computer and wireless products and services (first and second generation Cellular and PCS).
Using these approaches, coupled with Alexander Resources' expert knowledge of planned MI-3G products and services, accurate determinations will be made of expected usage, product and service requirements and willingness to pay for MI-3G.
Research Program Overview
The purpose of this research program is to uncover, analyze, characterize and quantify consumer (residential and business) demand and price and performance requirements for new MI-3G products and services. Alexander Resources will contact a total of 1,000 U.S. adults, ages 16+, by phone. The respondents will be selected by random digit dialing within key zip codes. The sample will then be weighted and balanced by key U.S. demographics such as age, gender, region and education in order to project the results to the U.S. adult population (ages 16+).
The survey will examine behavioral and environmental influences, predisposition's and use of anterior products and services that will drive the need for new wireless multimedia products and services. The survey of residential and business consumers will investigate and quantify current and projected usage, likes and dislikes of the following products and services:
- One way paging
- Two-way paging
- Cellular services
- PCS service
- Wired local telephone service
- Custom calling services (wireless and landline)
- Broadcast TV service
- Cable TV service
- Satellite TV service
- Internet applications services (shopping, information/news, travel, adult entertainment, electronic games
- PDA/electronic assistants
- Smart phones
- Cable modems
- Electronic books
- Cable/broadcast/satellite television viewing habits
- Gaming/gambling products and services
- ATM/cash machines
- Voice mail service
- E-mail services
- Computer applications (games, spreadsheet, word processing, desk top publishing, order processing, sales management, etc.)
- Portable/laptop/notebook computers
- Handheld computers
For each of the above items the survey will assess:
- Current usage/spending
- Location/Domain usage (home, vehicle or office)
- Whether usage and spending has increased/decreased over the last month/six months/year
- Whether usage and spending is expected to increase/decrease in terms of spending/usage over the last month/six months/year
- Average time spent away from home and office
- Average time spent driving, using taxi, train, bus, airplane, ferry, etc.
For Internet applications/usage the survey will also assess:
- Mean hours of residential/non-business online usage per week
- Mean hours of business online usage per week
- Location/Domain usage (home, vehicle or office)
Research Program Report
The results of the survey and accompanying analysis will be published in a report containing the survey data along with detailed forecasts and product and services requirements. The report, entitled "Analysis of Consumer Demand and Requirements for Mobile Internet and Third Generation Wireless Multimedia Products and Services," will identify, analyze and forecast:
- The features and capabilities most and least important to potential MI-3G customers
- The consumer groups which will have the highest and lowest demand for specific planned products and services
- The customer segments which will have the highest need and will pay the most for MI-3G
- How much different customers segments will pay for MI-3G products and services
- Current and future usage of computers, internet, Cellular and PCS services by the residential and business segments
- Price and performance requirements/hurdles MI-3G must realize in order to gain market acceptance.
- Social, environmental, and behavioral issues that may impact acceptance and use of MI-3G.
- Potential MI-3G user benefits and applications for the residential and business segments.
- The MI-3G products and services which will most likely and most quickly be adopted/demanded by various consumer groups such as:
- LAT applications using real time mobile video communications
- Videoconferencing and video telephony
- General Wireless Web/IP access
- Mobile e-commerce
- Online cash/ATM, shopping, payment and banking services
- Personal/Virtual assistants
- Location based services
- Wireless e-mail
- Fax service
- News, sports, stock market and weather information
- Interactive games
- Lottery and betting services
- Audio clips on demand
- Product/service pricing and availability
- Physical inventory information
- Travel information and arrangements
- Data network access (file transfer, database/LAN access, Intranet/Internet WWW, image transfer etc.)
- Broadcast and public information messaging
- Application sharing (collaborative working)
- Broadcast and public information messaging
- SMS (short message delivery) and paging
The survey data and analysis will be presented in tables and graphs with cross tabulations for each of the product, service and customer demographic categories analyzed in the study. The report will also provide demographic profiles of consumer segments grouped by differences in current and future usage, product and service requirements and willingness to pay.
Survey respondents will be grouped into the following demographic segments for analytical purposes:
Residential:
- Region
- Metro Status
- Employment (Office Worker, Telecommuters, Work-at-Home, Other)
- Marital Status
- Number of Persons Living in Household
- Children at Home
- Sex of respondent
- Age of respondent
- Household Income
- Education
Business:
- Job function
- Size of organization (number of employees)
- Organization SIC (10 codes)
Who Will Benefit From This Report?
In addition to enabling program sponsors to capture new opportunities, increase revenue and profits, the research program report will be an invaluable planning tool and information source for:
- Market and Product Management and Planning Executives
Data will enable you to identify, prioritize, define, and develop new MI-3G products and services.
- Marketing and Sales Management Executives
Data will enable you to plan and forecast sales and organize the necessary resources to capture future MI-3G opportunities.
- Strategic and Business Planning Executives
Data will enable you to understand the impact MI-3G will have on your organization, accurately plan future company growth and identify the best opportunities for your organization.
- Marketing Communications Executives
Data will enable you to plan and develop advertising and promotion plans, programs and themes for MI-3G
- Manufacturing Executives
Data will enable you to plan production of high volume MI-3G products and services
- Research and Development Executives
Data will enable you to plan and prioritize your development schedules and resources and focus your efforts on the MI-3G products and services that will contribute most to your company's revenue and profits
- Network Planning and Operations Executives
Data will enable you to plan and prioritize the necessary upgrades to your networks and management systems
Background on MI-3G
Mobile Internet and third generation wireless multimedia products and services are intended to respond to perceived consumer demand for improved:
- Capacity - in networks
- Convergence - in voice and data communications
- Content - in information services
- Commonality- in handsets and networks
- Consistency - in handset, services and network operation
- Coverage - in the home, office, car and around the world.
This perceived demand is driving the development and ultimate deployment of next generation wireless networks, terminals and services that will offer universal wireless phones, high bandwidth, global roaming and mobile internet access.
LAT Applications
Research Program Report | Top
Alexander Resources' initial research into customer demand and requirements for mobile Internet and third generation (MI-3G) wireless products and services indicates that real time mobile video communications has the potential to lead the next revolution in communications.
Alexander Resources believes that real time mobile video communications can generate the need for new MI-3G networks just as the need for real time mobile voice communications generated growth of first and second generation wireless networks.
By using high bandwidth MI-3G wireless links, new mobile phones with built in cameras, along with digital cameras and camcorders with wireless interfaces, will, for the first time, be able to send and receive video images from anywhere to anyone, anywhere and anytime. Real time mobile video communications will free users from the constraints of fixed locations, thereby creating many new applications and benefits.
Specifically, Alexander Resources expects that LAT (Look At This) applications will generate the greatest amount of real time, mobile video communications usage. LAT applications differ from video conferencing, Picturephone and "See You, See Me" applications in that one or more of the parties communicating is mobile and that the images are not necessarily of people but of objects.
Three of the many LAT applications to be evaluated in Alexander's research program include:
Retail
A consumer wishing to purchase an item at a store would send an image of the item to a spouse or someone else at another location for comment or approval.
Real Estate
Prior to an on-site visit by a client, a real estate agent would preview the house/building and send images of it and surrounding areas to the client. The real estate agent would be able to hold a voice conversation with their client while sending the images.
General Business
To assist in operating, developing, designing, repairing, maintaining, installing, inspecting a system/product, workers would be able to send images of the item to colleagues at other locations while holding a voice conversation. |
