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Impacts of mobile Internet use intensity on the demand for SMS and voice services of mobile network operators: An empirical multi-method study of German mobile Internet customers

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  • Gerpott, Torsten J.

Abstract

Scholarly and business publications alike convey the message that past and future strong growth in mobile Internet (MI) access and service demand has solely positive commercial implications for mobile network operators (MNOs). This position neglects the possibility that increasing MI use intensity may lead to demand decreases for the highly profitable short messaging service (SMS) and mobile voice telephony. The extant literature provides few insights on relations between MI use intensity, on the one hand, and SMS as well as mobile voice call use intensities, on the other hand. This study developed hypotheses concerning the presence or absence of impacts of MI use intensity and circumstances of MI use (e.g., device type, tariff scheme) on the demand for SMS and mobile voice telephony at the individual customer level. The hypotheses were tested by analyzing actual use behaviors of 304 MI adopters in Germany, for whom objective use intensity data were extracted from the billing system of an MNO. These non-reactive measures were combined with responses collected from the adopters through a telephone survey. Multivariate regression results suggest that though MI use intensity significantly negatively affected both number of SMS sent and received, these effects were so small that their practical relevance is highly doubtful. Further, customers who used MI more intensively did not generate lower volumes of outgoing or incoming mobile voice connection minutes. Conclusions are drawn for MNO, telecommunications sector regulators and scholarly researchers seeking to explain the acceptance of mobile communications services.

Suggested Citation

  • Gerpott, Torsten J., 2010. "Impacts of mobile Internet use intensity on the demand for SMS and voice services of mobile network operators: An empirical multi-method study of German mobile Internet customers," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(8), pages 430-443, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:34:y:2010:i:8:p:430-443
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Gerpott, Torsten J. & Thomas, Sandra, 2014. "Empirical research on mobile Internet usage: A meta-analysis of the literature," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 291-310.
    2. Torsten J. Gerpott & Phil Meinert, 2016. "Correlates of using the billing system of a mobile network operator to pay for digital goods and services," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 18(6), pages 1265-1283, December.
    3. Obinna C. Ojiaku & Aihie Osarenkhoe, 2018. "Determinants of Customers’ Brand Choice and Continuance Intentions with Mobile Data Service Provider: The Role of Past Experience," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 19(6), pages 1478-1493, December.
    4. Rouibah, Kamel & Abbas, Hasan & Rouibah, Samia, 2011. "Factors affecting camera mobile phone adoption before e-shopping in the Arab world," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 271-283.
    5. Nikou, Shahrokh & Mezei, József, 2013. "Evaluation of mobile services and substantial adoption factors with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 915-929.
    6. Arnold, René & Hildebrandt, Christian & Tas, Serpil & Kroon, Peter, 2017. "More than Words: A global analysis of the socio-economic impact of Rich Interaction Applications (RIAs)," 28th European Regional ITS Conference, Passau 2017 169445, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    7. Shinohara, Sobee & Akematsu, Yuji & Morikawa, Hiroyuki & Tsuji, Masatsugu, 2013. "Current issues of the Japanese mobile phone market caused by smartphones," 24th European Regional ITS Conference, Florence 2013 88528, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    8. Arnold, René & Hildebrandt, Christian & Waldburger, Martin, 2016. "Der Markt für Over-The-Top Dienste in Deutschland," WIK Discussion Papers 409, WIK Wissenschaftliches Institut für Infrastruktur und Kommunikationsdienste GmbH.
    9. Torsten J. Gerpott & Sandra Thomas & Michael Weichert, 2014. "Usage of established and novel mobile communication services: Substitutional, independent or complementary?," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 491-507, July.
    10. Shinohara, Sobee & Morikawa, Hiroyuki & Tsuji, Masatsugu, 2015. "Competition or smartphones? Factors promote mobile broadband adoption in OECD countries," 2015 Regional ITS Conference, Los Angeles 2015 146349, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    11. Shinohara, Sobee & Morikawa, Hiroyuki & Tsuji, Masatsugu, 2016. "How Smartphones Transformed Market and Competition of Mobile Broadband in OECD Member Countries," 27th European Regional ITS Conference, Cambridge (UK) 2016 148704, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    12. Shinohara, Sobee & Morikawa, Hiroyuki & Tsuji, Masatsugu, 2014. "Empirical analysis of mobile broadband adoption in major six countries from the view of competition policy," 20th ITS Biennial Conference, Rio de Janeiro 2014: The Net and the Internet - Emerging Markets and Policies 106849, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    13. Kim, Wook Joon & Kim, Yongkyu, 2018. "An estimation of quality-adjusted prices for mobile services in Korea," 22nd ITS Biennial Conference, Seoul 2018. Beyond the boundaries: Challenges for business, policy and society 190346, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    14. Gerpott, Torsten J. & Meinert, Phil, 2016. "The impact of mobile Internet usage on mobile voice calling behavior: A two-level analysis of residential mobile communications customers in Germany," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 62-76.

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