Emergence of New Mediums and Business Models Threatens the Market for Conventional Phone-Based Directory Assistance Services in North America

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American directory assistance (DA) and operator services (OS) market, which has traditionally been a cash cow for carriers, is undergoing changes with the growing popularity of alternative mediums such as online/Internet DA, SMS-based DA and toll-free DA. Key trends seen in the market include a steady migration of telephonic DA demand from wireline to wireless and an expanding range of enhanced DA features such as driving directions, weather and stock quotes from carriers, especially wireless carriers. Overall, Frost & Sullivan expects a continued decline in demand for wireline DA and a corresponding increase in wireless and online or Internet DA (IDA) services.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.ict.frost.com/ ), North American Directory Assistance and Operator Services Market, reveals that revenues from this market in the U.S. totaled $9.02 billion in 2005 and expects to reach $7.90 billion in 2012.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the latest analysis of the North American Directory Assistance and Operator Services Market, then send an e-mail to Mireya Castilla, Corporate Communications, at mireya.castilla@frost.com with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, city, state, country and e-mail address. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you by e-mail.

"Wireless DA is expects to be the growth engine for the North American DA industry, especially considering the continuing shift from wireline to wireless and highly impressive mobile wireless penetration in both the U.S. and Canada," explains Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Piyush Arora. "Driven by these factors revenues from wireless DA in North America are likely to grow in excess of 10 percent over the next five to seven years."

Similarly, Internet DA is also set for considerable growth due to the growing Internet penetration and broadband adoption. The ease and convenience of accessing directory listings anytime promotes the popularity and growth of this medium and that of Internet DA sites. Besides online DA Web sites such as Yellowpages.com are beginning to follow the lead of MapQuest and Google and are incorporating detailed maps and other enhanced features.

"Conventional pay-per-call telephonic DA is under threat from upcoming mediums such as toll-free DA and SMS-based DA, as well as the Internet," notes Arora. "Being ad-revenue driven, these mediums are either free to the end users or offer the information at a fraction of the cost of phone DA."

Although unproven, alternate mediums of obtaining DA have shown early signs of success and can potentially bring about a steady decline in the per- call phone DA business model. Due to the constant increase in pricing of DA services, consumers will certainly look for cheaper or free options to source the information they require.

"Service providers can evaluate the options of providing DA services through other revenue models that will prove cheaper for the consumers and thereby boost overall demand," say Arora and Murali. "Apart from this, they will also need to continue to focus on reducing their operational costs by automation using multi-modal platforms as well as interactive voice response (IVR)."

By doing so, carriers and other DA providers can also invest into providing enhanced DA services such as driving directions, category searches or movie listings, thereby increasing the retention and repeat usage of current callers.

North American Directory Assistance and Operator Services Market is part of the Communications Services Subscription. It provides an overview of the trends in the DA and collect call services markets, and revenue/demand analysis of various segments. In addition, the study identifies the key market drivers and restraints, and discusses current and emerging trends in the North American DA/OS market. In this research service, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following markets: wireline DA segment, wireless DA segment, Internet DA segment, toll-free DA and collect call services segment. Interviews are available to the press.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership service and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics and demographics. For more information, visit http://www.frost.com/ .

North American Directory Assistance and Operator Services Market F812-63 Contact: Mireya Castilla Corporate Communications - North America P: 210.247.3830 F: 210.348.1003 E: mireya.castilla@frost.com Srividhya Parthasarathy Corporate Communications - Europe P: + 91 44 42044668 E: sparthasarathy@frost.com Sarah Lourdes Corporate Communications - Southeast Asia & ANZ P: +603 6204 5878 F: +603 6201 7402 E: sarah.lourdes@frost.com Surbhi Dedhia Corporate Communications - South Asia, Middle East P: +91 22 2832 4705 Ext: 131 E: sdedhia@frost.com Jorgelina Pecina Corporate Communications - Latin America P: 54-11 4777-9951 F: 54-11 4777-0071 E: jorgelina.pecina@frost.com http://www.frost.com/

Keywords in this release: directory assistance, DA, operator assistance, Internet DA, North America, IDA, wireless DA, telephonic DA, SMS-based DA, toll-free DA, directory listings, interactive voice response, IVR, driving directions, category searches, movie listings, stock quotes, research, information, market, trends, technology, service, forecast, market share