Unlocking the promise of mobile value-added services by applying new collaborative business models

Due to the intense voice service competition and subscriber growth saturation, the average revenue per user (ARPU) of mobile communications service providers continues to decline, thereby severely affecting their total revenue and profitability. To counter this challenge, mobile communications service providers are now moving from "tariff competition" to "service competition." As mobile communications enter the next-generation network (NGN) era, network bandwidth and transmission speed are greatly enhanced. The enhancement enables mobile communications service providers to provide content-rich, multimedia value-added services to create new service value, meet demands of customers, and increase ARPU. To understand how to construct mobile value-added services, this study uses survey forms to collect feedback from 35 industry and research institution experts and scholars and to present systematically the finding on the mobile value-added services strategy. The research employs the analytic network process (ANP) to analyze the strategy of mobile service providers in delivering mobile services in the NGN. The business strategy evaluation framework and evaluation result can be used as guides for players in the mobile communications industry to review, improve, and enhance their service and strategy. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.