3Italia Casts Down the Gauntlet with ‘Free Mobile TV’ and ‘Free Mobile Internet’
| Jun 9, 2008 | Wireless Services - Europe | Competitive Update
| Analyst: Emma Mohr-McClune
Current Perspective: Neutral
Vendor Importance: High
Market Impact: High
Event Summary
June 6, 2008 – 3Italia launches ‘Free Mobile TV’ and ‘Free Mobile Internet’ offers, in conjunction with a range of subscription and prepaid options. The services offer free access to six channels, RAI 1, RAI 2, Mediaset, Sky Meteo 24 and Current TV, as well as an in-house provided UGC channel La3, which is a flagship service of the operator’s new ‘Crossmediale’ strategy to provision a range of content from both the TV and Internet, including UGC, to mobile phones. 3Italia has additionally launched the new Samsung F510 handset for mobile TV viewing.
Analytical Summary
• Current Perspective: Neutral on 3Italia’s ‘Free Mobile TV’ and ‘Free Mobile Internet’ campaign, as this will almost certainly create a mass-market buzz around 3Italia’s DVB-H and mobile data services, which is the operator’s single-minded intention. The commercial and network operating sanity of this move, however, is seriously in question.
• Vendor Importance: High to 3Italia, an operator now betting the house on ‘free’ Mobile Data to attract long-term subscribers to its books. The operator needed to pull something special out of the bag in time for the Euro 2008 football tournament and Beijing Olympics, and here it is. 3Italia also needed to put a Mobile TV stake-in-the-ground before the arrival of the long-anticipated 3G iPhone in Italy.
• Market Impact: High on the Italian mobile data and DVB-H markets, as this ‘Free TV’ launch (for both prepaid and postpaid users) lays down the gauntlet for competitors to respond-in-kind. Commoditising DVB-H mobile TV to the point of no return is a bold but arguably premature move; the Italian market’s response to the new broadcast mobile TV technology to date has been disappointing.
Recommended Competitor Actions
• Competitors are advised against a knee-jerk reaction on DVB-H Mobile TV. The demand from early adopters for DVB-H services has still to be proven, let alone the mass market. Handsets, and network coverage, are not yet in place for this kind of (profitable) mass market push.
• Vodafone Italy should hit back with its HSDP-ready cellular mobile TV services, finding ever-more-ingenious bundling and service modeling techniques to hit back against 3Italia’s ‘Free TV’ campaign. The operator should claim that DVB-H is still immature as a technology to deliver on a mass market expectation for high quality Mobile TV.
• TIM should consider re-positioning its laptop data card range with embedded DVB capabilities in the run up to the Olympics and other major sporting events. TIM should claim that the laptop is still a more customer-friendly device for a quality mobile TV experience.
CLIENTS ONLY
Competitive Positives and Concerns
Recommended Vendor Actions
| Client access - Full report in Wireless Services - Europe | More information
Top
|
