Inside The Future of Telecom: Highlights from Tarifica’s Recent Online Event
by Soichi Nakajima
On December 5th, Tarifica hosted a dynamic online event, bringing together esteemed guest speakers Kostas Masselos, President of EETT and Vice Chair of BEREC; Pau Castells, Head of Economic Analysis at GSMA; alongside Tarifica’s own experts Soichi Nakajima, VP of Data and Analysis, and Will Watts, VP of Product.
In this month’s edition of Tarifica’s Data Dive, we’ll highlight one key slide from each of the four insightful presentations. If you’re interested in seeing the full presentations, feel free to reach out!
Soichi Nakajima (Tarifica): The Premium for Speed – “How much more will you pay for 10 Gbps?”
Soichi Nakajima opened the event with a compelling analysis of ultra-fast fiber broadband pricing. His presentation focused on the price differentials between 1Gbps and 8Gbps (or higher) fiber speeds across 10 countries, exploring both absolute and percentage differences.
Key insights included (see graphic below):
- Belgium, Portugal, and the US: These countries feature the most expensive 1Gbps and 8Gbps+ fiber plans, alongside the largest absolute price differences when upgrading to higher speeds.
- Poland: Here, the price difference is the steepest in percentage terms, with 8Gbps+ costing almost double the price of 1Gbps.
- Switzerland and Japan: These markets show the lowest price deltas between 1Gbps and 8Gbps+, indicating a more modest premium for ultra-high-speed connections.
Comparison of Average Monthly Cost for Q3 2024: 1 Gbps vs 8+ Gbps (PPP USD)
Kostas Masselos (EETT and BEREC): Benchmarking Telecom Prices with a New Approach
Kostas Masselos presented an innovative approach to comparing telecom retail prices for fixed and mobile in Greece against five other nations. Leveraging Tarifica’s data and scoring algorithms, his analysis integrated multiple factors, including:
- User profiles requiring varying combinations of voice and data for mobile and varying speeds for fixed.
- Market share considerations.
- Network performance and investment levels.
One slide (see below) showed Greece’s performance in the mobile market using Purchasing Price Parity (PPP) adjustments. Notably, Greece ranked 3rd out of the six countries assessed, maintaining this position consistently across the first three quarters of 2024.
Ranking and Scores of Mobile Retail Prices, Q1 to Q3 2024
Will Watts (Tarifica): Personalized Prepaid Offers in Emerging Markets
Will Watts delved into the personalized nature of prepaid mobile offers in emerging markets. He explained how these markets often rely on SMS and USSD channels for direct, tailored promotions, leaving competitors without visibility into these offers.
To address this, Tarifica developed PlanDetector, a mobile application that simulates user profiles to collect and database personalized offers. Will presented data from a market study showcasing:
- Over four months, 351 offers were received across three distinct profiles.
- Significant variations in the volume and types of offers depending on the user profile.
Market Study Findings through PlanDetector for an Emerging Prepaid Market
Pau Castells (GSMA): 5G Monetization Strategies
Finally, Pau Castells closed the event with an in-depth look at 5G monetization. Drawing from GSMA Intelligence data, his presentation covered 5G uptake, addressable markets, and fixed wireless access (FWA).
A few particularly intriguing slides examined premium 5G tariffs using data delivered by Tarifica, revealing:
- Consumers are willing to pay an extra $20 per month for unlimited data and $3 per month for unlimited voice.
- SMS allowances had minimal impact on pricing.
- Speed-based tariffs show that users in some markets will pay up to $14 more per month for maximum 5G speeds.
5G Tariffs: Impact of Larger Allowance on Price
Conclusion
“The Future of Telecom Pricing” event offered a wealth of insights into current and emerging trends in telecom pricing. From fiber broadband premiums to 5G monetization strategies and innovative retail price benchmarking, the presentations underscored the importance of data-driven decision-making for industry professionals.
If you missed the event or want to explore the slides in greater detail, we’d love to hear from you!
Click here to watch the entire presentation.
About the Author:
Soichi Nakajima
VP Data and Analysis
snakajima@tarifica.com
With over 20 years of telecommunication market analysis experience, Soichi oversees the data collection, quality, research, analysis, and production of all data projects and quantitative studies.
For questions or comments about this analysis, please contact Penny Wiesman at pwiesman@tarifica.com