VZW BlackBerry Subscribers Using More and Paying Less than AT&T
While crunching all of the numbers for our upcoming data study, and finding that among consumers,VZW Smartphones were generating a bit more ARPU than iPhones , I decided to compare BlackBerry users from each company. I was surprised to find that the AT&T users were paying a bit more for their services every month but Verizon Wireless Blackberry users were consuming more services. To double check this finding, I ran a separate sample…and found the same trends.
Our data consumption study, due out September 1, only includes consumer users. So instead I pulled up a mixed sample of consumer, enterprise and small business users. In my opinion, this represents the BlackBerry user group. I wanted an all-in number that included every kind of person from your Mom and your plumber to your teen and your boss.
I pulled together good samples of an almost even number of BlackBerry lines from each carrier – 2,245 AT&T and 2,398 Verizon Wireless. I tallied their total voice minutes, total text messages, and total megabytes used and calculated means for each. Then I tallied the individual line charges and subtracted the taxes to gain a numerator I could use to calculate and compare ARPU.
I found VZW BlackBerry users generating higher mean usage across the primary service categories but less mean charges overall. ( I’m not specifically adjusting for pro-rates in this case, which could inflate the ARPU numbers a bit, but would do so evenly across the sample, so the relative numbers are kosher.)
Keep in mind that we’re looking at the Mean in each category here. I say mean, rather than average, because average infers that there’s a typical user. There isn’t. Users are spread across a broad distribution in terms of what they spend and what the use. When there’s a higher mean, it really tells us that in the overall group of users, there are more users in each category who are using or spending more (I won’t get into medians to spare you math-class flashbacks). In this case, you have more VZW BlackBerry users using a lot more minutes, messages, and megabytes than AT&T users, and yet you have more AT&T users spending more for their services than Verizon Wireless users.
The consistency of this trend across the service categories begs the question – why are Verizon Wireless BlackBerry users consuming and using a lot more voice, text, and data every month than BlackBerry users on AT&T?
For a variety of reasons, from menu configurations and value-added service options to network quality, Verizon Wireless users might just have a better overall experience that encourages more usage of everything.
- Ed Finegold, Chief Analytics Officer, Validas
Want to see where you stand compared to these mean usage and spending numbers? Give www.Validas.com a try. Our freeview will show you if we can help you save some money. Our paid reports – just $5 for a one time upload – will tell you all you want to know about how you use your device and let you compare your usage to what we’ve found here.
Also- the executive summary and table of contents for our Wireless Data Consumption Study is now available. To receive a copy, please just email us at sales@validas.com and ask for it.
Verizon Wireless Smartphones Consume More Data than iPhones
Validas to release comprehensive study on wireless data consumption Sept.1, 2010
The biggest questions in the wireless data market are: How much of an impact are new wireless devices, particularly Smartphones, having on carrier networks as a result of users’ data consumption? And, what is the growth rate of that consumption? Validas is finalizing a comprehensive study that will provide definitive answers to these questions. Our 2009-2010 Wireless Data Consumption study examines, analyzes and compares information drawn directly from actual consumer bills from 2009 and 2010. It provides year-over-year trends and detailed distribution charts segmented by device and by carrier, providing unique insight into the explosive growth in wireless data, which carriers are benefitting most from it, and which user and device groups are most driving it.
Not surprisingly the introduction of a host of new Smartphones in the past year has had the greatest impact, but the long-tail effect of a growing number of small-volume data users, including those carrying simple feature phones, is also adding data load to carrier networks. Further, the growth in the number and activity of aircards cannot be overlooked as 3G networks are put to the test in the battle for data-hungry subscribers.
Validas’ forthcoming study provides all of the detail necessary to understand the impact of each class of device and the relative market position of each of the four major U.S. wireless carriers. For more information and to pre-order the Validas study, please email us at sales@validas.com.
Study Highlights Include:
• Growth in data users from 42% to 53% of total subscribers between 2009 and 2010
• Increase in mean MB usage per user from 96.8 MB to 145.8 MB
• New Smartphones, excluding iPhone and Blackberry, drove the greatest increases in usage, with an increased mean consumption per user from 139 MBs to 415 MBs, and 87% of subscribers with usage to 94% of subscribers
• Mean data consumption among aircard users grows 8% from 1,373.3MBs to 1,485.2MBs
• Increase in data users among feature phones from 27.3% to 36.7% with an increase in mean data consumption from 46.1 MBs to 67.9 MBs
• Verizon Wireless posts the largest percentage increase in mean data usage per user from 48.2MB to 147.2 MB; increase from 33.4% to 42.9% lines with data usage
• T-Mobile second largest percentage increase in mean data usage per user, from 44.6 MB to 120.6 MB, but virtually no growth in overall percentage of lines with data usage
• Sprint increased from 36.9% of lines with data usage to 49.9%, but mean usage per user decreased from 166.5 MB to 133.4 MB due to increase in % of users consuming 50MBs or less per month
• AT&T continues to lead with 71.2% of users with data usage, up from 58.4%, with increase in mean usage per user from 111.9 MB to 149.6 MB
• VZW posted largest increase in aircard/laptop card mean usage per user, from 1.25 GB to 1.6 GB
FYI – Here’s a link to the original release, for those who’ve asked…
Clearwire a Clear Winner? Seems unlikely…
The Street put out this very interesting article about Sprint/Clearwire’s spectrum advantages. It’s a good story, but I don’t necessarily agree with its conclusions.
I agree that to have more and better spectrum is an advantage.
I do not agree that the game is all about price, or price for unlimited. If that were the case, Sprint and T-Mobile would be leading the market, not AT&T and VZW who offer a little less for little more money, generally speaking.
Brand comes into play. Clearwire doesn’t have an established brand. The average person doesn’t understand what 4G, LTE, or WiMax are. It’s new. It’s a little scary. All disadvantages for Clearwire.
Plus, I don’t buy it that Clearwire can or will want to offer unlimited for cheap. Look, spectrum is expensive and so is building out a national LTE network. You don’t recover that cost and turn a profit by giving it all away. And why would you? Carriers want to stuff the ‘all you can eat’ genie back into the bottle. It’s not a sustainable model long-term. So I disagree with the points in this article that make an assumption that Clearwire will go all you can eat for cheap.
Finally, if Clearwire rolls out with the kinds of issues I experienced with Sprint’s 4G hotspot, it’ll struggle to bounce back. The service wasn’t reliable for multiple reasons. All the gear will be brand new and probably very buggy.
So, this isn’t a cut and dried story. Many factors from marketing and customer care to availability of sexy devices come into play. Spectrum is only one factor. It’s an important one, but it’s just one tentacle on an awfully big octopus.
-Ed Finegold
Validas’ Top 10 On-Deck Downloads Released Today!
ny times uses validas to grab some fast figures
The New York Times recently examined the costs of certain wireless plans to more accurately gauge and compare their impacts on the consumer’s wallet. In order to make these assessments, the Times turned to the Validas service. Being compared were the new iPhone 4, the HTC 4G EVO, Droid X and HTC HD2, all phones that the Times noted have recently rolled out.
“In the end,” concluded the Times, “the HTC HD2, the most economical choice, would cost about $2,600 while the Droid X costs about $3,290 over a two-year contract, a savings of nearly $700.
That is how the pricing shakes out with the unlimited plans, but the best way to save money is to buy the minimum number of minutes you need, so you aren’t throwing away money on voice, data and text that you don’t use.
According to Validas, a 450-minute plan with unlimited text and data is plenty for most single users and saves $20 to $30 per month. For families with two lines, the company said average use is about 735 minutes, so a 900-minute plans would be ample and save you $10 to $20 per month.”
The newspaper mentioned Validas as the tool it used to generate that data, and added that “you can check your past bills to find your actual usage, or use an online service like Validas…which take[s] your bills and calculate[s] the best deal for you.”
It’s flattering and validating to be used as a reference by a premier media source when some quick numbers are necessary for a story. The Times story provides a further example of the utility of the information provided by Validas to consumers: we help you make more informed, better choices in the wireless marketplace by assessing your needs and analyzing your individual wireless usage.
big moves in europe: forget about roaming fees
On the heels of the last blog post about big Canadian roaming bills comes some additional relevant international wireless news. It seems the EU has taken legislative action to reign in these wireless fees that can take an otherwise normal wireless bill and send it shooting to the stratosphere. According to London’s Daily Mail, “a cap on the cost of using mobile phones in Europe comes into effect today [July 1] and should prevent millions of holidaymakers from suffering ‘bill shock’.
There will be a cap of 50 euros (around £41.50 [or $63]) on the cost of using a smartphone to access the internet or emails when visiting other EU states.
There will also be a new lower ceiling on the cost of making and receiving voice calls.
The move comes as EU officials put pressure on the highly profitable mobile phone networks to bring down the cost of using mobiles overseas to the same figure as within countries.
Many travellers have been shocked to receive bills running to several hundred pounds for using smart phones or laptops linked to the mobile phone network while on holiday.
Some victims of the ash cloud that saw flights across Europe grounded for several days were presented bill of as much as £7,000.
That will be impossible under the new regime. Mobile phone customers will find their access to the web and emails will be cut off when they hit the 50 euro cap unless they make a specific request for it to be lifted.
Under the new system, the maximum permitted charge for making a mobile call while in another EU state will be capped at 32p a minute and the rate for receiving calls at 12.5p a minute.
Research by price comparison website uSwitch.com found one in three people has been shocked by a large mobile phone bill when they got back from a holiday abroad.”
In many anecdotal examples where consumers have been charged massive roaming fees, they are often quoted as wishing that their wireless companies would just stop the charges after a certain point; no one intentionally runs up giant roaming fees. So, there is likely significant customer demand for some kind of roaming cap. Without a clear incentive to do so, it’s unlikely that the carriers would take this kind of initiative themselves.
In a perhaps precedent-setting move, the EU took such a step instead and for that reason the action is quite noteworthy. Libertarians may cry foul, objecting to the government intervention. Advocates of corporate restraint may laud the EU as leading the charge protecting consumers against unintentionally large cell bills. Either way, EU residents traveling within member states will no longer have to worry about coming home from a vacation to giant roaming-related wireless bills. How many Americans would appreciate that luxury?
Big cell phone bills know no borders
Living in Canada. Some dream of it. Some dread the thought. Either way, a recent story coming out of Alberta’s largest city, Calgary, affirms that one undeniable commonality exists whether you’re pining for our northern neighbor or not: giant cell bills. So anyone who was planning on fleeing to Canada to escape your massive iPhone bill, sorry, these things will follow you everywhere.
Just take it from Jason Boutang, the Calgary guy who saw his average C$200 per month bill rise last month to…C$8000??!! Boutang’s local media has since gotten involved and reported that he “was visiting a number of First and Second World War battle sites including Normandy and Vimy Ridge June 1-7 and used his iPhone for guidance and entertainment.
Boutang said he used a translator application, which he thought was free, to help him communicate with the French and streamed a Calgary rock radio station for five hours over three days.
But because the two functions required Internet signals, Boutang’s charges began to escalate very quickly.”
Besides the shock–Boutang says when he saw the bill he “fell over”–”what irks him most is he called the company a couple weeks before he left to inform them he would be taking his iPhone with him to Europe.
Boutang said the customer service representative failed to warn him about the pricey cost of using an iPhone abroad, and says he wasn’t told about a roaming data plan he’s since discovered that might have allowed him to use his phone overseas for as little as C$200.”
So, the real heart of this story then is about a wireless customer lacking adequate information about his cellular plan and, as a result, getting slammed in charges. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the sensationalism surrounding epic tales like this of gigantic wireless bills–but it’s far more useful for us to understand why these stories occur so that we can ensure they never happen to us.
In this case, it’s perfectly intuitive that if Boutang was aware that his activities in France would result in massive charges he would have forgone using his iPhone while there or purchased the aforementioned international data plan. This highlights the necessity for knowing your wireless plan inside and out; understanding the features so you can interact with your device and not get burned.
One of the priorities here at Validas is maximizing the amount of information that you know about your wireless plan. We think we may know it all, but often we don’t, and stories like Boutang’s saga demonstrate this fact. We’re proud at Validas to save around 20% off the average cell bill, but we go a step further and break your cell bill down into detailed usage reports that allow you improved knowledge about your plan–and how you’re using it. This level of intimacy with your wireless plan is a key step towards preventing the kind of disaster suffered by Mr. Boutang.
one of life’s greatest problems has been solved–AKA we’re back on FACEBOOK!!!
Our new Validas Facebook platform has been launched and currently awaits our fans to reengage with us! As a blog post here discussed a few weeks ago, our old Facebook profile and business page were phased out and we are excited to move forward with our new page, simply entitled “Validas.” Everyone can help bring Validas savings to friends and family by becoming our fan on Facebook.
The fan page strives to function primarily as a forum for direct interaction and communication with Validas and other users like yourself. Check out the “Discussion Forum” where we have a few key topics up for conversation–everything from questions about Validas to a HELP ME thread where we’ll try our best to fix things if you think your bill is completely out of control. There are a few other cool topics posted as well, and keep an eye on this feature as it will definitely expand as more people become fans and participate.
Another couple key elements to note: First, the main wall of the page will be linked up to the company blog with regularly updated media spotlights on Validas and tips for keeping your cell bills under control. Second, click on the “info” tab to read a great story about the founding of Validas, written by Validas President and Co-Founder Todd Dunphy. If you thought this company was some slick Silicon Valley start-up, you got another thing coming.
So, to get the ball rolling…here’s the link to our Facebook page.
hello $400…what’s it mean to you??
Four hundred bucks is a nice bit of cash. What would you do for $400? Four hundred dollars is enough to motivate six figure earners to get out of bed and put in a full workday—if you make $400 each day then you’re making over $100,000 per year. For workers making 10 bucks per hour, $400 provides enough of a reason to put in a full 40 hour workweek. Point is, plenty of us will do plenty of things for $400.
By engaging Validas to audit your cell bill, the average user saves about $400—and sometimes significantly more. Sounds pretty good, right? It is. But there’s more to it than just another “way of saving.” Oftentimes when we think of savings, there’s still an element of immediate financial pain because we’re generally shelling out for the thing that we’re earning those savings on. So yes, a suit marked down 20 percent or a car deal at below MSRP both may be great deals—but we can still get 100 percent savings every time by simply forgoing the item in question (not always a feasible or palatable proposition, sure, but more often than not it’s possible to seriously cut back to the basics to some degree).
Validas is markedly different in terms of a vehicle to bring you savings than the traditional model. As an outside auditor for your wireless costs, we focus in on getting you back the money you’ve already committed to spend throughout the life of your wireless contract. Think of Validas as a recovery service devoted to getting you back as much of your money as possible—an average of $400—from the wireless companies by reducing the amount that you committed to spend in your contract.
See the distinction? When we typically envision “savings” it comes with the attached strings of still spending money on the product to realize those savings. Here, you’ve already agreed to throw down for your cell contract—and we’re just trying to get you back as much of that future cash as possible.
So then the average $400 savings that Validas users experience is really more significant than our usual conception of savings. In fact, in a certain respect, Validas savings is really more like getting future cash back. Which brings us back to the question of motivation: if a six figure earner would work a full day for $400, and if a $10 per hour worker would put in a full 40 hour week for $400, would you really not take a few seconds and get a free Validas cell bill audit to find out how much we can recover for you? Let us take our best shot at your cell bill at Validas.com!
spice up your wireless bill with validas
If a kid’s school day is compared to life, then cell phone shopping is certainly a lot like lunchtime in that old overcrowded, florescent-lit cafeteria overstuffed with bologna sandwiches and stern-faced spaghetti scoopers behind cold, metal counters. You and I are just standing online to get lunch—but what we’ll eat, and how much of it we’ll eat, are things decided by someone else.
At least, we thought, once we get to middle school then things will change. Then we found out middle school served the same sandwiches and spaghetti, just in a different cafeteria. As it turns out, unless you go to prison, the choice between a gross sandwich and inedible pasta probably stops following you after high school. The problem, however, is that the fundamental issue here—having to choose between two poor options—never stops chasing us around. But this isn’t news; anyone who’s gotten out of bed in the morning can tell you that. The news here is that we can minimize this dilemma from invading all corners of our lives.
Which brings us back to cell phone shopping. Many, many choices, definitely—just go configure some device/plan combinations and you’ll get an idea of how many options you have before you. But quality choices for what you need in your wireless plan? Certainly sometimes, but then again if we eat that grade-school spaghetti enough it may just start to seem okay after our taste buds have been numbed to the experience.
So what are we saying? Get your wireless plan, and grab the device with your name on it. Have fun with that—there’s nothing like the latest phone, especially if it has that hyper-gadgety James Bond appeal. And maybe it’ll all be perfect, maybe you’ll decide that what you’re paying is totally fair for what you’re getting. But if you ever want to double check, if you ever want to see what that spaghetti tastes like with a little kick, then go grab some hot sauce and go get your wireless bill audited by Validas.com.