Telephone services market in Bulgaria, May 2003
In the period April 18- May 15, 2003
Vitosha Research
conducted a marketing research study on the market of telephone
services in the country. 1,077 respondents were interviewed face-to-face.
The survey is representative of the country’s adult population.
Based on the data obtained, as well as on the findings of previous
surveys, a comparative report has been prepared that explores
the dynamics of the market over a one-year period.
The survey findings indicate that while the
cellular market essentially retains its profile of early 2002,
in the period under review – January 2002-May 2003 – it has undergone
several more notable changes:
- With the successful establishment of a
second GSM operator in the country competition in the cellular
market has intensified considerably and this has brought about
certain shifts in the various market segments. Despite the significant
increase in the Globul market share over the
one-year period, M-tel nevertheless continues
to be the leading mobile network operator.
- To date the proportion of fixed home
phones to cellular phones in the households is still three
to one in favor of the fixed ones. In one year the share of
the households owning more than one mobile phone has increased
considerably, and it is becoming increasingly common for a single
household to own 2, 3, or more mobile phones. (Figure 1)
FIGURE 1. NUMBER OF
MOBILE PHONES PER HOUSEHOLD (%)
Base: All respondents (January 2002 N=1134;
May 2003 N=1077)
- The increasing number of mobile network subscribers
is gradually making mobile connections the preferred way of
making calls, especially outdoors. On the other hand, the use
of public card phones is declining and the use of token and
coin payphones has shrunk even more. (Figure 2).
FIGURE 2. MOST FREQUENTLY USED TELEPHONES
OUTSIDE THE HOME (OUTDOORS)
Base: All respondents (January 2002 N=1134;
May 2003 N=1077)
- Although mobile phones are no doubt an easy and
convenient means of communication, they are still inaccessible
to most Bulgarians owing to the high prices of the services
and the phones themselves. This was cited as one of the chief
reasons for 87.8% of the respondents who do not own a mobile
phone and don’t intend to get one in the coming six months.
Among those who do have such plans, most have not decided which
mobile phone operator they will subscribe to. In turn this indicates
that the cellular services market is not only developing rapidly,
but also offers a great potential and opportunities for a flexible
marketing policy.
- The rising prices of the services provided
by the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) are gradually
shortening the distance between fixed and mobile phones and
may in the future lead to a loss of customers in favor of mobile
phone subscribers.
The full report on Telephone Services Market
in Bulgaria, which can be purchased from Vitosha Research,
contains detailed information about the following market characteristics:
- Assessment of the telephone services
market in this country;
- Use of various types of phones
- Use rates for different types of phones –
fixed, mobile, public payphones, Internet telephony;
- Demographic profiles of the users of the
different types of phones;
- Use of the different types of phones to make
local, intercity, and international calls;
- Inclination to stop using a fixed phone
and switch to a mobile one instead – reasons and factors.
- Mobile phone use and market shares
of mobile network operators
- Mobile phone penetration – number of personal
mobile phones and mobile phones per household;
- Market share of mobile operators in this
country – among the households in general and among the
respondents themselves;
- Share of the potential mobile network subscribers;
- Customer loyalty to the network operators
– share of users leaving the operators, inclination to stop
using the services of an operator and attitudes to switching
operators;
- Reasons why customers switch to a different
operator or stop using the services of a mobile network
operator;
- Likelihood of switching / leaving the current
network operator in the next six months;
- Use of prepaid mobile phone cards;
- Use of public payphones and prepaid
long-distance calling cards
- Use rates for different types of public payphones
– coin and phone-card public telephones, telephones in the
post offices;
- Reasons for the choice of a particular type
of public payphone;
- Phone card preferences: market shares, reasons
for using the different types of phone-card systems;
- Points of purchase of phone cards – buying
habits and purchasing frequency;
- Use of prepaid long-distance calling
cards.