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WirelessDevNet.com Press Release
Youth Market Represents Large Opportunity for Wireless
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--Feb. 3, 2004--With an estimated 25 to 35 million potential customers, the youth market in the United States could represent an extremely lucrative opportunity for the wireless industry. High-tech market research firm In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com) reports that opportunities exist not just for wireless carriers, though they stand to reap the largest share, but for handset manufacturers, wireless application developers and publishers as well.
"To successfully tap this customer segment, the wireless industry will need to focus on developing innovative services that appeal to youth, but that also fit parents' buying habits," said Ken Hyers, a senior analyst with In-Stat/MDR. "This will call for a multiphased product and service offering from carriers. A combination of plans, including a mix of post-paid and pre-paid, family plans, and youth-oriented sub-brands should all be considered by carriers interested in this customer segment. Service offerings, particularly data services, are of interest to younger wireless customers -- the wireless industry should ensure that their product mix in this category is wide and complete enough to appeal to younger users."
Over the last couple of years, this market has not gone unnoticed by the wireless industry. Carriers, such as the industry giants Verizon Wireless, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular, have all rolled out pre-paid services specifically targeted at kids and young adults. Just last year, Sprint, in partnership with Virgin Mobile of the UK, rolled out a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), called Virgin Mobile USA, tailored to appeal to the "MTV Generation." These services have had varying levels of success in penetrating this target market and, collectively, have millions of subscribers in this age group. Boost Mobile, however, may have hit on a formula that will give them the edge over other companies in reaching what is viewed as a highly fickle customer segment.
In a recent survey of both parents and young adults, In-Stat/MDR found the following:
-- The average age of a child whose parent supplied the mobile phone was most likely to be 19 or above, indicating that parents provide their children with their own phones as a safety tool when the children begin to move out of the house for the first time.
-- Youths were, by a substantial margin, more likely to be customers of Verizon Wireless, then any other single wireless carrier.
-- Youths, and particularly young adults, were highly likely to use wireless data services regularly.
The report, "Wireless Youth: Going Wireless, Wireless Youth Survey Results" (#IN030933MD), reveals the result of a survey of parents of children and young adults aged 10 to 18, as well as young adults aged 18 to 25, to determine their attitudes toward wireless services and how they use them. The survey measured youth use of wireless by which carrier they use, how often they use their wireless services, whether they use wireless data, how often they use wireless data, what types of wireless data services they use, and their attitudes toward location-based services, including willingness to pay for them. To purchase this report, or for more information, please visit: http://www.instat.com/catalog/Wcatalogue.asp?id=230 or contact Rick Vogelei at 480-609-4533; rvogelei@reedbusiness.com. The report price is $1,495.
About In-Stat/MDR
In-Stat/MDR (http://www.instat.com) offers a broad range of information resources and analytical assets to technology vendors, service providers, technology professionals, and market specialists worldwide. The company stands alone in its ability to integrate both supply-side and demand-side research methodologies into a single comprehensive view of technology markets and products. This capability relies on a unique ability to cover the entire value chain from engineering-level technology, through equipment, infrastructure, services and end users.
In-Stat/MDR is part of the Reed Electronics Group, a division of Reed Elsevier (www.reedelsevier.com), a world-leading publisher and information provider. With more than 38,000 employees worldwide, Reed Elsevier operates in the science & medical, legal, education and business-to-business industry sectors, providing high value and flexible information solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis on the Internet.
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