iGR Offers Free White Paper Comparing Rural and Urban Mobile Subscribers

AUSTIN, TX--(Marketwire - Oct 12, 2011) - Many of us assume living in an urban center like New York City differs in some respects from living in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., or even the farming communities of Idaho. Rural America is unique, especially when it comes to the use of wireless technologies. In one of its recent consumer surveys, iGR questioned U.S. consumers in rural, suburban and urban markets to gain some insight into how market location might influence mobile device use.

"Rather than simply using basic cell phones, today's rural subscribers are as likely to have sophisticated smartphones as people living in urban areas," said Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR. "And it is worth noting that rural subscribers were 18 percent less likely to churn away from their cellular service provider than users in urban areas."

Our research findings demonstrated that:

• Smartphone Ownership: Regardless of differences in lifestyle or geography, our research showed no significant difference in the rate of smartphone ownership between rural and urban/suburban users.
• Smartphone OS: Rural users are more likely to use RIM BlackBerry devices, and less likely to use Apple iOS or Android (supported by Samsung, Motorola, HTC, LG, Huawei and ZTE, etc.) devices as compared to those in urban/suburban markets.
• However, the fastest selling smartphones in rural markets are currently Android devices.
• Mobile Phone Brand: Rural users were more likely to use a Motorola mobile device compared to their urban counterparts.
• Cellular Service Plan Type: Rural users were more likely to use family plans than users in urban or suburban areas, though the average number of lines on a family plan were the same regardless of market location. Rural users were also paying an average of about $8 more for their family rate plan as compared to urban users, and about $6 more than suburban users.
• Churn: Rural users are about 18 percent less likely to churn than suburban/urban users, and an approximately equal percentage of subscribers in rural markets are under contract as those in suburban and urban areas.
• Tablet Use: Apple's iPad was as prevalent amongst rural users as amongst those in urban and suburban locales. Android tablets appeared more prevalent in urban areas.
• Rural tablet users seemed to download fewer applications as compared to urban/suburban tablet users.

iGR conducts extensive primary research of consumers and business users on a regular basis, both for our advisory research services and for custom projects for our clients. As well as being able to complete surveys in international markets (including Europe, Latin America, China and India), iGR is also able to survey wireless and mobile users in state and local markets in North America.

iGR's new white paper, Smartphones, Tablets and Churn: A Comparison of Rural and Urban Mobile Subscribers, is available as a free download on iGR's website: http://www.igr-inc.com/services_for_rural_and_small_operators.asp

About iGR
iGR is a market strategy consultancy focused on the wireless and mobile communications industry. Founded by Iain Gillott, one of the wireless industry's leading analysts, in late 2000 as iGillottResearch, iGR is now entering its twelfth year of operation. iGR continuously researches emerging and existent technologies, technology industries, and consumer markets. We use our detailed research to offer a range of services to help companies improve their position in the marketplace, clearly define their future direction, and ultimately improve their bottom line.

iGR researches a range of wireless and mobile products and technologies, including: smartphones; tablets; mobile applications; bandwidth demand and use; small cell architectures; DAS; LTE; WiMAX; VoLTE; IMS; NFC; GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSPA; CDMA 1x/EV-DO; iDEN; SIP; macro-, pico- and femtocells; mobile backhaul; WiFi and WiFi offload; and SIM and UICC

A more complete profile of the company can be found at www.igr-inc.com.