All-inclusive 

Many customers, especially those who use smartphones, desire all-inclusive mobile data plans. So much so that at least one member of the Pipeline editorial staff has held onto an older 3G smartphone and remained a loyal AT&T customer just to retain a grandfathered all-inclusive mobile data plan. In other cases, customers would consider switching providers or paying more for all-inclusive mobile data.

When I asked Kate Haley, Founder at Startup Ninja, what she would be willing to pay more for, she said she was “all-and-all pleased with the speed and reliability, and not terrifically interested in additional features. All inclusive data, however, is always enticing provided it doesn’t compromise the service delivery on the whole.”

Globe-trotter Jason Glaser also agreed that all-inclusive data would be worth a second look, especially international all-inclusive mobile data.

Can you hear me now?

As mobile service has moved from primarily a voice-based offering to a primarily data-based offering, has voice fallen by the wayside? In many cases, voice seems to be a best-effort, while operators scurry about attempting to perfect streaming mobile video experiences.

Jessica Riddle said the apparent lack of concern for voice was what frustrated her most about mobile service providers. “Largely they have gone along with the technology toward handheld computing and away from voice calls, which sucks. Why does talking to people on my iPhone 4S sound worse than ten years ago on my Razr, and both sound worse than my mom's landline 20 years ago?”

Chantal Karina also experiences negative voice quality. “The new phone I brought on with the service change [to T-Mobile pre-paid] has issues with muffling my voice in the handset and over speaker phone. I assume it is software or hardware related with the phone, but I guess could be service connectivity issue.”

Poor voice quality can cause customers to churn, even if they enjoy speedy music downloads. While top-quality was once a cornerstone of the industry, and part of a long-running ad campaign by Verizon, it seems overlooked these days. If you think Voice over LTE (VoLTE) will solve this problem, think again; inconsistent voice quality is one of the reasons for the slow and cautious rollout VoLTE service.

The GSMA’s answer is HD Voice, which transmits wide-band audio instead of narrow-band audio, typical of voice calls. HD Voice is widely deployed around the world on more than 80 carrier networks, but only T-Mobile offers HD Voice in the US. (As we were going to press, Sprint announced HD Voice service in limited markets.)

How important is the network?

Network coverage and performance metrics are still very closely correlated to the highest-rated customer experiences and lowest churn, and network investments can be a smart move for CEM.

In Europe, lack of mobile data coverage is the primary frustration among customers, according to research commissioned by Actix, an Amdocs company.  “The mobile experience is as much about reliability as speed.  Whilst operators are rolling out super-fast LTE networks, most subscribers are still using the networks for relatively low throughput data tasks like web browsing and social networking.  This research suggests that improving data coverage and capacity is more of a priority to subscribers than faster speeds,” wrote Neil Coleman, Director of Global Marketing at Actix.

Coverage is also a deciding factor in the US. Jessica Riddle said she switched from AT&T to Verizon because she believes Verizon has the most extensive cell network in the US. When I asked Kate Haley, who resides in Half Moon Bay, California, how she chose her service provider, she said it simply came down to coverage. “They had the closest tower. No, really. Reception is patchy on the Coast so I hedged my bet.”