Parallel Lines: Consumer data

The focus is clear. We are to been seen as the home of mobile internet and the way our network was built means we can deliver the service at a better price than anybody else.

The majority of traffic we receive over the network is from data – I’d even go so far as to say around 90-plus per cent. So we’re not a mobile voice company. This makes us different.

The growth of mobile broadband has been huge. The way consumers and businesses are connecting devices to the internet through networks’ capabilities has really taken off. But we have led the way with phenomenal growth.

In particular, the laptop market has seen steady growth, with dongles bundled in, so there’s been major mobile broadband connectivity happening.

Eighteen months ago, when 3 had just launched its mobile broadband offer, customers’ attitudes changed; they became more data centric and less concerned about minutes. Customers are more demanding now and more tech savvy, so they’re looking for products that can provide them with much more for their money.

3 has the ability to handle these needs because our network was built with the mobile internet in mind – and we’re able to provide customers with this service at an affordable price as a result, whereas other networks implemented internet as an afterthought.

We are delighted to see any growth in products that have internet, and any form of device which uses our network is our friend.

There are several great opportunities out there for the industry to have multiple relationships with us, as well as end users, be it by selling a mobile phone contract to access the internet via a handset, a mobile broadband dongle or a data card, or a mix of all three.

Full article in Mobile News issue 441 (June 15, 2009).

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