User manual ALCATEL-LUCENT INSTANT ZONE APPLICATION NOTE

[. . . ] APPLICATION NOTE Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone Maximizing subscriber yield through zone-based strategies Abstract As the number of mobile subscribers expands worldwide, they are increasing their use of mobile services while reducing their use of landline services. To maximize revenue yield, mobile service providers are looking to zone-based tariffs as a way to provide value to subscribers while encouraging increased use of mobile services. The Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone (IZO) enables mobile service providers to create unique service combinations based on location, time of use, caller/called party relationships and voice or data services, and to offer discounts based on use. Addressing hypercompetitive market segmentation demands allows mobile service providers to maximize revenue by taking a share of the landline market and helps enable mobile subscribers to "cut the cord". Table of contents 1 1 2 4 7 8 10 11 11 11 12 13 1. Cuttingthecord 2. Advantagestoofferingzone-basedtariffs 2. 1 Opportunities for success 2. 2 Addressing hyper-market segments 3. Alcatel-LucentInstantZone 3. 1 Flexible architecture 3. 2 Ease of network integration 4. Benefitstozone-basedtariffs 4. 1 Quantifiable return on investment 4. 2 Service provider examples 5. Conclusion 6. Abbreviations 1. [. . . ] This concept may even be extended beyond the event; for example, the concert's sponsor may advertise reduced call rates for the hour after the concert in the area two train stops away from the event and offer free access to the newest music video from the group who performed the concert. 2. 2. 5 Tourist zones Tourist zones could be offered to target the discretionary income of roaming prepaid subscriber identity module (SIM) users. When people travel on business, their prepaid SIM may be billed normal usage rates in the central city as they conduct their business and when they enter resort areas, tariffs drop to encourage greater use. As a result, when a traveler may not be as cost-sensitive for use under company reimbursement, higher revenues are captured; when travelers are more cost-sensitive because they are paying, rates are reduced to encourage increased use. An extension of this concept might be to propose rental of prepaid services for tourist groups while they are in the country. Calls that are made within the region and group may be charged a lower rate. These could also be supported through dedicated vouchers for a tourist group. 2. 2. 6 Commercial zones Combining mobile use with enterprise marketing alliances, service providers could offer "value calls" by allowing discounted use during specific days of the week or times of the day within a given retail store (such as a popular coffee franchise). This same concept could also be combined with existing loyalty programs where use credits are exchanged with coffee club cards that accumulate points based on purchases. Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone | Application Note 5 2. 2. 7 Yield zones Yield zones can be used in many ways to support hyper-segmented offers. For instance: · lowering mobile entry barrier for low income populations thanks to high discounts at off-peaks · attracting subscribers in the youth segment with playful dynamic price plans · micro-campaigns limited in time, location or subscribers targeted, and then difficult to detect and counter for competitors · trialing dynamic pricing policies with limited risk before extending them to a larger scale · tempering all-you-can-eat price plans with buckets of usage decremented at peaks only, targeting heavy consumers in particular · sparking off up-selling and cross-selling by combining with properly targeted bonus incentives and loyalty programs instead of just giving discounts At the highest level, there are some common characteristics or categories within each market (see Figure 2). Each market and their associated individual segments have unique characteristics that can be used to further refine each segment; these can be used to establish completely new ideas or to complement the following. 2. 2. 8 Complementing campus zone offers Figure 2. Possible definitions for unique zone-based offers Enterprise Comm Plan Student and Faculty Friends and Family Usage discounts Universities General consumers Enterprises Regional/rural · University students generally have minimum disposable income (may be supplemented by parents) · Primary location is the campus; may go off campus for social activities and part-time employment · May have strong family connections; creates additional opportunities to link friends and family 2. 2. 9 Complementing home zone offers · · · · Most households base purchase decisions on entertainment, budget and security Zone-based offer would appeal to budget Combining the offer with entertainment (content) could influence decision criteria Family connections; easy to reach with only one number to call instead of a home number plus a mobile number 2. 2. 10 Complementing office zone offers · Return on investment strategies appeal to corporate world · Combining the offer with enterprise-based communications plans/features can result in greater acceptance and market penetration The challenge is to define the right offer for the right segment. An offer may include pure prepaid voice, presence-based voice, data and video services or full prepaid/postpaid family accounts. These packages can easily be complemented with zone-based tariffs. By creating unique service combinations, service providers have the opportunity to establish unique packages that maximize the available yield from their subscriber base. 6 Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone | Application Note Content Zone(s) 3. Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone The Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone (IZO) is an application that enables mobile service providers to address hyper-market segmentation by creating attractive tariff packages based on the location of the subscriber. The Alcatel-Lucent IZO allows mobile service providers to define key zones, such as home zones, office zones and campus zones, to support a greater diversity of price plans for current and future subscribers. If a mobile subscriber is within their home zone(s), the service provider may choose to apply a different rate -- a rate similar to or better than the fee for a fixed line. When the subscriber is outside their designated zone(s), the standard price plan applies. Enterprises may have multiple office locations and may require that multiple zones be defined for their employees. The Alcatel-Lucent IZO allows service providers to support defined zones for both voice and data services as well as to support multiple zones per individual subscriber. In more mature markets, mobile service providers have taken advantage of the Alcatel-Lucent IZO to execute FMS strategies. For emerging markets, where mobile service providers benefit from a larger coverage area than fixed service providers, the product has been used to encourage calls within these areas by providing geographically discounted calls, for example, providing discounts on outgoing and/or incoming calls when calls are made from a few defined geographical zones. Specialized tariffs can be made available to all subscribers to encourage increased service use. Figure 3. [. . . ] IZO provisioning GUI 10 Alcatel-Lucent Instant Zone | Application Note 4. Benefits to zone-based tariffs 4. 1Quantifiablereturnoninvestment The Alcatel-Lucent IZO allows service providers to establish zone-based charging to support multiple networks and can be combined with a number of different service packages. In addition, this same solution can serve prepaid, postpaid and converged subscriber accounts, thereby minimizing or eliminating additional capital costs that would be required for individual systems. The robust capabilities of the Alcatel-Lucent IZO support multiple programs or zones that may be applied to one or more subscribers. [. . . ]