Operators fluent in Spanish, try to manage other languages

Wireless providers look to ethnic niches for growth

September 24 2008 - 6:00 am ET | Allie Winter | RCR Wireless News

Spanish remains the largest ethnic target market for wireless carriers, though other segments are gaining increased attention.

Photo credit:AT&T Mobility

Hola, Necesito un teléfono celular. Salut, J’ai besoin d’un téléphone cellulaire. Hallo, Ich brauche ein Handy. Ciao, Ho bisogno di un telefono cellulare.

Those are “Hello, I need a cell phone” in Spanish, French, German and Italian. Chances are few people know all of those translations.

According to a U.S. Census Bureau population report in 2006, 14.8% of the population is Hispanic or Latino; 4.4% are Asian and 6.3% are another race.

As such, wireless service providers are trying to cater to languages beyond English, and are trying to go a bit further than “press 2 for Spanish.” However, with the Latino/Hispanic population making up the largest non-English speaking chunk of the country, it’s the language carriers have taken the most action to address.

Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, analyst for Strategy Analytics, said it may be a small part of their radar, but it’s important for carriers to reach out to the different cultures. She noted, however, that the payoff might not be as great because these are small markets.

“The U.S. is a diverse culture with many people who are more comfortable in a language other than English, and as we push toward even greater cellular penetration rates, support for speakers of other languages is important,” she said. “The question will be how is that most cost-effectively approached, whether by a tier-one carrier with recruiting for local language needs for sales support, or a reseller/agent that does marketing/sales/customer support in another language.”

The top four carriers provide Spanish-language services. Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA Inc. all attempt to employ at least one person at retail outlets who can speak Spanish. Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel and AT&T Mobility also provide a version of their Web sites in Spanish. Small carriers such as Leap Wireless International Inc. focus heavily on the Hispanic market and features most of its services in English and Spanish.

Asian attention

To a lesser degree, carriers offer some assistance in other languages.

Verizon Wireless said it supports four Asian languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese. Jill Rueckert-Lopez, associate director of multi-cultural marketing for Verizon Wireless, said the carrier caters to these languages where it’s necessary.

“We do have stores in high density areas that do support languages outside of Spanish,” Rueckert-Lopez said. “[These are] primarily in the Western U.S. … Los Angeles and San Francisco.

In 2005, AT&T Mobility launched a site dedicated to Asian customers, offering self-service capabilities in five languages: Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog and Japanese.

Virgin Mobile USA Inc.’s Helio L.L.C. division was launched with an emphasis on the Korean community through one-time parent company SK Telecom. The mobile virtual network operator delivered advertising in Korean as well as specific handset applications targeting the Korean population, who likely were familiar with the SK Telecom brand.

Outside options

Outside of Spanish and Asian languages, offerings are sparse for carriers.

Both Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility work with Language Line Services, a three-way calling system where an operator acts as a translator between the customer and the carrier’s employees. This service can be used for customer service over the phone or in retail stores.

Applications and content is another outlet for carriers to reach out to other cultures. Rueckert-Lopez said Verizon Wireless provides an assortment of content at different times of the year.

“It’s based upon the calendar or special holidays that celebrate diversity and heritage across different cultures,” she said.

Verizon Wireless offers ringtones music selection in various languages year-round and has also added Bollywood videos and content for its Indian customers.

A Sprint Nextel representative said that besides English and Spanish, some of the carrier’s handsets can be programmed in French. A T-Mobile USA representative said the carrier will continue to evolve the language offerings based on customer needs.