INNOVATIVE SERVICE PRICE PLAN PREDICTION OF MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATION OPERATORS IN THAILAND

Abstract

Telecommunication service is one of the fastest growing businesses in Thailand, especially in mobile communication. However, subscriber churn is a fundamental driver of performance for mobile network operators. This thesis aims to develop subscriber usage behavior model by utilizing the theory of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in order to improve subscriber retention and performance. Firstly, the subscriber usage behavior model was developed from the literature review of the TAM model along with expert interviews was used to examine the behavior of the selected postpaid subscribers. Secondly, Structure Equation model (SEM) was employed to analyze and test the hypotheses of subscriber usage behavior model. It presents that perceived usefulness, attitude and intention to use are the key predictive factors for subscriber’s behavior when choosing their mobile phone service. Furthermore, we found three additional elements to the original TAM model which are Trust, Variety of service, and Facilitating conditions. Also, the study found that ease of use is not a discriminant to the adoption of mobile service in Thailand. Next, factor analysis and multiple regression were employed to analyze a service price plan prediction model. The multiple regression analysis describes predictive voice usage: Predicted (Voice usage) = 365.266 + .689 (AVGVoiceusage) - 27.597 (Attitude) - 23.970 (Intention). Finally, the innovative price plan monitoring and advisory system was developed in order to monitor service usage by applying control chart to identify usage pattern and unusual usage behavior of subscribers, and then bringing next best offering to each subscriber. Regarding pilot testing, 136 reachable subscribers, forty percent of reachable subscribers were sign up. This rate is 100 percent increased from the current retention process. Such tool enables timely and proactive action for subscribers to avoid unexpected expenses. As a result, mobile network operators can increase the service usage, improve customer satisfaction and ultimately reduce a subscriber churn.