Multi-play packages have established themselves as important marketing tools in the residential telecoms markets of the USA, Europe and Asia. These packages allow service providers to offer discounts and other benefits that attract customers, leading to increased market share and reduced churn, while helping to protect against incursions from new competitors.

Triple-play packages, including either fixed telephony, mobile telephony and broadband or fixed telephony, TV and broadband, are available in a number of markets. Quadruple plays, which combine all four elements (fixed telephony, mobile telephony, broadband and TV), are still relatively rare outside the USA and there is some debate about their value. Respected commentators from the telecoms and media industries have said that there is no point in combining the personal mobile service with the household TV subscription. Nonetheless, there are quadruple plays on offer in at least a dozen markets and all residential telecoms and media companies need to assess the relevance of this strategy to their own market position. Quadruple-Play Bundling Strategies answers your key questions:

- How successful are existing quadruple-play bundles?
- When is quadruple play appropriate and when is it not?
- Which market segments are the best to target with a quadruple-play offering?
- How can a quadruple-play package be marketed successfully?
- What potential is there for revenue growth in the residential market?
- How can quadruple play be used to generate new revenue?

Who should read this report

- Incumbent operators who seek to use broadband and mobile services to drive future revenue growth.

- New entrant fibre network operators who want to make the most of their network capacity and maximise their revenue.

- New entrant broadband operators who hope to take market share from incumbents and other ISPs in the residential market.

- Mobile network operators who aim to promote fixed-mobile substitution and capture the entirety of their customers' telecoms and media spend.

- Cable-TV network operators who want to build on their inherent ability to offer triple play, by adding the mobile component.

- Satellite-TV operators who want to add more interactivity to their services and strengthen their market position.

- Residential telecoms equipment vendors who need to know what features their equipment will be expected to offer in the future.

- Telecoms CRM providers who will be called upon to support quadruple plays with the software capabilities needed to integrate customer management and service provision.

- Financial institutions who are being asked to finance new network roll-outs in the telecoms and media sectors.

About the authors

Margaret Hopkins (Analysys Associate) is Principal Analyst with Exegesys. She started her career in the Post Office Telecommunications Long Range Planning Department. During her 18 years working with Analysys, she has been lead author on many reports, including Business Data Services: growth opportunities and forecasts for Europe 2007-12, Fixed-Mobile Convergence in the Enterprise Voice Market, Beyond Triple Play: forecasts for broadband value-added services, Scenarios for Enterprise Mobile Data Services 2006-11, VoIP versus Mobile: forecasts for the future of enterprise voice, The Business Case for Carrier Migration to VoIP, The Business Case for Broadband Entertainment, Delivering the Broadband Home, New Fixed and Mobile Services and Devices: forecasts 2003-2008, Broadband Value-Added Services for SMEs: market strategy and forecasts 2003-2008, Next-Generation Networks: integrated IP architectures and IP Voice Services: the return on investment for European service providers. She holds a degree in Engineering from the University of Cambridge and a Master's in Telecommunications and Information Systems from the University of Essex.

Helen Nierinck (Research Analyst) specialises in desk research on, and financial analysis of, Central Europe and the Balkans, covering both the fixed and mobile markets. Prior to joining Analysys in 2007, Helen worked as Business Development Manager for Focus Aviation and as Marketing and Events Manager for Cambridge Investment Research. She has a degree in Modern Languages from the University of Cambridge.

Alex Skeaping (Business Analyst) joined Analysys Consulting in 2006 and has contributed to a number of consulting projects for regulators, and for fixed and mobile operators, in Europe, Asia and North America. Alex holds an honours degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Durham.

Phil Todd (Head of Custom Research) specialises in broadcast, media and digital content strategy for content providers, content distributors and equipment vendors. He has undertaken studies in market segmentation and quantification, B2B and B2C product development, customer satisfaction, brand metrics and online service strategies. He has specific expertise in price sensitivity and elasticity research for fixed and mobile services as well as research for online publishers. Phil also has experience of research within online and electronic delivery for financial services across Europe and, over a 20-year career, has conducted research on a global basis, including projects based in Europe, Singapore, South Africa and the USA. He has a degree in Psychology and English, and a Master's in Computer Science.