Consultants predict lower call prices and more prepaid contracts in UK

Paul Nesbitt

With the merger between Orange and T-Mobile approved in the UK, telephony expert, Strand Consult has issued a report predicting big changes in the UK mobile market, leading to lower call prices and more prepaid phone contracts.

'At Strand Consult we have spent almost 2 man years researching the prepaid market and we have identified 10 mega-trends within the prepaid area that almost all mobile operators will need to address,' the company reported.

Decreasing traffic prices - outgoing traffic and terminated traffic
Inexpensive or free on net traffic
Cheap international traffic
Cheap SMS packages with huge numbers of SMS
Prepaid mobile broadband
Increasing churn
Distribution fraud - the race to increase the number of SIM cards is resulting in many SIM cards never being activated, or alternatively being recharged and used more than once.
Decreasing top up prices - the use of electronic top up has reduced top up costs in many countries
The increasing use of the Internet for distribution - online SIM sales and topping up
Multi SIM problems. An increasing number of customers have two, three or more SIM cards and use them depending on who and/or when they call

The research may be aimed at mobile companies, but it's an eye opener for consumers, too, and signs that services and pricing should be getting better.