2015 was a great year for the U.S. consumer — rates came down and carriers started shifting away from two-year contracts, giving customers more choice. So what’s in store for 2016? David Glickman, CEO of Ultra Mobile, believes it is the year of going global, more devices than ever before, and fewer contractual commitments. Take a look at these six trends for 2016.
Telecommunications Trends for 2016
Click through for six telecommunication trends expected in 2016, as identified by David Glickman, CEO of Ultra Mobile.
Mobile Goes Global
With the introduction of cross-border roaming and international calling plans, it’s becoming easier for people to stay in touch around the world, and travel without the fear of bill shock. This is going to continue and 2016 will really be the year that mobile goes global.
The Future Is OTT
More messages are sent over data than traditional SMS, and now the same migration is happening with voice. People still have a smartphone with a phone plan, but Ultra Mobile predicts that 2016 could be the year that customers begin ditching their phone plan in favor of data-only plans, with OTT providing all their voice and messaging needs.
Connected Devices
With 5.5 million devices being connected every day, this is the year of the Internet of Things. Devices around the house will not only be connected, they will be allowed to make decisions on behalf of the owner – determine when to water plants, if milk needs to be ordered. Fitness will also continue to drive the wearables market.
Content Is Driving Data Usage
Wi-Fi is becoming ubiquitous, cellular data speeds are increasing and prices are dropping, making it easier for people to stay connected all the time — not just to people but to content. Carriers are forming strategic relationships with media companies and content providers to continue to drive up usage, which is expected to jump up from 2.5GB monthly usage to 14.5GB by 2020.
Commitment Phobia
Commitment phobia has been a growing trend over the past five years, as people have shifted away from purchasing in favor of leasing for things like white goods and cars. At the tail end of 2015, we saw this starting to occur within telecommunications. Carriers are now offering device plans — detaching the phone plans from the value of the device — allowing customers to move off two-year contracts. This means lower switching costs and more freedom for customers.
Device Agnostic
The average American connects to the Internet through 2.9 devices. And as wearables and other connected devices grow, Ultra Mobile predicts a change from pricing “per device” to “per user” with data bundled in to be shared across all the user’s devices.
