Survey Finds Hot Wireless Teen Market

Not long ago, the world of pagers and wireless phones was dullsville from a product-design point of view. Although evermore capable, for years the devices came in one color--black--and rarely deviated from a few standard designs.

Not so anymore. Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson and others now make sure their communications wizardry comes packaged in different shapes and sizes, and with covers sporting a whole range of bright colors and prints.

Many factors were behind the wireless industry’s shift from basic black to “cool,” but a good deal of credit goes to the world’s discriminating youth, who have snapped up translucent pagers and neon-colored phones in ever-growing numbers.

Still, a new study suggests that wireless phone and paging companies are on the verge of squandering the potentially lucrative teen market because of their dogged focus on mobile professionals and affluent adults.

Youngsters are on the phone early in life, and by their middle teen years, are yakking nearly 12 hours a week, according to a survey of 400 pre-teens and teens conducted in April by Mercer Management Consulting.

About 20% of the youths surveyed already own pagers or mobile phones, while 70% said they wanted to own one of the two. The survey found that among 10- to 12-year-olds, 78% said they wanted a wireless phone and 60% said they wanted a pager.

More than 80% of the kids surveyed said they would be interested in a service that would let them reach six of their friends with a single number--a finding that fits well with the soaring use of new-generation two-way radios by teens.

“Unlike many adults, kids are open to lots of new technology ideas and are quick to think of ways to put them to use,” said John Hanson, a Mercer vice president. But, he added, “You have to build an entire customer experience that works for these young consumers.”

More fighting over area codes: A state Assembly committee on Monday will review Senate Bill 1741, a measure that backs the use of “technology-specific” area codes for wireless phones, pagers, credit card approval systems and other data systems that use phone numbers.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), and passed June 1 by the Senate.

Monday’s hearing will be in the Assembly’s Utilities & Commerce Committee.

Wireless phone companies oppose the bill. Supporters include San Diego County and the Office of Ratepayer Advocates, the consumer-protection arm of the California Public Utilities Commission.

Customers are not pleased: A new poll of 200 Internet-savvy consumers put phone and cable companies at the bottom of a list ranking their satisfaction with customer service.

In the survey, conducted by Mobius Management Systems Inc., the computer/software industry got the top rating, followed by the wireless/pager industry, utilities, mortgage companies and credit-card companies. Cable companies finished in sixth place, and phone companies in seventh--and last--place.

The poll also found that 91% of the respondents would change providers if they had to stay on hold longer than 10 minutes just to reach a customer service representative. Consumers in the poll said they probably would not pay for better service, and would favor Internet-based customer-service options.

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Times staff writer Elizabeth Douglass can be reached at elizabeth.douglass@latimes.com.