UK regulator, Ofcom, has recently released the 2012 update of the International Communications Market Report, which compares the availability, take-up and use of services in the UK and a number of comparator countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the USA).

As in previous years, the report covers a number of areas, including:

• an analysis of the UK market in context
• comparative international pricing, comparing the typical prices people for a range of different 'baskets' of communications services
• a review of both the television and audio visual market and the radio and audio market
• an assessment of internet use, in terms of platforms and devices, as well as content and consumption
• comparative international data on the communications sector, comparing the UK to a range of comparator countries in order to assess how the UK is performing in an international context.

The comparative international pricing element of the report, which is based on data and systems supplied by the Teligen division of Strategy Analytics, compares five 'baskets' of services - fixed voice, mobile voice, fixed broadband, mobile broadband and pay TV - representative of the communications use of five typical households. The analysis shows that the UK remains very price competitive, offering the lowest price for all five baskets when a weighted average of single service pricing was taken into account and for four of the five baskets when looking at 'best-offer' or lowest possible pricing.

The low mobile prices in the UK are a key factor in the UK positioning (although, fixed voice and fixed and mobile broadband prices in the UK are also comparatively low), however, the study found evidence that UK communications prices were increasing in nominal terms, and that this was mainly down to increasing mobile prices. In the year to July 2012, the weighted average cost of more than half of mobile connections in the UK increased by between 5% and 31% (in nominal terms).

HD premium pay-TV services were the main area where the UK did not perform well - partly due to the fact that Sky bundles a large number of channels in its premium pay-TV package, as well as charging its satellite TV customers an additional £10 a month to let them access premium channels in HD.

In the analysis the results for France were also favourable, with France having the lowest 'best-offer' including multi-play price for the 'connected family' household[1]. Notably, for this household, France was significantly cheaper than in the UK as a result of the availability of a low-cost quad-play bundle of fixed voice, fixed broadband, mobile and pay-TV services. France also had the second lowest 'weighted average' prices for all five households.

Notably, consumers in most of the six countries analysed were able to make cost saving of between 5% to 40% by buying bundled packages rather than purchasing services individually.

The full study results, along with detailed information on the methodology used, are available for download on Ofcom's website.

[1] A connected family is defined as a family of four with generally high use of several communications technologies. A definition of a connected family can be found in the main report from Ofcom.

Strategy Analytics' Pricing and Benchmarking systems, offered through its Teligen division, have been supporting operators and regulators around the world for more than 30 years, helping them monitor and evaluate pricing strategies for fixed and mobile voice and data services.

Once again, Strategy Analytics will be holding two exclusive breakfast presentations at MWC 2013 which will provide insights into smart devices and smart experiences in a multi-screen world, as well as adjacent market opportunities and new business models for service providers. During the briefings, we are pleased to be able to offer attendees the opportunity to see a live demonstration of both our OECD Mobile Price Benchmarking Service and OECD Mobile Broadband Price Benchmarking Service.

The demonstration will allow you to see the powerful analytical abilities contained within our systems, which have helped our many customers answer critical questions such as:

• What are the prices and price structures of our competitors' services, and how do we compare?
• Which tariffs favour different kinds of usage?
• Where do we rank against comparable markets?
• What is the cost effect for end users when usage escalates?

Demonstrations of a number of other exciting Strategy Analytics' services - the Handset Country Share Tracker, ConsumerMetrix survey database, as well as PriceTRAX and SpecTRAX - will also be available.

If you would like to register for this breakfast event click HERE-->>

The UK regulator, Ofcom, has very recently released the 2011 version of its International Communications Market Report, which compares the availability, take-up and use of services in the UK and a number of comparator countries.

The report covers a number of areas, including:

• an analysis of the UK market in context
• comparative international pricing, comparing the typical prices people for a range of different 'baskets' of communications services
• a review of both the television and audio visual market and the radio and audio market
• an assessment of internet use, in terms of platforms and devices, as well as content and consumption
• comparative international data on the communications sector, comparing the UK to a range of comparator countries in order to assess how the UK is performing in an international context.

The comparative international pricing element of the report, which is based on data supplied by the Teligen division of Strategy Analytics, compares five 'baskets' of services - fixed voice, mobile voice, fixed broadband, mobile broadband and pay TV - representative of the communications use of five typical households. The analysis shows that the UK is generally very price competitive, offering the lowest price for all five baskets when a weighted average of single service pricing was taken into account and for three of the five baskets when looking at 'best-offer' pricing. Much of this difference is as a result of mobile prices in the UK being lower than in other countries, however, other services are generally also reasonably competitive. For example, the UK offers the lowest prices for standalone fixed voice services, in terms of the weighted average price. Similarly it is the cheapest for standalone broadband, along with France. And mobile broadband prices in the UK were the second lowest after Italy.

The analysis also reveals that Consumers in all countries can make savings by purchasing multi-service 'bundles', and the greatest savings, compared to purchasing standalone services, are available in France, where a 'quad-play' bundle including voice, broadband, TV and phone offered the lowest prices for a basket of services typical of a family of four with multiple communications needs. The UK offers the second lowest price for this basket.

The full study results, along with detailed information on the methodology used, are available for download on Ofcom's website.

T-Mobile has introduced two new tariffs to its postpaid customers. Both plans give unlimited calls. At CZK 2000, T-Moble Grand offers CZK 1000 credit plus unlimited calls to T-Mobile and fixed lines. Grand Plus is charged at CZK 3990 per month and allows users to make unlimited calls to any network in the Czech Republic. Messaging is not included in the tariff so is still charged at individual prices.

T-Mobile continues to offer its previous pay monthly plans such as Friends, Top and Credit.

In addition, the operator has unveiled a prepay plan with an emphasis on data. Twist Internet requires a monthly fee of CZK 850, for which users receive a credit of CZ K50 for calls and text messages as well as 5GB of data per month. This tariff offers a price of CZK 7.90 per minute for calls to fixed lines and other operators. Calls to T-Mobile are cheaper and two time bands apply, with off-peak on-net calls costing CZK 3.40 per minute.

Full details of the plans above are available in T-Cellular Online. Teligen monitors price developments of this sort in its continuous updates of T-Cellular Online http://sa-link.cc/3i

T-Mobile Austria has introduced the a new plan Hit Germany, the plan is aimed at users who contact Germany frequently and is also available as a SIM only.

* Denotes roaming minutes.

Orange Austria also offers a very similar plan with more roaming minutes included but fewer SMS included.

Mobile operators are increasingly offering reduced international rates as an option or as an integral part of a tariff, as shown in the table above. As in the case of these tariffs, they can be based on international traffic between two closely linked countries such as Germany and Austria, or else based on the user's ethnicity. Similarly, many operators in Germany offer packages for reduced calls and texts to Turkey and French operators have similar offers to users originating from Northern Africa.

These tariffs have been extracted directly from our T-Cellular Online Service (TCO).

Teligen monitors price developments of this sort in its monthly updates of T-Cellular Online http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=navigationheader&a0=1530&a1=0

It is difficult to tell whether dazzling array of choice in mobile tariffs is designed to empower users, allowing them to tailor their package precisely to their usage, or whether it is covertly trying to confuse and confound them. For years, there has been a push towards consumer choice and transparency at every level, driven by both market forces and regulation. And on that front, it is hard to dispute that that is exactly what we have now. Undoubtedly, users have benefitted from this choice, but if we were to dig a little deeper, we would most likely discover that a significant proportion are on the wrong package according to their usage, and that they have been for a long time. It is partly inertia, of course - many people simply can't be bothered to sort it out - a kind of better (and easier) the devil-you-know attitude. For those that take the plunge, however, it quickly becomes evident why inertia is such an attractive option, as deciphering and comparing across each offer is no easy task. The table below, taken from Teligen's online mobile tracking service, TCO, looks at a selection of mobile operators across Europe, and how many mobile plans they offer, including the various permutations and combinations that comes with each[1].

Undoubtedly, it will be fairly straightforward to thin the list of options down to a slightly more manageable number to choose from, based on the device, whether a user wants prepaid or not, or prefers a 12 month or 24 month contract, and so on. And some countries don't have quite such a tortuous list to choose from. However, it is worth mentioning that add on packages, such as extra SMSs, are not included in our table - put these into the mix and we're dealing with even more variations. By any standards, this really is a minefield, especially if you are trying to compare across providers.

The added dilemma for many is that they don't have a firm handle on their overall usage. Voice calls might be a known quantity for some, as might SMSs, although these might vary dramatically from day to day, week to week and month to month. And when data is thrown into the mix, as is increasingly the case, the waters can get very muddy.

A handful of operators will proactively inform users that they are on the wrong plan, and suggest an appropriate alternative, but often, switching to the right one will require the signing of a new contract, which will usually tie the user in for at least another 12 months.

It would be good to see operators take the initiative, and make the apparent choice and flexibility a genuine reality for customers, rather than bombarding them with a bewildering array of continually evolving plans and options. And to be fair, some are trying, but there is still a long way to go.

[1] Source: TCO, Teligen. Does not including family or group plans with sharing allowance, youth, student senior, business plans or data only plans e.g. for tablet devices such as the iPad. Also does not include ?add-ons, such as an extra SMS bundle. Operators in Italy, for example, offer a lot of add-ons.