"The average person doesn`t use [cellular e-mail]," says the housewife at the table. The technology journalists behind the one-way glass fidget uncomfortably or grin.
The focus group of 10 mid-20s to late-30s white females are not exactly clued up on the latest in cellular technology. One regales the group about her discovery of personalised ringing after owning a phone with that capability "for years". And even then it took a friend to show her how to activate the feature.
Advanced features, such as wireless application protocol (WAP) functions, are for the businessman, the group agrees. All they want is voice.
At least they are not adverse to the technology. It will be in their handbags in two to three years, they believe, and using it will become second nature. "I can`t wait for the day I can go shopping and just swipe this thing past a scanner or something," a part-time worker says as she gestures with her phone. One observer later labels cellphones "shopping weapons of the future".
The group moderator asks if they are getting good value for money from their current service provider. "You can`t live without [a cellphone], so you just pay," one answers. "How do you know what you are paying for?" another asks with a glint of mistrust in her eyes. "Who checks every number they phone against the bill?" The group discusses the issue for a while and decides they are probably not being ripped off too badly.
Third cell licence contender Telia-Telenor has had hundreds of these sessions run by the Market Intelligence Resource Group. After the group departs, moderator Paul de Vantier warns that this demographic area is often skewed in its perceptions and is certainly not representative of the broader market.
"Males and the younger groupings are much clearer in differentiating between MTN and Vodacom," he says. One woman confided that the phrase "Yebo Gogo" was familiar, but she couldn`t quite remember which company it belonged to. Another is certain neither Vodacom nor MTN is responsible for her cellular troubles. "It`s these GSM guys."
The objective is to try and determine if these women would switch to a new provider when the third licence is issued, and what would tempt them to do so. The results are not encouraging for those who would establish the competition. Only one of the 10 participants have ever changed networks, and then only because she was tempted by the offer of a pretty new phone. It is simply too much trouble to change, they say, and the service isn`t that bad, on second thought.
Changing numbers is the main stumbling block. "I`ve had the same number for years," a talkative blonde says. "I don`t want to change it." She can`t think of an offer that would compensate for the loss of a known number. The idea of forwarding a current number to the new one for a while is not widely accepted - too much trouble again.
Yet the arrival of new competition in the market is seen as a very good idea: "Maybe we will get better service." "Maybe it will be cheaper, it`s good to have options."
Ideas for new packages are also forthcoming. Family contracts that cover all members would simplify billing; a phone dedicated to children that can only be used to dial five fixed numbers is thought a good idea. Did they know that phones can be restricted to certain numbers? "No."
The group seems very price-sensitive. But John Nelson of Telia-Telenor says the issue is value, not price. "You won`t see a price war," he predicts. "It is not necessary." The battle will be for mind-share and will be fought in the arena of perception.
The bidding consortium leaves the focus group without any magic answers, not discouraged in the least. It will look at the data from the session and use it to plan another. And another. "It is good to know what people think," Nelson says.
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