Guide to Buying Refurbished Cell Phones and Mobile Telecommunication Devices For Wholesale Purposes

Selling refurbished cell phones is a highly profitable venture because of the current popularity and short market life spans of mobile telecommunication devices. Cell phones today are visible extensions of users' personalities, and most people change or 'upgrade' their devices every couple of years.

Market analysts have calculated that the average cell model has a market life cycle of about 9 months to 1 year before being replaced by an upgrade with its more features. Moreover, an increasing number of cell phone enthusiasts change their phones every 3 to 6 months in an effort to acquire the latest cell phone technology. Since new cell phones tend to cost hundreds of dollars, a flourishing trade exists in 'practically new' refurbished cell phones.

Standard vs. Factory Refurbished Phones

Quality of stock is crucial to the success of any merchant. Selling faulty or shoddy goods, even inadvertently, will affect the dealer's reputation in the market and will significantly harm sales. With refurbished phones, a vendor needs to take extra care to ensure proper quality. Refurbished phones tend to be of two types: standard refurbished and factory refurbished.

Factory refurbished devices refer to used cell phones that are sent back to the original manufacturer. Many phone companies buy phones that have minor defects such as scratches, missing buttons or cracked screens back from dealerships or customers. The company then reconditions these phones and replaces any broken parts. These phones are then sold as 'refurbished' or 'reconditioned' cell phones at a fraction of their original prices.

Factory refurbished devices are restored in compliance with the company's own production standards and are inspected directly by the manufacturer's own certified engineers. They also typically offer a 90-day warranty with certain companies offering a full 1-year manufacturer's warranty.

Standard refurbished models are devices that are restored by companies other than the original manufacturer. Generally, the company will try to restore them as close to the original condition as possible, but standard refurbished devices often lack proper maintenance since the repair place may not be following the manufacturer guidelines for repairs and inspections. Moreover, warranties of standard refurbished models are usually much shorter or nonexistent.

Both types of refurbished devices tend to have reasonably similar prices, so it is recommended to buy a factory refurbished device whenever possible. If, on the other hand, you decide to buy standard refurbished devices, make sure to do your homework. Ensure that the refurbished phone is by a reputable company with a sound reputation and track record. Look for reviews from other customers and take note of any potential problems.

Choosing Your Supplier

Choosing a trustworthy low-cost supplier is essential to a vendor's success. Cell trade shows are excellent arenas for canvassing potential suppliers. Many wireless carriers run special promotions at these conventions, and they are perfect for meeting suppliers in person. Advertising in trade publications is a good way of locating reliable suppliers. Another method would be to visit another independent it's vendor in a nearby locale and ask which wholesalers they use.

www.made-from-india.com provides an exclusive trade directory of information on Telecommunications Equipment suppliers, and exporters, electronic, message, computer network etc. It has an amazing product gallery where customers can view online Product of Telecommunications suppliers, manufacturer & exporters along with product description and other details.

There are many online suppliers of refurbished cell phones. However, since many of these are frauds, it is recommended that you conduct extensive research before trusting one with a commission. Look at overseas suppliers, though it is recommended that you do not use free trade portals unless you know how to verify the data.

The Growth of Telecommunications

The telecommunications industry has made many things possible for people. From personal to business users, everyone is only happy to accept this technology which has made many unimaginable things actually happen today. Telecommunications equipment have undoubtedly allowed many to enjoy great conveniences. Business associates from opposite sides of the globe now need not travel far for a meeting as this is now possible through the modern telecommunications infrastructure. On top of it all, costs have been greatly reduced, if not eliminated altogether.

One of the most popular telecommunication technologies presently practiced is the Voice-OVer Internet Protocol or VOIP which allows people to make free calls to each other with a specific software installed in each of their computers. The only other requirement is for them to be in each other's contacts list before the communication can take place.

This technology is now widely used by people for various purposes, from reconnecting with old friends and relatives back home for those who have lived as expatriates in another country to closing multimillion dollar deals between international companies. Online classes or lessons on various subjects from English to Mathematics have also been possible with this technology.

Another type of telecommunications equipment are mobile phones which are now way advanced than any other cellphone invented before this day. Now, you can see people talking on their phones without even having to hold anything to their ears. Hands free phones make this possible. Mobile phones today aren't even only for making phone calls but can also now be used with a variety of other useful functions such as Internet browsing, chat messaging, video phoning and others.

Indeed, telecommunications has come a long way from its earliest beginnings of smoke signals and drums in Africa, the Americas and parts of Asia. Now, it has become a widely accessible, easy-to-use and useful technology in practically every corner of the world where it is possible. One even need not have special knowledge or skill in technology. An Internet connection, software which can be easily downloaded, and a basic ability to handle computer tasks are all it requires.

Dual SIM Mobiles - The Future of Telecommunication

Mobiles have long broken out of the stereotype of being a communication device. In the current times, mobiles have reached out as the gadget with a myriad of options that would lay back the best of inventions in the latest times. With evolution hitting mobile phones at an early stage, what used to hold a SIM number have now become the dual SIM mobile phones.

The technology pertaining to the dual SIM mobiles has had a mystifying past to the current scenario where these phones stand as the best option for the professionals who require multiple numbers.

This innovation, which was added to the current designs of the existing phones, is considered a big step in telecommunication. Contrary to the single SIM phones, the double SIM mobiles have the ability to provide a multi- service network or provider. In a regular locked cell phone, you are allowed only to receive the signals from a single provider- the network provider whose SIM services you are using. However, the two SIM mobile phones come with the unlocked feature, which allows you to pick up two different signals at the same time, using a single cell phone.

Most of the latest phones in the market allow you to have the double SIM technology while the others, which do not have this feature, give you the option of adapters. Adapters are the devices that could transform your regular phone into functions Similar to the dual handsets. The full functioning GSM CDMA double SIM phones have also become the feasible solution for people obsessed with gadgets. With the two SIM card holding cell phones, you have the benefit of keeping your personal and professional life altogether apart without the need to own two different cell phones for the purpose.

Furthermore, in the current fast paced times, where clutter stands as an obstacle as always, owning two phones is no less than a disaster. The benefit of the GSM CDMA dual SIM phones rings true when one is able to cut down the need to maintain a single phone with all the contacts intact. Besides, a two SIM phone also relieves the person from not being able to attend a call because they left the other phone at home. With the two SIM mobiles, one can attend calls from both numbers Simultaneously. These phones also give you the benefit of keeping unwanted pestering calls at bay.

www.made-from-india.com provides an exclusive trade directory of information on Telecommunications Equipment suppliers, and exporters, electronic, message, computer network etc. It has an amazing product gallery where customers can view online Product of Telecommunications suppliers, manufacturer & exporters along with product description and other details.

Companies such as that of Samsung, Motorola, Reliance, as well as Micro max, have congregated with network providers across the country to offer CDMA services, thus creating a revolution within the country. If you have long endured the most of two phones for a long time, double SIM mobile phones are for you.

Customer Experience Management - The Telecom Industry Ahead

Abstract

The telecom service providers have always followed a growth trajectory in the past decade through increase in customer base as well as adding considerable numbers to their annual revenue. They have kept the pace with the competitors and have played the game with amazing success in the past. But in the recent times, they are facing with an enormous challenge of adaptation to the matured, highly penetrated markets coupled with global recessionary effect. Therefore, a shift in paradigm to adapt their business models to the current situation is highly required and the need of the hour is the customer experience management to attain a higher retention ratio.

Challenge in modern telecom industry - Customer retention

In the modern day telecom industry which has attained high penetration level, acquiring a customer is getting even costlier. Industry analysis states that only 25% of the acquired customers stay with the company after an year's time and on an average only 20 -30% of the entire customer base is revenue earning/profitable customers. This dugs a deep hole in the balance sheet of the telecom service providers. Due to the churning effect of the customers, there is a huge imbalance created in gross additions of the customers and net addition.

Forward path: Way to customer retention - Customer experience management

Therefore, the major challenge for the telecom operators around the world is managing customer churn. It affects profitability of the company if a customer churns before the company can earn back the investment it incurred in acquiring the customer. Therefore, it is very critical to indentify the profitable customers and retain them.

Retaining the profitable customers includes 2 steps:

1. Identifying the revenue earning customers from the entire customer base
2. Managing the customer experience and customer value for the revenue earning customers

Identifying the Revenue earning customers

The telecom service providers need to define their business logic for identification of the revenue earning customers, for example: the customers with usage more than ARPU are classified as high valued customers, or in case of pre-paid, customers recharging more than INR 250 per month (In Indian scenario) are considered as revenue earning. Depending on the business rules the entire customer base needs to be segmented into revenue earning customers and non-revenue earning customers. Managing customer ARPU Average revenue per customer. Managing customer data in scale of 40 - 50 millions is a challenge. This can be achieved with the help of various business analysis tools (eg: SAS, SPSS, Teradata, etc.).

Customer experience management

After the identification of the valued/revenue earning customers, managing those identified group of customers are of utmost importance.

Focusing on customers instead of products

Over the past years, the telecom service providers have concentrated on introduction of new products. They have originated new products/services and then sought to find or create a market for them. But increased competition among the existing service providers and lower barrier to entry for new players has resulted in the growth in predatory activities in the telecom industry. Moreover, the cost of acquisition of new customers has increased considerably. Hence, in the modern times, there is a gradual shift in focus from introduction of new products for acquiring new customers to customers' experience management is observed. Currently, the Telco's need to concentrate on retaining the existing valued customers and targeting more wallet share of each customer by creating more value and improved customer experience.

For example: In UK, O2 has aligned its functional silos to obtain its existing customer's perspective for making product decisions and designing promotional offerings. They have focused on retention by placing equal weight for renewals and acquisitions. By this the company has reduced its churn figure to half of its existing number.

Nintendo has established an online community for capturing customer insights and offers incentives in return of customer information. By this Nintendo has gained valuable insights into market needs and preferences.

Customer led customization model

There is an underlying assumption that the service providers will dictate the future of telecommunication products and services. But with the growing bargaining power of the customers, there is a shift in paradigm and the service providers need to customize their model based on individual customer preferences. Now the business will follow the lead of the customers in designing and promoting services intended to meet specific needs of the customers. Under this circumstance, the service providers need to identify the unique needs of the individual customers, and then attempt to develop services which satisfy those multifaceted needs.

With this model, the mass marketing will give way to the customized market research and the survival of the service providers will depend on the company's ability to meet customer's demand on an ongoing basis. In other words, customers will dictate the terms of service they intend to receive.

Developing multiple channels

The service providers need to develop multiple channels for sales and support to enhance the customer experience. Increasing the footprint by adding on retail outlets is one of the options which the telecom service providers have practiced since ages. Traditional channels like call centers also had been in focus. With the increase in competition and economic slowdown, the operators are looking for economical ways to serve their customers while keeping the service quality intact. Eventually the service providers would like to move majority of its sales and services online through the web to attain better economics. Apart from attaining a cost effective solution by moving to web channels, the operators can empower the customers to perform various activities at a much cheaper price than the retail channels.

Over the web channels, a customer can perform a host of activities like:

- Bill viewing and online payment
- Online register of a complaint for support
- Altering price plan and subscriptions
- Viewing the product catalogue and buy products/services online

In addition to the above mentioned activities, the operators can offer promotional services and cross-sell other products over the web. The operators can have added revenue by ticker management on their websites and advertisements.

www.made-from-india.com provides an exclusive trade directory of information on Telecommunications Equipment suppliers, and exporters, electronic, message, computer network etc. It has an amazing product gallery where customers can view online Product of Telecommunications suppliers, manufacturer & exporters along with product description and other details.

Types of Telecommunication Products

In the past decades, wires were used for transmitting the message but nowadays, modems are also used. Wireless communication is the latest trend, freeing the products from connecting wires. The information communicated may be in any form like voice, text, image, or video. Some telecom product like fax, telephone, or modem is used to send and receive the message. You can use all these products simultaneously with switch control mechanism.

Since the invention of telephones in 1876, new telecom products were invented, making communication easy. Telegraph was the first method used to pass information from one place to another using some codes. Later, telephones enabled voice communication where the sender and the receiver will have telephones. Anyone who has a telephone connection can make and receive calls at any time. The voice is converted into electrical signals which are then transmitted through the wires. The receiving end interprets the electrical signals and reconverts to voice again. Every telephone uses control devices to enable conversion between the voice and electrical signals.

Revolution in the telecom industry started with the changes in telephones. Olden day bulkier phones are replaced by modern day lightweight phones. Many accessories like answering machines can be attached to the telephone line using which you can track the missed calls. The cellular phone is an important telecom product which changed the way communication was carried out in the past. The wires were discarded and the mobile phone can communicate with the base station through radiations invisible for the naked eye. Radio waves are used for establishing communication without any wires. Calls can be established between wired and wireless devices, providing perfect integration between the old and the new technology.

All in one telephones and multi line telephones can now be found in every office. With more and more new telecom products, communication was made simple. The price of these products is also reduced, making these products feasible to acquire. Fax machines have made written communication very simple. You no more need to post a business letter and wait for many days to get a reply. The written paper can be fed to the fax machine which instantly sends the message to the recipient. You can send and receive text messages within a few minutes. Walkie-talkie phones can also be considered as telecom products. These phones are like radios, but they operate in both the ways. These radios operate in specific frequency bands which are used to send and receive voice data. Dedicated frequencies are used for secure communication.

www.made-from-india.com provides an exclusive trade directory of information on Telecommunications Equipment suppliers, and exporters, electronic, message, computer network etc. It has an amazing product gallery where customers can view online Product of Telecommunications suppliers, manufacturer & exporters along with product description and other details.

If you have an office, you need to have many telecom products like phones, fax, answering machine, modems, security monitors, credit card terminals, climate control, and poll cash registers. To use all these machines simultaneously, you have to use the voice/data sharing device. This is the central telecom product which sends appropriate message to the appropriate device. Using a single telephone communication line, you can use all these products. The sharing device incorporates port-switching mechanism to distribute voice and data.

SAS - Business Intelligence - Churn & Campaign Management Solution For Telecom Industry

In the modern Telecommunication with the competition mounting up between the service providers, customer acquisition and retention is a considerable challenge. For the new entrants, acquiring the new customers is the highest priority, whereas for the incumbents, retaining the revenue earning customers is essential.

The telecom companies can increase profitability by creating a predictive modeling for identifying potential churn candidates and non-revenue earning customers; and can increase revenue and profitability by targeted campaigning and promotional offers which will not only retain these customers but also convert the non-revenue earning customers to profitable revenue earning customers.

This article highlights the necessity of churn and campaign management and the usage of SAS - Telecommunication Intelligence software (TIS) for the purpose. It also includes various implementation challenges for SAS - TIS in the real time scenario.

Churn Management

Customer acquisition and retention is a significant challenge in all industries. In the Telecom industry it affects profitability of the company if a customer churns before the company can earn back the investment it incurred in acquiring the customer. Therefore, it is very critical to identify the profitable customers and retain them.

With the telecom market becoming more competitive, determining the reasons of the customer leaving the service of the company is increasingly difficult. In this circumstance, it is even more difficult to predict the probability of the customer to leave in near future. It is increasingly challenging to devise a cost-effect incentive to target the right customer to convince him to stay with the company.

Predictive modeling of churn analysis and management aims at generating scores depicting the probability of the customers to churn out in future. This takes into consideration different aspects of customer's susceptibility to churn, including the history of people those who have churned in the past and build a data model that generates an easy-to-understand reference numbers (scores) assigned to each customers. These customers are then targeted with incentives to deter their cancellation. In other words, Churn analysis determines the probable reasons for a future cancellation depending on the past records which will help the companies to customize their offer. For example: if analysis reveals that many customers have churned from a particular area last month and further investigation has identified that there are frequent call drops (disruptions in service) in that exchange (or BTS area). It can be concluded that due to the technical inadequacy of that particular exchange, frequent call drops are experienced which has contributed to the customer dissatisfaction and their moving out of the company. So further technical solution for that exchange can prevent future potential churns.

Business Definition of Churn Management

Defining churn is the first and foremost activity in Churn Management designing. Different companies define churn according to their business experiences.

Churn definition differs from a Pre-paid to Post-paid scenario.

In pre-paid scenario, a customer can be considered as churned in the following cases:

a) If the customer goes out of network (deactivated)

b) If the customer is an active non user (ANU)

A customer can be considered as ANU when:

i. the customer has no outgoing or incoming usage for last (X) rolling days

ii. the customer has only incoming usage but no out-going usage for last (X) rolling days iii. If the customer's usage is below a pre-determined (business decided) amount for last (X) rolling days.

In post-paid scenario, a customer pays a rental on monthly basis. So in case of non-usage or lower-usage, the company earns fixed revenue from every post-paid customer. Therefore, the customer is considered as churned only when he/she goes out of network (Deactivated).

Churn Parameters for business analysis

After defining churn, next activity is identifying the correct parameters for the contribution of churn. The churn probability or churn scores for individual customers can be generated on the basis of following categorical details:

1. Customer demographics Customer demographics related data are used for segmenting the entire customer base depending on:

a) Age

b) Sex

c) Income

d) Customer Account Information

e) Subscription life cycle

2. Billing and Usage:

Billing and usage related information which is obtained from switch (Call Data Records) is mainly used for detection of churn probability. The following details are used:

a. Price plan

b. Monthly usage summary (Charged call count, Charged data volume, Free call & Data amount)

c. Monthly profit contribution

d. Bounced payment

e. Managing channel information

f. Recharge channel information

g. Network Product information ( Voice, Messaging, Data)

3. Technical Quality:

Quality of service is a potential churn driver as call drops or inferior service quality increases the customer dissatisfaction and therefore churn probability. In case of CDMA, as the customer is tightly coupled with the handset equipment, the aging of handset impacts the probability of the customer churn.

The following details are used:

a. Dropped call counts

b. Service quality

c. Equipment age (Handset age in case of CDMA)

4. Contract Details: At the end of the contract period or grace period, the probability of the customer leaving the connection is high, therefore it has a high impact in determination of churn. The following details are used:

a. Commitment period

b. Count of contract renewal

c. Current contract and end date

5. Event related:

Loyalty scheme or loyalty benefits are key drivers for retention. The Loyalty scheme related data is used for churn scoring.

www.made-from-india.com provides an exclusive trade directory of information on Telecommunications Equipment suppliers, and exporters, electronic, message, computer network etc. It has an amazing product gallery where customers can view online Product of Telecommunications suppliers, manufacturer & exporters along with product description and other details.

Broadband Making Gains In Rural Markets

Broadband penetration in rural markets in U.S. has experienced double-digit growth in the past year, driven largely by regional providers continuing to increase their market share in these areas, according to a new report by comScore.

"The recent announcement of the government's national broadband plan demonstrates the increasing importance of broadband expansion as a country-wide initiative, with rural areas playing an important role in this expansion," said Brian Jurutka, comScore senior vice president.

"Although rural markets have witnessed significant increases in broadband penetration during the past few years, these areas still lag behind the penetration rates of metropolitan areas. As the primary drivers of rural broadband growth, regional ISPs have the opportunity to increase their market share by delivering broadband to the millions of households still relying on dial-up services."

Driven by greater price competition, increased consumer demand, and growth in bandwidth-intense activities like video streaming and peer-to-peer sharing, broadband penetration continues to make gains across rural markets. Broadband penetration in rural markets reached 81 percent in Q4 2009, representing a significant increase of 13 percentage points in the past year.

Regional ISPs ranked among the fastest-growing providers across several rural U.S. markets. In Maine, TDS Telecom experienced a 101 percent increase in the number of broadband households, while in Arkansas Windstream Communications recorded a 57 percent gain. Frontier Communications led as the fastest-growing ISP in Nebraska (up 28 percent), Idaho (up 27 percent) and Alabama (up 26 percent).

Regional service providers GCI and Bresnan Communications ranked as the leading service providers in the country's three most rural markets (based on population density). GCI captured 61 percent of the broadband market in Alaska during Q4 2009, while Bresnan Communications reached 56 percent share in Wyoming and 52 percent share in Montana.

"Often major ISPs need to focus their strategic operations in their largest and most profitable markets, which gives smaller regional providers the opportunity to establish strongholds in more rural areas while playing a key role in national broadband expansion," said Jurutka.