Table of Contents
Overview
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- What you need to know
- Issues covered in this Report
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Forecast
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- Figure 1: Indexed volume of mobile phone subscribers, NI and RoI, 2012-22
- Market factors
- High smartphone ownership positive for mobile phone market
- Contract users outnumber pay-as-you-go users in RoI for the first time
- NI consumers satisfied with mobile coverage
- Mobile data usage sees significant growth across Ireland
- Companies, brands and innovations
- The consumer
- Samsung and Android dominate Irish smartphone market
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- Figure 2: Manufacturer of smartphone owned, NI and RoI, April 2017
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- Figure 3: Operating system consumers use on their smartphone, NI and RoI, April 2017
- O2 dominates NI market, Vodafone leads in RoI
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- Figure 4: Mobile network providers used by consumers for their main mobile phone, NI, April 2017
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- Figure 5: Mobile network providers used by consumers for their main mobile phone, RoI, April 2017
- Pay-as-you-go popular in NI
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- Figure 6: Type of mobile network connection, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Mobile coverage good but consumers interested in website that rates providers
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- Figure 7: Agreement with statements relating to mobile phones, NI and RoI, April 2017
- What we think
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Value of mobile market in RoI edges up in 2016
- Smartphone ownership high, potential for basic phones as back-up devices
- More consumers on contract than pay-as-you-go in RoI
- European Union ends roaming charges
Market Size and Forecast
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- Mobile subscriptions in RoI see slow growth in 2016
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- Figure 8: Total number of mobile phone subscribers, IoI, NI and RoI, 2012-22
- Growth in mobile subscriptions to continue through to 2022
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- Figure 9: Indexed value of mobile phone subscribers, NI and RoI, 2012-22
- More consumers using post-paid services for the first time
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- Figure 10: Mobile subscriptions, by prepay and post-pay, RoI, 2011-16
- Figure 11: Percentage of customers on pre- or post-pay, by operator, RoI, 2016
- Value of RoI mobile market to fall in 2017
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- Figure 12: Total value of the mobile market, RoI, 2012-22
- Voice communication revenues continue to grow
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- Figure 13: Annualised mobile retail revenues, RoI, 2012-16
- Mobile voice traffic increases in 2016
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- Figure 14: Total voice traffic, RoI, 2012-16
- Figure 15: Proportion of voice traffic via mobile and fixed channels, RoI, 2012 and 2016
Market Drivers
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- Smartphone ownership high in Ireland
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- Figure 16: Ownership of, or access to, mobile technology devices, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Consumers raising most mobile issues with Three Ireland
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- Figure 17: Queries and complaints about mobile phones, by operator, RoI, January-March 2017
- Figure 18: Mobile service issue complaints, by operator, RoI, January-March 2017
- Satisfaction with mobile reception high in NI
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- Figure 19: Satisfaction with reception of mobile service, UK and NI, 2016
- Mobile data usage continues to grow
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- Figure 20: Average monthly data usage, UK (including NI), 2012-16
- Figure 21: Average mobile data usage, RoI, 2013 and 2016
- Consumers more confident in mobile payment security
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- Figure 22: Agreement with the statement ‘I think that mobile payments are as secure as other payment methods’, NI and RoI, April 2017
- EU to end roaming charges in 2017
- Sky the latest entrant to UK mobile market
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Ireland intends to have 5G network installed by 2019
- Vodafone and Three invest in their networks
- Consumer-driven data consumption puts pressure on networks
Who’s Innovating?
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- Return of the 3310
- EE pioneers Air Mast technology for rural mobile coverage
- eir launches WiFi Calling service
- Folding phones
- Wireless charging
Competitive Strategies – Key Players
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- BT Group (BT, EE, Openreach)
- BT (British Telecom)
- EE (Everything Everywhere)
- eir Group (eir, Meteor)
- Meteor
- Hutchinson Whampoa (Three Ireland)
- Three Ireland
- Three UK
- Sky plc
- TalkTalk
- Telefonica
- O2 UK
- Tesco Mobile
- Vodafone
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Samsung and Apple the leaders in the Irish mobile phone market
- O2 leads NI mobile market, Vodafone in RoI
- NI consumers paying as they go while contracts popular in RoI
- Mobile coverage good but consumers would like a website that rates providers
Manufacturer and Operating System Used
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- Samsung and Apple lead the Irish mobile market
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- Figure 23: Manufacturer of smartphone owned, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Samsung devices appeal to C2DEFs in NI
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- Figure 24: Ownership of a Samsung smartphone, by social class, NI and RoI, April 2017
- iPhone appeals to Millennials and women
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- Figure 25: Ownership of an Apple smartphone (eg iPhone), by age, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Android the main smartphone operating system
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- Figure 26: Operating system consumers use on their smartphone, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Men using Android while iOS appeals to women
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- Figure 27: Use of Android operating system on smartphones, by gender, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Figure 28: Use of iOS operating system on smartphones, by gender, NI and RoI, April 2017
Mobile Network Provider Used
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- O2 leads NI market
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- Figure 29: Mobile network providers used by consumers for their main mobile phone, NI, April 2017
- Women are the main users of O2 in NI
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- Figure 30: Consumers using O2 as the mobile network provider for their main mobile phone, by gender and age, NI, April 2017
- Vodafone is the leading mobile network provider in RoI
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- Figure 31: Mobile network providers used by consumers for their main mobile phone, RoI, April 2017
- Three Ireland popular among students
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- Figure 32: Consumers using Three Ireland as the mobile network provider for their main mobile phone, by work status, RoI, April 2017
- Vodafone Ireland and Meteor appeal to Irish parents
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- Figure 33: Consumers using Vodafone Ireland or Meteor as the mobile network provider for their main mobile phone, by presence of children in the household, RoI, April 2017
Type of Mobile Network Connection
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- Contracts dominates NI market
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- Figure 34: Type of mobile network connection, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Mobile connection linked to age in RoI
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- Figure 35: Consumers’ use of pay-as-you-go and contract services with their phone, by age, NI, April 2017
- Figure 36: Consumers’ use of pay-as-you-go and contract services with their phone, by age, RoI, April 2017
Attitudes towards Mobile Phones
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- Irish consumers satisfied with mobile coverage
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- Figure 37: Agreement with statements relating to mobile phones, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Urban/rural divide still there in mobile coverage
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- Figure 38: Agreement with the statement ‘I find the coverage of my mobile phone network to be good’, by location, NI, April 2017
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- Figure 39: Agreement with the statement ‘I find the coverage of my mobile phone network to be good’, by location, RoI, April 2017
- Wireless charging appeals most to Millennials
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- Figure 40: Agreement with the statement ‘I would be interested in getting a phone that can be charged wirelessly’, by age, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Comparison website interests Millennials in NI and early Gen-Xers in RoI
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- Figure 41: Agreement with the statement ‘A website that rates providers on their network coverage of my local area would influence who I use for my mobile phone services’, by age, NI and RoI, April 2017
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Data sources
- Generational cohort definitions
- Abbreviations
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