Noting the importance of wireless Internet and data services to wireless service providers, along with Goldman Sachs findings that more than 50 percent of all Web access will be delivered through a wireless device within the next five to 10 years, Telephia Inc. has branched out its competitive marketing and network performance intelligence data gathering to include untethered Internet access information.
Telephia explained that wireless carriers are not only interested in this kind of information to track their wireless competitors, but to see how their own wireless offerings stack up in the market. Five national carriers, including AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and VoiceStream Corp., have signed up for Telephia’s offerings.
Telephia’s venture in the wireless Internet world includes a partnership with Invertix Corp. to share proprietary technology that tracks the performance of carriers’ wireless Internet offerings; an agreement with ComScore Networks Inc. to work together to recruit participants to “opt-in” and allow their wireless Web and personal computer behavior to be confidentially monitored; and a wireless data drive test that Telephia conducts in the United States to test wireless carriers’ data transfer capabilities.
Using its proprietary data gathering services and its partnership with Invertix, Telephia said it will produce the first continuous, end-to-end, quality-of-service measurement system for wireless data networks. The system, and subsequent wireless data product, will track the actual subscriber experience with specific wireless Web sites and compare performance across service providers, markets, locations and time of day.
“Telephia is leveraging its core competencies-measurement, analysis and Web delivery-to help wireless voice carriers better understand their relative performance, and is extending this into the wireless data and wireless Internet space,” explained John Oyler, president of Telephia.
The initial offering is expected to be available in certain U.S. markets on a trial basis early next year.
Under its 10-year exclusive agreement with ComScore, Telephia said it will offer wireless and wired Internet users a chance to have their Web habits followed. In return for giving up some privacy, Telephia said participants will be given quicker access to their wireless and wired Internet offerings.
The company acknowledged that while there might be some reluctance by consumers to allow an outside company to track their Internet habits, it noted that Nielsen Media Research uses the same framework to track television watching habits in the United States with little question of privacy issues.
“The combination of Telephia’s wireless measurement capabilities with ComScore’s 360-degree view gives Internet and wireless companies a picture of consumer behavior on the Internet regardless of whether it happens using a wired or wireless connection,” said Magib Abraham, president and chief executive officer of ComScore. “This unique capability enables our joint clients to leverage the best way to reach the customer in a channel-neutral fashion, and get immediate feedback to optimize their cross channel initiatives.”
The Wireless Data Drive Test service, part of Telephia’s Net-Q Wireless Data offering, involves the use of a mobile measuring device that is driven around select U.S. markets. The service is currently set up for CDMA networks, with CDPD and TDMA network applications scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
The mobile device will initially measure Internet availability, with log-in times and access success rates, and e-mail send/receive quality of service performance based on success rates, transfer speed and verification. Telephia expects future applications to include Internet browsing, Web page download speeds and URL availability.
Telephia said the service was recently tested in the Washington, D.C. market, where it showed a 29-second difference between two wireless carriers in the delivery of a six-page wireless e-mail message around Dulles Airport. A similar test was done around Reagan National Airport showing only a one-second difference between the two carriers during the test.
