Two companies have introduced performance indicator product offerings to help carriers keep tabs on the competition.
Arthur Andersen claims its “Wireless Benchmarking Tool for Key Performance Indicators,” allows wireless carriers to make apples-to-apples comparisons between service quality using key performance indicators selected and defined by participating U.S. wireless carriers.
Arthur Andersen said the KPI is available from a secure site incorporated into the company’s Web site and that no carrier-specific data is shared with other participants or any other third party.
“Ultimately, KPI comparisons drive management’s strategic decision-making, analysts’ buy-or-sell ratings and shareholders’ investment decisions,” said Carr Krueger, an Arthur Andersen partner specializing in the wireless industry.
The KPI is updated annually with input from 17 participating carriers, Arthur Andersen and the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, and includes such data as total subscribers, data revenue per subscriber and data usage per subscriber.
“The ongoing quarterly benchmark data enables us insightful comparisons for a variety of KPI’s such as churn, cost per gross add and average revenue per subscriber,” said John Stanton, chairman and chief executive officer of VoiceStream Wireless Corp. “When our management team discusses the industry, this tool is the single best source of reliable and meaningful information.”
Arthur Andersen plans to develop its Wireless Benchmarking Tool worldwide, noting a community of wireless operators from Europe has begun to look into the performance benchmarking area.
In other news, Telephia Inc. released a Web-based analysis tool for its Net-Q network performance tracking product, Map-Q, offering network performance information services for wireless carriers, tower management companies, retail/point of sale companies and infrastructure providers.
Telephia’s service allows wireless companies using Map-Q to monitor voice quality, call blocking, dropped calls and coverage on carrier networks online at Telephia’s Web site. The site offers a free demonstration of the service, and a subscription service with pay-per-click type features.
“By hosting our Net-Q network performance information on a powerful database accessible via the Web, we’re unveiling a new dimension in performance analysis. One that enables each user to analyze customized information that meets their specific needs,” said Paul Christoforou, vice president of Net-Q for Telephia.
Christoforou said that Map-Q provides maps that can be customized by carrier and by drive test date, as well as by criteria such as network, income, and residential and working population.
Telephia also allows customers using its Media-trac media spending tracking product to hear their competitors’ radio advertisements via the Internet. The company said the service enables carriers to analyze how their own advertising strategies compare with others in the market, and to gain a better understanding of what audiences their competitors are targeting with radio advertising.
The service is available in 17 markets, with expansion plans based on demand scheduled throughout the year.
