In one of its latest studies, ABI Research is looking at mobile Internet pricing models. The research firm has identified 5 different models in operation: the Tiered Usage Pricing Plan, the All You Can Eat Data Plan, the Unlimited Plan with Speed Restriction, the Data Surfing Time Plan, and the Multi-device Shared Plan.
Multi-device Shared Plans are relatively novel and at the moment only about 5% of mobile subscribers have the option to subscribe to them. Of the addressable market, 15% can choose from All You Can Eat Data plans, whereas 66% only have recourse to the traditional Tiered Usage Pricing model.
According to ABI’s VP for Forecasting Jake Saunders, things need to change as mobile operators should be prepared to adopt novel pricing models in order to boost subscriber adoption and therefore incremental revenue. In that sense he suggests pricing plan diversification to serve the different needs of customers. Among the good examples, ABI points to T-Mobile Germany, Telecom Italia and Reliance of India, with Vodafone Group planning to launch such plan by the end of this year.
The conclusion is that Multi-device Shared Plans can be used as a way to stimulate the 4G LTE market, helping grow ARPU along the way.