Stick your data services - we want cheap calls

The promise of 3G and data services for operators may yet come to nought - it seems consumers are, shockingly, more interested in paying less for their calls than entertainment downloads.

New research from Capgemini and business school Insead shows that 57 per cent of mobile phones users are unhappy with the price they pay for their calls and 44 per cent would be quite happy to forego any "advanced services" on the condition that they paid less for their voice calls.

If operators did decide to take a hatchet to their tariffs, it could well pay off -79 per cent of phone users would use their landline less often, while 49 per cent would ditch their fixed-line completely.

That doesn't meant that consumers aren't interested in advanced services at all, however - it's just a case of getting the sell right, according to Capgemini senior consultant Marc Aafjes.

Some advanced services have yet to catch on. Take picture messaging - a prime example of a service that has yet to find its feet, according to Aafjes, but one which may yet come good as mobile users get used to it. Consumers who may have entered the camera phone and MMS market a year ago may yet to have got with acquainted with using the technology, he said.

"There are opportunities for operators to innovate," he said, citing the case of service or products that are "trying to reduce risk or increase safety": 43 per cent of over-55s said they would be interest in a health monitoring emergency device, for example, Aafjes added.

Consumers' seeming lack of interest in data services doesn't necessarily mean that the 3G pushes recently announced by UK operators are a waste of time, either.

"3G-type services need to be especially tuned to what consumers are looking for. Operators are trying to understand what consumers want and leverage their 3G networks to" deliver them and make money from them, he said.

While operators may be in the dark about how best to lure customers towards data services, Capgemini and Insead's research has unearthed one way to impress consumers - sort out reception.

Seventy-four per cent of users said they'd use their mobiles more if reception was improved - and if they could use them on the Tube or get better coverage in buildings.