News
Issue #2002 - 40 (October 2002)
(Updated Oct. 22, 2002)

MARKET OUTLOOK & TRENDS

Lucent Study Bullish on Wireless in the Enterprise

An in-depth study sponsored by Lucent Technologies found substantial demand for high-speed mobile data access among U.S. and European businesses, particularly for e-mails with data-heavy attachments and Internet and corporate Intranet access. The study also indicated that third-generation (3G) mobile operators are in a good position to provide these services to enterprise customers, a market segment characterized by high subscriber loyalty and a willingness to incur some incremental costs in exchange for nationwide high-speed data coverage.

Other research also has identified a sizeable market for mobile high-speed data services for businesses. According to International Data Corporation (IDC), for U.S. businesses alone, the total addressable market for wireless data services, including messaging and Internet, will grow to $16.8 billion by 2006. 
The Lucent study, completed in September 2002, was conducted by a third-party research firm and was based on in-depth interviews with more than 1500 telecommunications/information technology (IT) managers, the ultimate decision makers for technology-related purchases. Lucent was not revealed to respondents as the sponsor of the study.

The research indicates that businesses want a wireless data solution that addresses the main problems of accessing data on the road -- speed and ease of connectivity. 3G technology can satisfy business user requirements in these areas, according to the research. Additionally, mobile operators were selected by 44 percent of the respondents as the most likely provider of a high-speed mobile data service. IT/networking suppliers were second with 34 percent.

"As this study shows, there is a significant pent-up demand among enterprise users for 3G high-speed mobile data services due to improvements that can be made to critical business processes, and the resulting increases in productivity and customer satisfaction," said Scott Erickson, senior vice president of marketing and sales, Lucent Mobility Solutions Group. "Lucent is already working with enterprises in particular market segments -- including insurance, finance, energy, professional services and manufacturing -- to better define their needs for high-speed mobile data services. We're then bringing these findings to mobile operators and helping them develop a 3G business model that will serve these customer needs."

This research is part of a series of investigations into global trends in wireless data demand. The study focused on 22 different types of businesses, or vertical market segments, which helped identify those segments most likely to be early adopters. In the European studies, the geographic focus of the research was on five markets -- France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, which are expected to be the earliest adopters of high-speed wireless data services, according to Lucent.

High-speed Mobile Data Needs and Most Interested Market Segments
Telecom/IT managers cited remote e-mail and Internet/Intranet access as the main requirements for traveling employees, with a particular focus on applications including data-heavy e-mails, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation programs. The respondents also cited remote access to office applications as most critical for sales professionals and service representatives. Those business segments most interested in high-speed mobile data access to support sales functions included banking, manufacturing, business and consumer services, media, transportation and wholesale/retail. Those most interested in support for service functions included insurance, utilities and maintenance-related businesses.

Traveling employees or "road warriors" who need to access critical applications while on the go are most often salespeople or service reps. "Road warriors" spending the most time away from the office were found to be in the wholesale/retail, media and communications, business and consumer services and manufacturing industries. Although there were distinct differences by vertical segment, the top five locations for accessing data included customer sites, branch offices, suppliers' offices, hotels and the home.

The study also evaluated telecom/IT managers' technology preferences when considering a solution to provide employees with mobile data access, and their strategies for rolling out such services to their employees. In addition, it explored these managers' selection criteria for choosing a mobile high-speed data service provider, which included reputation, brand recognition, and price.

3G Wireless Networks Meet Need for High-Speed Mobile Data Access
The study revealed that 3G wireless networks meet many of the needs that businesses identified as necessary for a wireless data solution -- speed, ease of connectivity and coverage. To meet these needs, Lucent has developed initiatives to address the security and ease-of-use requirements of enterprise users to help mobile operators take advantage of this attractive market opportunity. For example, Lucent is working to develop processes that will enable an enterprise user to quickly and easily activate high-speed mobile data services. Lucent also is leveraging its solutions and expertise to hasten the consumer/mass market adoption of 3G mobile high-speed data services.

Lucent is demonstrating its high-speed mobile data solutions for businesses in its booth (#2400) at the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless I.T. and Internet show, taking place this week at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

The European and United States studies complement earlier research that investigated wireless data trends in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.

Lucent's Mobility Solutions Group is a leading global provider of mobile networking technologies, having deployed more than 70,000 spread-spectrum base stations for mobile operators worldwide. 

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