Opportunity Calling: Middle East Leads the Way in Advanced Mobile Technology Usage

News Facts

Today Oracle announces the Middle Eastern regional results of its report “Opportunity Calling: The Future of Mobile Communications”. The study surveyed more than 3,000 mobile phone consumers worldwide and 570 in the Middle East to examine their use and perceptions of mobile phones. This included assessing their interest in new technologies such as applications, and expectations for the next generation of mobile communication.

Key Findings

Advanced usage: Thirty-nine percent of consumers in the Middle East use their mobile phones as a mini computer, compared to only 22% in North America and Europe, and 29% in Asia Pacific and Latin America. This scale of advanced consumer use demonstrates genuine commercial opportunity for Communications Service Providers who address data and application consumption in this region.

• Making the most of features: Supporting the fact that Middle Eastern mobile users are ahead of their global peers is their use of advanced features, as 70% have used their phone to read or send an e-mail, compared to an average of 44% elsewhere. In addition, 34% have obtained driving directions on their phones, which on average only 21% of users have done in other regions.
• Multiple handsets: Middle Eastern mobile phone users are nearly twice as likely as the rest of the world to use two or more mobile phones, with 62% of respondents saying they do so, compared to an average of 36% across the globe.
• Market Opportunity: The market is ripe for carrier competition, with 69% of Middle Eastern consumers willing to switch service providers if offered better pricing. The Middle East was also second only to Latin America in its readiness to consider using non-traditional telecom companies such as Sony or Facebook, if offered similar prices and quality to their current provider (88% in the Middle East, 95% in Latin America)
• The mobile future: Consumers in the Middle East see that in the future, mobile phones will become increasingly integral to every day life. Thirty-six percent of respondents believe that five years from now, they will use their phones as credit cards; 58% will have replaced their digital cameras with mobile phones, and 34% will have replaced personal computers with them. Consumers also anticipate using their mobile phones to chat via video, view paid content on multiple screens, scan barcodes to access relevant online information and monitor home electricity usage.
• To access the full report – which also addresses mobile phone use preferences, consumer purchasing habits, motivations for change, demand for bundled services and applications, as well as key differentiators between various global regions – visit Oracle Communications on Facebook: www.facebook.com/OracleCommunications or click http://bit.ly/bdXnL1.

Supporting Quotes

“Communications service providers are always looking for the next technological breakthrough to gain a competitive advantage. Oracle’s ‘Opportunity Calling: The Future of Mobile Communications’ report gives a view into the minds of consumers, demonstrating that while mobile users are rapidly accepting new technological capabilities, price and reliability are still the driving factors in their decisions to select – and stay with – providers. Staying on the cutting-edge by providing innovative new content and applications is critical, but providers must ensure that the ‘brass tacks’ – service activation, delivery, and billing – are seamless, accurate and fast,” said Bhaskar Gorti, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications.

“The Middle East appears to be moving faster than the rest of the world when it comes to making the most of the services and applications available on mobile phones. It’s exciting to think that this means as mobiles get faster and smarter, providers could be leading the charge on encouraging the uptake of sophisticated data use, and finding new ways to utilise the mini-computers we’re all starting to carry in our pockets.” Gordon Rawling, senior marketing director, Oracle Communications EMEA.