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

BoR (11) 54
an income in excess of £30k.It is also possible that particular groups of consumers are
more likely to be mobile-only - for example those living in rented accommodation and
those who move around a lot (e.g. students).
Source: Ofcom
Questionnaire results
The questionnaire results indicate that consumption patterns and use of access (for
broadband) tend to be more relevant in an assessment of FMS than end user
characteristics or security. In particular, a significant minority of NRAs thought that
differences in security between fixed and mobile services while using some
applications (e.g. home banking) were not applicable for either voice or broadband. For
voice, a significant minority of NRAs considered that differences in the use of the fixed
and mobile access were not applicable. Conversely, for broadband, differences in use
of access (e.g. it can be used for emails, video streaming, home banking etc) were
generally considered a relevant factor and key within the national context. This is
probably because voice access has a more limited number of applications relative to
broadband.
Differences in end users characteristics (e.g. income, education, age) were considered
a relevant factor by most NRAs, but generally were not important within the national
context for either voice or broadband (and a significant minority considered it not
applicable).Differences in consumption patterns between fixed and mobile users (e.g.
usage frequency, duration) were considered a relevant factor by most, and around half
of NRAs answering the question had already considered this point in retail market
definition for voice and broadband.
6.9. Existence of promotion programmes for specific networks and services
NRAs should consider the possible existence of promotion programmes for specific
services/networks that may influence the decisions of end users regarding the
acquisition of a mobile or fixed service. If NRAs can identify such programmes, they
can analyse the influence on end users’ acquisition decisions and also on operators’
investment decisions. For instance, NRAs may estimate the real level of adoption of a
service if the promotion programme was not available and consider that information in
its substitution analysis.
The conclusions regarding substitutability between fixed and mobile services should
take into account the analysis performed and the influence of the programme on the
decisions of the market agents.
41