5G pricing: the best is yet to come

Telecoms.com periodically invites third parties to share their views on the industry’s most pressing issues. In this piece,Jennifer Kyriakakis, Founder and VP of Marketing at Matrixx, explores best practice in the pricing of telecoms services in the 5G era.

The advent of 5G technology will bring a monumental shift in how traditional telcos operate their business. In the run up to full scale 5G deployments, many forward thinking telcos have launched digital brands. These are essentially 100% digital versions of their businesses packaged as a different brand. Many of them are using their digital brands to experiment with customer experience, service offerings, and business models that will become mainstream with 5G. The theorem: If we don’t have the pricing models and business infrastructure in place to properly extract value from a 5G offering, we’ll end up losing out to the next wave of OTT players. So let’s figure it out now, before the networks are in place.

As operators debate how best to price 5G, some early examples, such as Three in the UK are offering 5G at no additional cost to current 4G plans. The idea seems sound as a starting point, particularly as there is little 5G network availability and devices haven’t yet caught up. But does it make sense in the medium to long term, or do these tactics risk further devaluing the very asset that differentiates them? Are these early pricing models really strategies for 5G, or merely placeholders as telcos continue with transformation efforts that will set them up to compete with OTTs and digital players?

Operators have a powerful opportunity to create a competitive advantage with their 5G offering. Getting the pricing model right is a strong place to start. With the industry already throwing different pricing models at the wall, which one will stick?

The Pay-for-Speed approach

This approach started in some markets with 4G and while it’s simple and straightforward for the consumer, it also sets the precedence that speed is the only value lever telcos have to offer. For example, Vodafone became the first UK network to offer unlimited 5G data plans. Ditching the monthly data allocations, Vodafone offers three speeds; 2Mpbs, 10Mpbs and then the fastest speed possible. People have the choice on how fast they want to download or stream content.

If you are a super user or have a family of six who are always on their phones, it makes sense to pay for those faster speeds. If you are in retirement, don’t necessarily have a job in tech or could care less about YouTube, then having the choice for lower speeds may be a good option.

But is this model sustainable? When in the future, the amount of data – everything from gaming to connected home, health apps, IoT, streaming video and more -could outweigh the speed? Would an operator lose a revenue opportunity on super users who take advantage of accessing large amounts of data at the fastest speeds?

The Rewards approach

Others are taking an ecosystem approach banking on potential new revenue streams by creating value-added services, which often come to life through rewards-based programs. These programs offer incentives such as discounts, coupons and first-access to concerts and movies, to entice users and make the app experience more sticky. By building loyalty around an ecosystem now, as 5G services arrive they have established channel relationships with partners who will be leveraging 5G in the future for AR/VR services and are actively participating in the revenue chain.

Verizon’s Up Program is a great example of this, as they offer discounts and rewards on technology, dining, sports experiences and stage-side concerts. They tout deals monthly and even daily, driving people to check in on the app frequently. Once there, they encourage users to manage their services, often upselling them on new benefits.

By creating these rewards-based programs they are not only appealing to the next generation of users, but they are also creating a more valued relationship between consumers and their brand. This brand strategy is one that few operators have navigated successfully, but it is crying out for change in a new 5G era if operators expect to compete with OTT players.

The Marketplace & Bundled approach

Operators that create marketplaces are offering users opportunities to connect with friends, form inner social groups, gift data to friends, and also manage their plans in real-time. These marketplaces are highly sticky, driving customers to spend lots of time within the marketplace, which breeds more opportunities to sell products and boost revenue.

Another approach are operators who are choosing to bundle the price of data with a specific service. For example, if you want Netflix delivered in high-definition to your smartphone, you’ll pay a flat monthly fee for that service and the data will be included. These bundled-service options work well for a variety of value-adds, including VR gaming, augmented reality services, IoT of the home and more.

This sets the market up nicely for two-sided business models which will emerge with full scale 5G. Getting consumers used to paying carriers for services vs. network access is phase one to future multi-faceted models in which the carriage is monetized through different partners and models.

So have any 5G pricing models arrived yet?

While these offerings are all based on 4G today, they set the foundation for turning customers into high-engagement fans, in turn increasing their revenue streams.

5G introduces hundreds and even thousands of possibilities to utilize the network efficiently and generate additional revenue. Operators that are moving now to innovate and distinguish themselves from their competitors are setting themselves up to reimagine pricing for 5G and drive new revenue vs. defend against price wars and the resulting churn.

MATRIXX Founder and Vice President of Marketing, Jennifer Kyriakakis, brings deep expertise in both telecoms and software with roles ranging from complex systems delivery to technical sales to strategic marketing. Her 20 plus years of experience helping Telcos reinvent themselves has propelled the growth of MATRIXX into markets all over the globe.