ARPU

Want to get married in Vegas? There’s an app for that, says NSN

We’re hearing a lot these days about how carriers are seeing their average revenue per user (ARPU) go down with the advent of unlimited voice and data plans, so they will have to make their money partnering with developers of smartphone applications or themselves offer integrated services.

At SuperCOMM 09, I heard from Michael Mullineaux, marketing manager at Nokia Siemens Networks, who demonstrated an application that would combine location with e-commerce and book an evening in Las Vegas from a mobile device.

Trouble in paradise: Amazon dumps Sprint for Kindle, falls into the arms of AT&T

Ah, young love. When Amazon launched the Kindle almost two years ago, the company proposed to Sprint Nextel Corporation: Support us! The wireless carrier accepted. They took the solemn vow to be partners in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad.

Although the Kindle was earning Sprint only $2 ARPU, the carrier was still reaping huge profit margins as Amazon picked up most of the operational costs.

But they say one in two marriages end in divorce, right? This couple is no exception. Amazon Kindle Director Russell Baker confirmed Amazon is dumping Sprint for AT&T so that it can support international users, according to FierceWireless.

“Sprint’s network uses CDMA technology, while AT&T’s uses the much more widespread GSM technology … Amazon’s decision to drop the CDMA Kindle is a blow to Sprint, which in the first quarter of the year touted its sales of the Amazon Kindle e-reader device as driving the majority of its 394,000 wholesale additions.”

No word from Sprint yet on this. We hope they’re not drowning their sorrows in a gallon of Edy’s, as we’re prone to do after a bad breakup.

UPDATE: Sprint spokeswoman Stephanie Greenwood responds.

The Kindle DX operates on the Sprint mobile broadband network, so Kindles currently in use or already in the sales pipeline will still be powered by Sprint. Sprint has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Amazon—since the Kindle first launched. We understand their international strategy and look forward to working with them on future projects.

Video: Service providers don’t have to be swept away by IP tsunami

While tongues were wagging at Supercomm 2009 about and upcoming decision from the FCC on net neutrality, I took some time to sit down and learn more about the long-term challenges telecom operators are facing over the next year.

Brian Wood, vice president of marketing for Continuous Computing, a San Diego-based component manufacturer for network equipment providers, laid out the road ahead from where he sees it.

Kindle earning Sprint just $2 in ARPU/month?

Sprint’s been happy to boast about WhisperNet subscriber additions to its network that come in the form of Amazon Kindle users, but those same metrics don’t look so pretty when Nielson breaks down the estimated Kindle ARPU for Sprint: Just $2, compared to approximately $56 to Sprint’s average post-paid phone service subscriber.

Ouch! Is Sprint breaking even on this thing? All the while, Amazon is using the Kindle as an Oprah-endorsed money mint, profiting not only on every Kindle book sale, but on the pricey eReader itself.

Looks like Jeff Bezos can drive almost as hard a bargain as Steve Jobs. Why can’t service providers negotiate a reasonable cut with these gadget superstars? (Let’s make that a rhetorical question)

What’s most worrying to me, as Kate noted previously, is that telcos are racing to duplicate the Kindle’s “success”. Are carriers in a mad dash to the bottom? Am I missing part of the picture here, or is Sprint somewhat crazy for touting its success in rock bottom-ARPU services? Why not just sell an extra couple ringtones and call it a day?

[Via FierceTelecom]

Mobile broadband forecast: There’s no joy in ARPU

The good news, according to global consulting firm Ovum, may be that users accessing mobile broadband-enabled laptops and handsets will increase revenue by more than 450% in 2014 compared to 2008. Mobile broadband adoption, of course, means 3G and 4G mobile data technology adoption. Projected revenue? $137 billion globally.

But wait, there’s a downside. Mobile broadband growth refers to increases in the number of users and the amount of data traffic. But the joy doesn’t spread to average revenue per user (ARPU), Ovum says. Instead wireless ARPU is expected to drop significantly during mobile broadband’s meteoric rise, with projected growth of only 44% of the rate of total users — a dilemma also faced by wireline network carriers.

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