What's in a name, for mobile operators?

By Alun Williams

Posted on 12 Aug 2002 at 12:22

Consumers are struggling to keep up with the changing face of mobile network operators according to latest research, but they keep buying Nokias...

Continental Research's quarterly mobile phone survey suggests that consumer confusion is evident in the mobile marketplace as network operators re-position themselves. As well as One2One changing to T-Mobile, of course, BT Cellnet has transformed itself into O2. The confusion continues with the latter, as mmO2 is the corporate group name but O2 is the 'consumer-facing brand'.

Among the general population - when asked to spontaneously name all the current mobile phone network operators - Orange leads the way with 67 per cent identifying the network, ahead of Vodafone on 54 per cent. The networks formerly known as BT Cellnet and One 2 One, then follow, registering awareness among 47 and 33 per cent of respondents. T-Mobile and O2 were mentioned by only 24 and 20 per cent respectively. Surprisingly, the Virgin network, which has had no change of branding, is the joint least-recognised operator, also recording awareness among 20 per cent.

The responses are based on 3,500 sample interviews.

While acknowledging that the recent Big Brother series may have helped to subsequently raise awareness of O2, Colin Shaddick - Director of Continental Research - points out: 'Changing the name to O2 may partly be to help attract the more lucrative younger customers who use their mobiles more for texting and voice calls, as our report tells us that O2 currently has the oldest age profile of the four largest mobile networks.'

There is no confusion, however, about the success of Nokia. According to the report, almost one in two mobile users (45 per cent) have a Nokia handset, and it seems that Nokia owners are the heaviest phone users.

Whereas, on average, Nokia users make 15 voice calls per week, owners of other handsets make 11. And the average number of text messages sent per week from Nokia phones is 18, compared to 10 for other handsets. Accordingly, the average monthly mobile spend of Nokia owners is £22 compared to £15 for owners of all other handsets. The reason? Nokia owners have a younger age profile than the owners of any other handset...

Continental Research's reports are available for purchase at £150 excluding VAT.