KUALA LUMPUR, 30 OCTOBER 2008 - Global communications firm Motorola said that media mobility is the key factor behind the next generation of 16-27 year old users, called ‘Millenials’.
A new study of more than 1,200 Millenials from five countries in Europe and Middle East found that young adults are passionate about being in control of their rich media content, said Floyd Wagoner, Motorola global director, product marketing and marketing communications, speaking at the Convergence.MyBroadband 2008 Conference in Kuala Lumpur.
Wagoner said that these findings would help Malaysia’s operators better plan the rollout of broadband services in the coming years. “Technology is the lifeblood of this generation. Millenials feel that their personal lifestyle would change dramatically without internet access,” he said.
The three-day annual exhibition and conference marked the 10th anniversary of industry convergence, which was organised by the Malaysian ministry of energy, water and communications (KTAK) and regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM), held at the KL Convention Centre.
TM’s broadband rollout can benefit from study
Wagoner said the study showed Millenials’ viewing habits as well as how they move and share content across devices. “It was found that not only do Millenials engage new technologies and services, they also actively influence their parents’ adoption habits. The majority of respondents stated they influence the broadband (83 per cent) or TV services (84 per cent) purchased by their parents, even if they do not live at home.”
He added that TV is still the favoured form of entertainment, which emphasised the current view that video is the killer application that would drive broadband adoption. “However, it is how, where and when we watch that is changing significantly. The traditional TV schedule seems to be a thing of the past, as 78 per cent of Millenials would prefer a TV programme to restart the moment they switch over to that channel.”
In addition, he said, two-thirds (66 per cent) would be interested in pausing TV in one room and restarting it in another. “Almost one in three—32 per cent—prefer to watch programmes on their computer than TV set.”
“By understanding the needs and desires of this generation, TM’s (Telekom Malaysia) large-scale rollout of fibre-optic broadband throughout the country would benefit from also creating a marketplace of value added services that would also allow content to be seamlessly moved from HD (high definition) TVs to mobile devices,” said Wagoner.
