Strategy Analytics: European Mobile Operators With Wireline Roots Have Edge in Mobile Enterprise

Strategy Analytics latest report evaluates mobile operators in Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Netherlands and the UK, across six critical benchmarks for success in the enterprse wireless solutions space. The firm finds that:

While the mature IT capabilities and fixed network assets of incumbent PTT's make their mobile arms the preferred providers of complex wireless solutions, these advantages can seldom be replicated outside of their home markets - effectively relegating them to mobile-only status. However, the study also finds that with scale and proper execution, international, mobile-only operators, best exemplified by Vodafone, frequently deliver greater overall value to enterprises than national incumbents, when IT credentials are offset by price, CRM, network quality and the breadth of devices and applications offered.

Antoine Mathiaud at Strategy Analytics said, "Representing 18 percent of mobile subscribers, but 43 percent of service revenues, the enterprise segment definitely punches above its weight. Success with enterprises in both voice and data will increasingly be coupled with the ability to offer a total solutions approach. Our recommendation to smaller 3rd and 4th tier participants in this space, is to evade the profit drain zone by aggressively courting `wireless-less' telco's and IT providers via partnering or MVNO linkages."

Cliff Raskind added, "While T-Mobile has an unsurpassed device lineup in Germany and is poised to be the convergence leader across Europe with its extensive footprint of WLAN hotspots, Orange gets top marks in terms of the sheer range of application choices it offers in the UK. Internationally, however, both have been unable to mimic their original domestic strengths abroad to match Vodafone. Vodafone's consistently above-par, though often not top-ranked, performance across multiple domains makes for a well balanced overall value proposition."

As has been discussed in the past, the enterprise is driving carrier ARPU through steady voice and data usage. I wonder what the numbers are for the U.S. and other parts of the world, but 43 percent of revenue from less than one fifth of the customer base in Europe is nothing to sneeze at. So what are the carriers doing to build this cash cow and increase enterprise usage? Push mobile video initiatives, of course. Doh!