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The purpose of this paper is to study consumers' adoption of mobile communications services, and to explore common denominators uniting those most likely to be early adopters; thereby, to help practitioners to predict early adoption and segment the market.

Data were collected by postal questionnaire from 26 per cent of a sample of 3,000 customers of a telecommunications service provider in Finland, stratified into three sub‐samples according to type of usage. For this paper, the returns from the two sub‐samples with the highest rates of use were analysed.

Previous experience of related types of communications services significantly and positively influenced adoption of new mobile services. Certain of the respondents' demographic characteristics were also closely associated with early adoption.

Further studies are required before the findings can be applied beyond Scandinavia. Qualitative research could enhance understanding of the roles of personal innovativeness and income, in particular, in adoption of mobile communications services.

Mobile communications service providers in Scandinavia now have a tested basis for identification of early adopters, segmentation of the market, and targeting of marketing campaigns.

The study tested theoretical constructs used widely in other fields, and identified adjustments required for transfer to the mobile communications service context.

Fearing that their voice and SMS business will be substituted by IP‐based services from internet companies, mobile operators are developing various IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) based technologies to enable richer communication services. They reason that since the new rich communication services – such as enhanced presence, group communication and seamless switching between devices and media types within the same communication session – provide secure and more reliable services than those offered by internet companies – Skype, Whatsapp and Google+, for instance – consumers will readily appreciate their services and consequently use them. This paper seeks to address these issues.

To validate these claims, this study analyzes the results of a conjoint survey among 82 respondents in The Netherlands, France and Spain. Are users really willing to adopt these rich communication services and, if so, do issues like reliability, privacy and security impact their decision?

The results indicate that while users are most interested in “group communication” features of rich communication services, they appreciate other services like “switching devices”, “switching media during communication sessions” and “file‐sharing”. Still, for all services, reliability, security and interoperability (i.e. switching between devices) are valued as important requirements.

These findings contribute to the debate on platform competition, as these rich communication services are provided on the basis of the IMS platform, while competing services are offered via an internet base platform.

This paper contributes to the discussion in the mobile telecommunications domain on whether and how operators can counter the threat from internet players that look to take over their voice and SMS business. Theoretically, this paper will contribute both to understanding why users intend to adopt advanced mobile services and creating insight into the consumer‐related factors that drive the war between competing service platforms.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how the scope of universal service has been extended from voice telephony to include broadband and mobile communications in Korea. This paper addresses how Korea's approach to broadband and mobile service utilizes different strategies.

The paper is an analysis of universal service policies. It applies five criteria for reviewing whether broadband and mobile communications could be included in the scope of universal service.

This paper addresses Korea's approach to broadband and mobile service utilizes different strategies. An information society policy was applied to broadband diffusion, while a regulatory policy was applied to mobile service diffusion. Korea's universal service expansion policy shows a government and industry integration model.

This paper shows Korea's unique approach for universal service. It deals with how universal service has been driven forward as a part of an information society plan and information divide bridging policy in Korea. With flexible approaches, broadband and mobile services could start to be regarded as universal services.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a research model examining users’ perceived needs-technology fit of mobile communication software through motivational needs and technological characteristics. The study investigated the effects of perceived needs-technology fit on user satisfaction and intention to continue using mobile communication software.

This study proposes a research model based on task-technology fit theory and uses and gratification theory, incorporating key determinants of users’ continuance intention toward mobile communication software. An online survey instrument was developed to collect data, and 403 questionnaires were used to test the relationships in the proposed model.

The causal model was validated using AMOS 21.0, and all nine study hypotheses were supported. The results indicated that users’ perceived needs-technology fit and satisfaction were crucial antecedents of their intention to continue using mobile communication software and that they mediated the influence of users’ needs as well as technological characteristics.

Mobile communication software practitioners should focus on enhancing users’ perceived needs-technology fit through motivational needs (utilitarian, hedonic, and social needs) and technological characteristics (mobile convenience, service compatibility, and user control) to further boost user satisfaction and intention to continue using mobile communication software services.

This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of factors explaining users’ continuance intention toward mobile communication software.

Contends the best strategy for facing up to the growing demand for services in mobile communications is to learn from the experience of other countries around the globe. Addresses the key role of regulation, formulating policy framework, overcoming incumbents’ resistance and public scrutiny. Summarizes that the mobile communications sector is the fastest growing area within telecommunications.

The purpose of this study is to provide recommendations for improving the social performance of warnings using mobile services in flash flood prone communities. A warning cannot be considered effective until it is received, understood and responded to by those at risk. This is defined as the social performance of warning communication techniques. Mobile services offer opportunities for improving this, particularly in Bangladesh, but have been underutilised. In this research, characteristics of the warning, mobile services and community are found to influence the social performance.

A framework on the factors affecting the social performance was developed and applied using data collected through interviews at the national and regional level along with focus-group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews at the local level in the Sunamganj District, Bangladesh.

The study demonstrated that mobile services are the preferred means of warning communication. Communities strongly preferred voice short messaging service (SMS) and interactive voice response (IVR) because of easier accessibility and understanding of the message. Text-based services [SMS and cell broadcasting service (CBS)] were still found to be acceptable. These should be simple, use symbols and refer to additional sources of information. Further recommendations include mixing push (e.g. SMS and CBS) and pull-based (e.g. IVR) mobile services, utilising local social networks, decentralising the dissemination process and raising awareness.

A limited sample of interviews and FGDs were used.

Concrete recommendations are made for overcoming obstacles related to the effective use of mobiles services.

The suggestions made can contribute to improving the social performance of flood early warning communication.

The conceptualisation of mobile services’ contribution to social performance of flood warning and field-level application.

Global mobile communication is one of the most dynamic and important service markets. Several researchers suggest using a theoretical approach to develop a much deeper insight into key marketing constructs such as service quality, customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, perceived switching costs, corporate image, and customer loyalty is of vital importance to the mobile communications market. This study aims to develop and test a comprehensive hierarchical model of these six important constructs. The model also incorporates the retailing function of a major mobile communication provider.

The research sample of 516 was drawn from customers of one of the largest mobile communications service providers in China. The data were analysed using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.

The results of the study support using a hierarchical and multidimensional approach for conceptualising and measuring customers' perceptions of service quality in the mobile communications market. In addition, the findings illustrate that service quality is an important determinant of customer perceived value, customer satisfaction, corporate image, and perceived switching costs. Customer perceived value is also an antecedent of customer satisfaction. Corporate image, customer satisfaction, and perceived switching costs are three key drivers of customer loyalty. However, the findings also indicate that corporate image is not an important determinant of customer satisfaction and that customer perceived value is not a key driver of customer loyalty.

This is the first paper that has developed and tested a comprehensive hierarchical model of the mobile communications market.

A novel distributed middleware service platform, called MidGate platform, is presented in this paper. The central contribution is description of the developed MidGate platform and its architecture focusing especially on the adaptation, context‐awareness, and personalization of mobile and pervasive services. The research problem addressed is how to facilitate the development of interoperable applications and services into heterogeneous and distributed service gateway based environments. A requirement analysis of future mobile and pervasive services and key technologies has been carried out to establish a solid base and requirements for the development of the MidGate platform. The key mechanisms supporting adaptation, context‐awareness, and personalization of applications and services are presented. The novel middleware architecture solution of the MidGate platform utilizing these key mechanisms is also described. The MidGate architecture utilizes the emerging Generic Service Elements (GSE) approach, where generic and collectively utilizable services are provided to applications as middleware services that are part of a service platform. The main contribution of this research is the definition of a set of GSEs, the related MidGate platform architecture and its evaluation. The evaluation of the MidGate platform has been carried out in series of laboratory prototypes. The evaluation indicates that the MidGate platform solution is well applicable in various service gateway‐based distributed systems and extends well into resource‐constrained mobile environments.

The growing availability of wireless internet services and the great popularization of smartphones and other mobile devices means a greater challenge for mobile service companies that need to identify the factors influencing the use behavior of mobile services. So considering that the level of consumer involvement can lead to differences in service outcome evaluations, this study aims to examine whether consumer involvement with information and communication technologies (ICTs) has a moderating influence on consumer behavior in mobile services

The authors propose an integrative model of the usage of mobile services to examine the moderating role of involvement with ICTs. Drawing on a sample of 493 users, two levels of involvement with ICTs were examined; and data were analyzed through multiple-group structural equation modeling.

Findings show that the level of consumer involvement with ICTs influences the behavior in the mobile services. Further, the findings support that mobile services’ perceived quality, followed by the service perceived value are the factors with a stronger influence in satisfaction with mobile services, regardless the level of consumer involvement with ICTs. However, the mobile company corporate image has a lower influence. In addition, the results support the partial moderating role of involvement with ICTs in the loyalty toward mobile service providers, suggesting that consumers lowly involved with ICTs experience a greater impact of the service quality on their loyalty.

The main contribution of this study is the examination of the influence of involvement with technologies in consumer behavior in the mobile services

La disponibilidad creciente de los servicios internet inalámbrico y la gran popularización y adopción de los smartphones y de otros dispositivos móviles supone un gran desafío para las compañías de servicios móviles que necesitan identificar aquellos factores que influyen en el comportamiento de uso de los servicios móviles. Así, considerando que el nivel de implicación del consumidor puede llevar a diferencias en las evaluaciones de los resultados de los servicios, este estudio analiza si la implicación del consumidor con las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TICs) tiene una influencia moderadora en el comportamiento del consumidor en los servicios móviles.

Se propone un modelo integrador sobre el uso de los servicios móviles para examinar el rol moderador de la implicación del consumidor con las TICs. Sobre la base de una muestra de 493 usuarios, se analizaron dos niveles de implicación con las TICs; y los datos fueron analizados mediante un modelo multigrupo de ecuaciones estructurales.

Los resultados muestran que el nivel de implicación del consumidor con las TIC influye en su comportamiento hacia los servicios móviles. Además, nuestros resultados respaldan que la calidad percibida de los servicios móviles, seguida del valor percibido de estos servicios son los factores con mayor influencia en la satisfacción con los servicios móviles, independientemente del nivel de implicación del consumidor con las TIC. Sin embargo, la imagen corporativa de la compañía de servicios móviles tiene una influencia menor. Adicionalmente, nuestros resultados muestran el rol moderador parcial de la implicación con las TIC en la lealtad hacia los proveedores de servicios móviles, sugiriendo que los consumidores poco implicados con las TIC experimentan un mayor impacto de la calidad del servicio en su lealtad.

La principal contribución de este estudio es el análisis de la influencia de la implicación del consumidor con las tecnologías, en su comportamiento hacia los servicios de comunicación móvil.

The purpose of this paper is to present the integration of logistic management with information and communication technologies to largely improve the effectiveness of logistic fleet operations. The work presented here shows a real‐world fleet management system that integrates mobile communication and supports real‐time logistic information flow management.

First, the application of information and mobile communication technologies in providing effective logistic distribution service is introduced. Then, the proposed real‐time fleet management system (RTFMS) architecture is depicted, the technology profiles for mobile data terminal (MDT) and logistic information system are described, and the considerations of various wireless mobile communication technologies for logistic distribution process are also addressed. Finally, the implications of this paper are discussed and plans for further work are outlined.

The proposed architecture for a real‐world logistic fleet management system, the RTFMS, can be served as reference architecture for real‐time logistic fleet management design. The major components of the RTFMS have been described in UML use cases to facilitate reuse of this design. This paper presents the RTFMS architecture with associated information flows and timing considerations could be used for the architecture adaptation in similar applications. Wireless technologies provide the logistics feet management with bi‐directional real‐time information flows as shown in this paper, and this would stimulate new ideas in logistics management and services models.

This paper provides a reference model with implementation in adopting wireless technologies in logistics distribution process. However, the services provided by each specific system would depend on all stakeholders in specific chain of logistics service provider and consumer.

The work presented here shows a real‐world fleet management system that integrates mobile communication and supports real‐time logistic information flow management.