According to an IDC survey of more than 2,500 American wireless subscribers and customers, nearly three-quarters (72.5%) of respondents did not use any data services outside of messaging in the third quarter of 2006.
IDC says that steep prices are one of the main reasons Americans are not jumping to subscribe to entertainment services for their wireless mobile devices.
According to IDC’s survey, 47% of respondents in the key demographic age group of 18 to 24 year-olds complained that mobile data services are ‘too expensive.’
When the survey data was broken down by device type and average revenue per user, this complaint of overpriced data services resonated with respondents who use camera phones and/or spend more than $60 a month for mobile service.
Lewis Ward, research manager for IDC’s Mobile Consumer Services, said: “The fact that four out of ten survey respondents feel they are overpaying for data services does not bode well for the future of this market.”
“The survey also revealed a small group of US consumers that believes data services are a bad idea, or worse, degrades the calling experience. Education may help this issue, but it’s clear from the survey results that many people just want to use their mobile phone to make calls.”
In contrast to entertainment services, mobile messaging services, especially short message service (SMS), are much more popular among the consumers surveyed by IDC. Almost half (47%) of survey respondents indicate that they sent or received at least one SMS message in 3Q06.
According to IDC, SMS subscription plans have already surpassed the 50% mark, and American consumers spend an average of $3.70 per month for data services.
IDC adds that about one fifth of consumers purchased at least one ringtone in the quarter, and about one in ten bought a graphic/wallpaper or a game.
Informa Telecoms and Media and the Mobile Entertainment Forum recently forecast that the market for mobile communities and user generated content will be worth $13.2 billion by 2011, with photo and chat based services being the top revenue generators (see Mobile Communities And UGC To Be Worth $13.2 Billion).
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