Discover Center specialist Jason Whittington helps a Cellular South customer learn more about her wireless phone features and explains the mobile web during a visit earlier this week at one of the company's retail stores in Jackson, Mississippi.
Ridgeland, MS - (September 11, 2008) – – Cellular South, a leader in wireless solutions and innovation, is shifting its groundbreaking in-store and online Discover Center wireless and mobile web education initiative into high gear in response to overwhelmingly positive customer interest.
Launched online and in all of the Mississippi-based wireless carrier's retail locations in July, the Discover Center helps customers navigate the often confusing world of wireless so they can choose the mobile tools and specially designed packages that best fit their needs and learn how to use them.
Cellular South customers who visit the Discover Center online or in person at retail outlets learn how to do everything from accessing the mobile web, taking pictures and video and text messaging to checking weather, sports, news and travel and even accessing social networking sites like Facebook from their mobile device.
Positive Customer Response
"Since we introduced this initiative in our retail stores two months ago, customers and visitors have been very impressed that we have specially trained and knowledgeable staff to help them unlock the true potential of their wireless devices," said Suzy Hays, senior vice president of Sales and Marketing for Cellular South. "Our online site is leading the industry with simple, easy and understandable tips, tools and instructions to help customers learn how to access sports, weather, news, travel and entertainment information and other valuable content while on the go."
Unlike programs offered by other carriers, Cellular South's Discover Center initiative is focused on sustained wireless and mobile web education and helping customers find and learn how to use the tools, applications and services they need to better manage their busy lives on virtually any wireless device.
"A lot of customers don't realize that they can do more with the wireless device they already have," Hays said. "You don't necessarily need a smart phone or a PDA to stay up-to-date with the mobile web – most cell phones have that capability today."
Bundled Content Focus
In tandem with the Discover Centers, Cellular South is introducing personalized, bundled mobile web content geared towards customers with specific needs and interests like sports, weather, shopping and politics. "This eliminates the time-consuming effort for customers to wade through the hundreds of thousands of internet sites to find the content and services that benefit them the most," Hays said.
So far, Cellular South has rolled out a Smart Mom package to help on-the-go family managers through e-mail, calendar coordination, maps, recipes and driving directions; an Olympics package that provided fans with news, photos, schedules, scores and updates during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China; an Election 2008 package that provides breaking news on the upcoming presidential election and highlights of the recently concluded major political party conventions and a Gridiron package that focuses on content, information, teams, players and scores for college and professional football.
When Hurricane Gustav recently threatened the Gulf Coast, Cellular South launched an online site and a mobile web Hurricane site that provided customers in storm-threatened areas with access to timely storm-tracking information and evacuation details before the storm and service restoration efforts in the aftermath of the storm.
Hays said the company's Discover Center initiative is being fueled by statistics that show most consumers aren't fully benefitting from the mobile web, despite the fact that there are 197 million users nationwide who have access to the Internet on their devices. According to a July 2008 research report by Nielsen Mobile, only 15.6 percent of wireless consumers with access actively use the mobile Internet.
"Through this initiative, we are making customers aware of all of the useful things they can be doing with their wireless phone, while helping those who might be intimidated by technology learn how to expand their use outside of traditional voice and text services," Hays said. "Based on our research, we are the only wireless carrier that has launched this type of comprehensive initiative designed to help customers become more familiar and comfortable accessing and using wireless devices to their full potential."
Two key factors underlying the company's Discover Center initiative are ubiquitous network coverage and the ability for customers to send and receive data at high speeds. "Cellular South is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the next phase of wireless growth and development with our network overbuild, redundancy and our high speed 3G data network, which is the one of the most extensive and strongest networks in the country," Hays said.
For more information on Cellular South's Discover Center, as well as Cellular South's bundled mobile web packages, visit https://www.cellularsouth.com/DiscoverCenter/.
About Cellular South
Cellular South is a privately-owned diversified mobile communications company passionately committed to helping customers get the most out of their wireless devices and services. The company accomplishes this goal by providing the most reliable and advanced 3G nationwide wireless voice and data network, offering industry-leading unlimited flat rate plans, and through its online and in-store Discover Centers, which give customers easy, simple and convenient tools, tips, advice and information to get the most out of their mobile phone. For more information, visit www.cellularsouth.com.
