BEREC REPORT ON IMPACT OF FIXED-MOBILE ... - berec - Europa

BoR (11) 54
“…mobile broadband packages (offered via a USB modem or “dongles”) tend to
have a fraction of the download limits compared to fixed broadband access…”;
“…Current maximum speeds for mobile broadband access advertised are 7.2 Mbps,
with most people generally achieving less than 1 Mbps on average. This is a fraction
of the speeds achieved through fixed broadband access. As such, for video
streaming it is unlikely that a mobile broadband service can offer a comparable
service quality. In addition, given that a 30 minute TV programme streamed online
would use around 175MB, a 1GB download limit could only provide less than 3
hours worth of video streaming…”.
In this case, the differences between the mobile broadband offers and the fixed
broadband offers supported Ofcom’s decision to exclude mobile broadband access
from the retail product market definition.
In the analysis of the differences between mobile and fixed broadband offers Ofcom
also considered consumers’ preferences and consumption patterns: “Increasingly
popular online activities such as content streaming and sharing are more likely to be
bandwidth hungry services. Ofcom’s research showed that catch-up TV 42 grew by a
third over the year to Q1 2010 to be used by 31 per cent of internet users. Consumers
watched an average of 48 minutes of video content accessed via an internet
connection per week, or just over 3.5 hours per month”.
Source: Ofcom 43
6.2. Market structure and strategy
If mobile and fixed operators belong to the same company it is possibly more likely that
bundles of fixed and mobile voice services (possibly including broadband and TV
services which means quadruple play) will be offered more frequently to the end user
(“one stop shop”). Whether or not this type of market strategy is followed will mainly
depend on consumer preferences. Some consumers may regard a single invoice for a
number of different services and a customer service team that can deal with a
multitude of queries regarding different services as a compelling proposition, whereas
others will be price-focused and may use different providers if that is more cost-
effective. There may also be customers for whom fixed voice services are no longer a
key requirement, and such customers may be less interested in a one stop shop
offering.
42 Term used to describe VOD in which TV shows are available for a period of days after the original broadcast.
43 http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/wba/wba-statement/
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