Until today's date, SMS is still the main means of communication that we prefer. I feel that it can ensure my messages are being read almost instantly as mobile phones are something that people would carry it beside anytime.
A study by UK-based Portio Research indicates that the worldwide mobile messaging was the highest earner in the industry, raking in US$179.2 billion in 2010 alone.
The report said mobile message was set to rake in more than US$200 billion this year, and go beyond S$300 billion by 2014.
It said SMS (short message service) has consistently claimed the top spot and has long helped mobile network operators significantly offset the effect of falling voice revenues.
“SMS alone generated US$114.6 billion worldwide in 2010, and it promises to continue to play a significant role in revenue terms in the coming years,” the report said.
The report noted that SMS had seen very successful, having generated approximately US$585 billion for operators worldwide since it was invented in the mid-1990s.
Portio forecasts that SMS was still set to earn those mobile networks another US$726 billion over the next five years, to year-end 2015.
Source: http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201111/75932.php by Samuel Nii Narku Dowuona/Adom News/Ghana on 3rd November 2011.
Web SMS, 1-way Messaging, 2-way Messaging, SIM Hosting, Email-to-SMS, Developer (HTTP API & SMPP), White Label Reseller Program, HRL Lookup, Long Code Service, Non-premium Short Code, Industry Based Solutions etc. To know more about our products & services, visit our official websites: www.moceansms.com | www.bulksms.com.my | www.mocean.com.my
Friday, 4 November 2011
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Nigeria - Bulk SMS Resellers Price War in Nigeria
I love this article posted by naijaecash.com to urge NIGERIAN to be smart in choosing reseller that offer QUALITY service and not purely looking at PRICING! Price is Not Everything!!
Buy Bulk SMS for as low as N1.xx…. I guess that is the latest catchy phrase in Nigeria. It is quite interesting that many Bulk SMS resellers are trying to woo Nigerian consumers via rock bottom pricing. There is a serious price war going on now as they try to outdo each other by offering rock bottom price for their bulk sms services. I guess if it were possible, some will even offer free SMS just to snatch customers from their competitors. Well, that strategy is not working for now. At least, it has not made me change from my present service provider. Honestly speaking, if someone somewhere think this is the way to do bulk sms reselling business, they better have a rethink. Nigerian consumers are not fools!
Price is Not Everything
Of what benefit is a service that is cheap but inefficient? It is economically unwise to spend money on a service simply because it appears cheap! If the service can’t produce the expected result, then it is money wasted irrespective of how cheap it is. Why should I buy SMS at the rate of N1.00 only to discover that messages sent are never delivered to the intended recipients or it gets delivered when it is no longer relevant. Someone sent an SMS that is meant to wish a loyal client happy birthday but delivery of the message was delayed until 2days after the birthday! I’ll say that is a crappy service, irrespective of how cheap the service was. I’ll rather pay double to get the message delivered at the right time.
So many Bulk SMS resellers are not getting their acts well. You must not be the cheapest in the market to be the most patronized. There are other qualities that can make you stand out in the crowd. My bulk sms service provider is not the cheapest, but they know how to deliver quality services. ;-)
Rolls Royce Is Not Cheap
Just think about Rolls Royce. Rolls Royce manufacturing team are not trying to increase or maintain their market share by reducing their price to compete with the likes of Nissan. Instead, they strive to improve on the performance of their model and the luxury it affords the buyers. Irrespective of how low another car manufacturer may place their price, lovers of Rolls Royce won’t be wooed!
Nigerian Consumers are wise
As an entrepreneur, you need to do proper homework before using low price as a bait to increase your market share. If your service is poor and your customer support service is non-existent or inefficient, then lowering your price will do no good. You should focus your attention first on improving your service before inviting more clients to try your service.
Bulk SMS resellers compete in an international market
Price war gimmick is a common strategy of the Nigerian gsm telecom operators. Nigerian consumers no that the price war is just a gimmick because it is always accompanied by crappy services. The fact that the gsm operators seem to be getting away with this doesn’t mean the consumers are fools. So never conclude that the same trick will work for bulk sms resellers. Unlike gsm telecom operators who have the advantage of operating in a closed local market, bulk sms resellers are actually operating in a highly competitive international market.
So my advice to all those wannabe Bulk SMS resellers out there is that they go improve on their services . You will only be relevant in the market by offering quality service. Nigerians online won’t mind patronizing a bulk sms reseller who operates from the moon as long as the service is reliable. Even though I am proudly Nigerian, I don’t subscribe to crappy services. The bulk sms price war strategy is not working, think of something else. Cheers.
Buy Bulk SMS for as low as N1.xx…. I guess that is the latest catchy phrase in Nigeria. It is quite interesting that many Bulk SMS resellers are trying to woo Nigerian consumers via rock bottom pricing. There is a serious price war going on now as they try to outdo each other by offering rock bottom price for their bulk sms services. I guess if it were possible, some will even offer free SMS just to snatch customers from their competitors. Well, that strategy is not working for now. At least, it has not made me change from my present service provider. Honestly speaking, if someone somewhere think this is the way to do bulk sms reselling business, they better have a rethink. Nigerian consumers are not fools!
Price is Not Everything
Of what benefit is a service that is cheap but inefficient? It is economically unwise to spend money on a service simply because it appears cheap! If the service can’t produce the expected result, then it is money wasted irrespective of how cheap it is. Why should I buy SMS at the rate of N1.00 only to discover that messages sent are never delivered to the intended recipients or it gets delivered when it is no longer relevant. Someone sent an SMS that is meant to wish a loyal client happy birthday but delivery of the message was delayed until 2days after the birthday! I’ll say that is a crappy service, irrespective of how cheap the service was. I’ll rather pay double to get the message delivered at the right time.
So many Bulk SMS resellers are not getting their acts well. You must not be the cheapest in the market to be the most patronized. There are other qualities that can make you stand out in the crowd. My bulk sms service provider is not the cheapest, but they know how to deliver quality services. ;-)
Rolls Royce Is Not Cheap
Just think about Rolls Royce. Rolls Royce manufacturing team are not trying to increase or maintain their market share by reducing their price to compete with the likes of Nissan. Instead, they strive to improve on the performance of their model and the luxury it affords the buyers. Irrespective of how low another car manufacturer may place their price, lovers of Rolls Royce won’t be wooed!
Nigerian Consumers are wise
As an entrepreneur, you need to do proper homework before using low price as a bait to increase your market share. If your service is poor and your customer support service is non-existent or inefficient, then lowering your price will do no good. You should focus your attention first on improving your service before inviting more clients to try your service.
Bulk SMS resellers compete in an international market
Price war gimmick is a common strategy of the Nigerian gsm telecom operators. Nigerian consumers no that the price war is just a gimmick because it is always accompanied by crappy services. The fact that the gsm operators seem to be getting away with this doesn’t mean the consumers are fools. So never conclude that the same trick will work for bulk sms resellers. Unlike gsm telecom operators who have the advantage of operating in a closed local market, bulk sms resellers are actually operating in a highly competitive international market.
So my advice to all those wannabe Bulk SMS resellers out there is that they go improve on their services . You will only be relevant in the market by offering quality service. Nigerians online won’t mind patronizing a bulk sms reseller who operates from the moon as long as the service is reliable. Even though I am proudly Nigerian, I don’t subscribe to crappy services. The bulk sms price war strategy is not working, think of something else. Cheers.
Africa - MTN Group gets 158.59 million subscribers by September 2011
The MTN Group, Africa’s leading mobile telecom network, has announced that it had 158.59 million customers across all its 22 operations at the end of the third quarter of this year, September 2011.
The figure represents a 4.1% increase over that of the second quarter, which stood at 152.3 million at the end of June, 2011.
MTN has successfully maintained market share in most of its markets, including Ghana where it posted almost 9.9 million subscribers at the end of September, 2011, representing some 48.4% market share.
“Ghana continued to show good growth and increased its subscriber base by 3.4% to more than 9.89 million, maintaining its leadership position,” the report said.
Ghana contributed 14.17% of subscribers to the WECA Group.
MTN Ghana CEO, Michael Ikpoki predicted earlier this month the company will cross 10 million subscribers by the close of the month, which is just three days to go.
It is important to mention early that average revenue per user (ARPU) in Ghana in dollar terms dropped by one per cent from $7 to $6.9 a month due to cedi depreciation, but remained stable in cedi terms, with stable effective tariffs and average outgoing minutes on the network.
West and Central Africa (WECA), where Ghana belongs to contributed 44% (69,779,600) of subscribers to the group’s total, which is the highest in the group, but indicates a marginal one per cent drop from 45% in June 2011.
South and East Africa (SEA) region contributed 23%, one per cent higher than the 22% in June, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) contributed 33%, which is the same as it did in June this year.
The WECA region increased its subscriber base by 2.8% for the quarter as a result of slower subscriber growth in Nigeria.
Subscriber registration in the WECA region had a negative impact on connections as the GSM market declined from 82.7 million to 81.84 million subscribers during the third quarter in Nigeria.
“MTN Nigeria recorded a 1.4% increase in its subscriber base to 41.11 million, contributing 59% to the region’s subscribers,” it said.
The SEA region, where the headquarters is located, increased its subscriber base by 5.1% for the quarter, and that was attributed to South Africa which increased its subscriber base by 5.9% to 20.97 million for the quarter and contributed 58% to the region’s subscribers.
Postpaid connections, both classic and hybrid, improved through both independent retail and branded channels, largely due to improved stock availability and increased channel activity.
Prepaid connections for the quarter totalled 1.036 million, almost double the rate achieved for the second quarter.
Uganda increased its subscriber base by 3.7% to 7.51 million. During the period, revenue growth became a more important priority and tariffs were successfully increased. While subscriber growth was still satisfactory, there was a marginal loss in subscriber market share.
The MENA region recorded a 5.3% increase in subscribers for the quarter.
The growth within the region was mainly attributable to Iran which increased its subscribers by 3.5% to 33.31 million. Syria increased its subscribers by 6.0% to 5.43 million as the operation adjusted to the changing conditions resulting from the political turmoil in the country.
Sudan made good progress and increased its subscriber base by 17% to 5.37 million as initiatives continued gaining traction.
MTN South Africa’s blended average revenue per user (ARPU) remained stable at R133.8 compared to 30 June 2011. No material changes were made to the value proposition and average outgoing minutes of use increased marginally for the quarter.
Nigerian ARPU in remained stable despite a marginal reduction in effective tariff. Uganda showed a small upward trend in local currency ARPU as higher effective tariffs did not reduce outgoing minutes of use following the increase in tariffs during the quarter.
Data (internet browsing and SMS) contributed 21% of traffic and six per cent of revenue, and that was pushed by increased smartphone penetration over the period.
Source: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2011/10/28/mtn-group-gets-158-59-million-subscribers-by-september-2011/ on October 28, 2011
The figure represents a 4.1% increase over that of the second quarter, which stood at 152.3 million at the end of June, 2011.
MTN has successfully maintained market share in most of its markets, including Ghana where it posted almost 9.9 million subscribers at the end of September, 2011, representing some 48.4% market share.
“Ghana continued to show good growth and increased its subscriber base by 3.4% to more than 9.89 million, maintaining its leadership position,” the report said.
Ghana contributed 14.17% of subscribers to the WECA Group.
MTN Ghana CEO, Michael Ikpoki predicted earlier this month the company will cross 10 million subscribers by the close of the month, which is just three days to go.
It is important to mention early that average revenue per user (ARPU) in Ghana in dollar terms dropped by one per cent from $7 to $6.9 a month due to cedi depreciation, but remained stable in cedi terms, with stable effective tariffs and average outgoing minutes on the network.
West and Central Africa (WECA), where Ghana belongs to contributed 44% (69,779,600) of subscribers to the group’s total, which is the highest in the group, but indicates a marginal one per cent drop from 45% in June 2011.
South and East Africa (SEA) region contributed 23%, one per cent higher than the 22% in June, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) contributed 33%, which is the same as it did in June this year.
The WECA region increased its subscriber base by 2.8% for the quarter as a result of slower subscriber growth in Nigeria.
Subscriber registration in the WECA region had a negative impact on connections as the GSM market declined from 82.7 million to 81.84 million subscribers during the third quarter in Nigeria.
“MTN Nigeria recorded a 1.4% increase in its subscriber base to 41.11 million, contributing 59% to the region’s subscribers,” it said.
The SEA region, where the headquarters is located, increased its subscriber base by 5.1% for the quarter, and that was attributed to South Africa which increased its subscriber base by 5.9% to 20.97 million for the quarter and contributed 58% to the region’s subscribers.
Postpaid connections, both classic and hybrid, improved through both independent retail and branded channels, largely due to improved stock availability and increased channel activity.
Prepaid connections for the quarter totalled 1.036 million, almost double the rate achieved for the second quarter.
Uganda increased its subscriber base by 3.7% to 7.51 million. During the period, revenue growth became a more important priority and tariffs were successfully increased. While subscriber growth was still satisfactory, there was a marginal loss in subscriber market share.
The MENA region recorded a 5.3% increase in subscribers for the quarter.
The growth within the region was mainly attributable to Iran which increased its subscribers by 3.5% to 33.31 million. Syria increased its subscribers by 6.0% to 5.43 million as the operation adjusted to the changing conditions resulting from the political turmoil in the country.
Sudan made good progress and increased its subscriber base by 17% to 5.37 million as initiatives continued gaining traction.
MTN South Africa’s blended average revenue per user (ARPU) remained stable at R133.8 compared to 30 June 2011. No material changes were made to the value proposition and average outgoing minutes of use increased marginally for the quarter.
Nigerian ARPU in remained stable despite a marginal reduction in effective tariff. Uganda showed a small upward trend in local currency ARPU as higher effective tariffs did not reduce outgoing minutes of use following the increase in tariffs during the quarter.
Data (internet browsing and SMS) contributed 21% of traffic and six per cent of revenue, and that was pushed by increased smartphone penetration over the period.
Source: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2011/10/28/mtn-group-gets-158-59-million-subscribers-by-september-2011/ on October 28, 2011
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