Operators encouraged to sell solutions rather than technology
Half of British businesses have no need for 3G data, according to a survey of leading IT and telecoms professionals, carried out by the Communications Management Association (CMA).
In the annual survey of its members the CMA found that 49% of respondents had no use for 3G in their businesses.
The result is particularly important because the CMA’s members tend to be those people with purchasing power for data services in British businesses.
The CMA’s survey did not ask why 3G had no place in those businesses, but commentators have suggested that many businesses either do not have a mobile data strategy, or their applications run sufficiently well over GPRS networks.
“The cry is, ‘Tell us what 3G does for our business'”, said Alan Hindley, a director of the CMA. “We don’t just want handdowns from the consumer market.”
But despite the apparent lack of business interest in 3G, Mike Short, the chairman of the Mobile Data Association, was positive about the future of high speed data.
Short said, “I’m not too worried about the lack of recognition of 3G. I would expect customers to be sold solutions rather than technology.”
The need to avoid technical speak when selling to businesses may become more important as 3G deployments gather speed, and the number of acronyms increases.
Within the UK, one variation of 3G called HSDPA is currently attracting a lot of interest, as it is being trialled on the Isle of Man.
HSDPA should allow download speeds three to four times faster than current versions of 3G.