In markets where handset subsidies have always been in place - which covers much of the world (notable exceptions include Finland, Italy and South Korea) the cost of providing mobile phones to users at a low, or even zero charge, has long proven a major expense for operators. Today, with hardly any greenfield opportunities remaining, and with an ever decreasing number of unaffiliated operators available to be picked off, larger scale consolidation — the merging or acquisition of entire groups _ remains an option for carriers looking to further leverage size to manage cost. In the past some operators have turned up the heat on certain customers _ typically low spend prepaid users who might keep a handset for emergencies or particular, specific use cases _ by hiking prices to the point where they exceed the reach of these customers. Pedro Teixeira, account manager for the Middle East and Africa at Portuguese revenue assurance (RA) specialist WeDo Technologies, cites that revenue leakage for mobile operators can range from two per cent for a mature operator with RA solutions in place, through to six or seven per cent for a large player that has yet to establish an RA strategy. It is common practice for carriers to offer customers preferential deals _ cheaper handsets or more valuable service bundles _ if the customer buys online. For low end, prepaid service, it is now common practice for supermarkets or petrol stations to stock phones, enabling the carriers to service the market at a much reduced operational cost, freeing up their own properties to focus on high_end, high_spend users. read more

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