Mobile Operators Must Reconnect With Consumers

May 14, 2009 - PRLog -- It is not difficult to surmise that telecommunications remains one of the more competitive and active areas of the larger information and communication technology sector. The increased volume of product into this space is indicative of growth and the pace of change, innovation and trade - but the real question is how much of this actually benefits consumers.

There is a substantial amount of product entering the market and available to users today – from 3G routers capable of load balancing within a single product, right through to mobile phones that are more like mini-laptops with the capability of mainframes of yesteryear.

Aside from the level of product development and distribution, the intense focus on data access, transfer and dissemination contributes significantly to the growth of telecommunications.

Despite this positive foundation and the very real opportunity to benefit all users, little is being done to overcome server and bandwidth restrictions within this sector.

The main criticism leveled at service providers, particularly within the mobile or cellular phone segment of the market, is that whilst new products and solutions are continuously being brought into the market, these regularly fail to meet expectations in terms of bandwidth, speed and other functionality promised by the service provider.

It is not uncommon to have calls dropped on a regular basis and seldom possible to enjoy full and reliable access to bandwidth offered by cellular products.

In effect the current mobile environment flies in the face of a fundamental business principle – to deliver effectively what is expected in order to meet an obvious need in the market.

And this is not what we, the users, experience. In some cases, and it happens quite frequently, there is a blatant disregard for basic business ethics on the part of service providers. Only these service providers legally sell ‘product’ on contract knowing they cannot deliver.

In addition to the obvious frustration of not acquiring a satisfactory level of service, another consequence of this inability to service a growing market is the development and introduction of alternative product.

At first glance these solutions do not always appear to be as ‘business-friendly’ or do not offer the level of functionality when compared to their more well-known, established counterpart offerings in the market.

However many of these alternatives provide a more reliable, consistent and dependable platform for a growing business.

If we took this scenario and hypothetically mirrored it onto a developed market and strictly focused on service delivery alone – service providers and operators would be embarrassed and do everything in their power to overcome restrictions and enhance service levels.

The rationale is that this would protect paying consumers from service providers who do not have the competency or means to service the market in an acceptable and reliable manner.

Clearly there is much work to be done before we can reach a level where consumers are truly and regularly benefitting from their investment.

It would be interesting to understand, from a technology perspective, what went wrong with the voting process in the latest Idols debacle and hear the multitude of excuses from the service providers involved.