Some People Call Me the Space Cowboy

I don’t know about you, but I’m a space cowboy. No, I’m not referring to the Steve Miller Band’s epic song “The Joker" but to how leading social anthropologist Dr. Massimiliano Mollona has defined my mobile habits.

In a global survey investigating the driving forces behind consumer adoption of new mobile services and technologies commissioned by Amdocs, Dr. Mollona identified three distinct consumer communities in today’s connected world: cyborgs, centaurs and space cowboys.

Cyborgs embrace connectivity in all areas of their life, including professional and personal spheres, across all devices and places, and are the most willing to pay a premium for services. Cyborgs are predominantly found in Latin America and developing markets within Asia, such as Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

Centaurs have firm, fixed distinctions between their personal and “technological" selves, and see the mobile phone as a functional device, not a reflection of their personalities. Centaurs have a pragmatic and functional view of technology and switch service providers for purely economic reasons rather than the latest handset or device. They are the predominant community in Europe and developed markets within Asia Pacific such as Australia and New Zealand.

My fellow Space Cowboys and I are most likely to be found in North America. We’re technological nomads, individualistic and unpredictable, and will churn easily for better price plans elsewhere or a better device. We want personalized services and price plans, and we will only pay a premium where we see value. This could be in the form of a physical benefit, such as regular device and service upgrades, or emotional benefit, such as making our lives easier.

What’s clear from the survey is that regardless of which consumer community a subscriber belongs to, customers are demanding more from their service provider. They expect their operators to be able to provide offers that match their own unique personality traits and lifestyle in the connected world. And because they have a comprehensive view of the customer, knowing their business and personal needs, location and so on, service providers (unlike over-the-top players) can offer their subscribers the right plans, at the right time, to match these demands.

The survey also gives some interesting insights into how consumers expect to see the connected world evolve, with more than 70 percent of 4,700 people surveyed expecting to be able to do more with their mobile device in the future. More than 40 percent of respondents said they would be prepared to pay a premium for ubiquitous connectivity, with 43 percent wanting to be able to connect their mobile to their televisions and 38 percent to their cars. Over half said they wanted the ability to access their content from any device.

This clearly shows that opportunities exist for service providers to deliver valuable services across devices with new pricing models, such as valued-based pricing in place of speed and device-based plans.

For us space cowboys, make us the right offer that suits our individual needs, and you can lasso us right in. Yee-haw!

Rebecca Prudhomme is vice president of Product & Solutions Marketing at Amdocs . She currently leads Amdocs’ entire global team of product marketing professionals focused on bringing to market Amdocs’ products, services and solutions.