Industry analyst have been talking a lot about Mobile Value Added Service (VAS) and applications as key focus for telecom operators in order to increase Average Revenue per User (ARPU) and mobile data services has been forefront to this.
Telecom operators are competing with media company and are also suspicious of application providers on mobile likes of Google , Yahoo etc.
If you look at ecosystem of mobile VAS and content/application delivery , chain needs to be stictched in sequence well starting from :
1. Contents and applications creation
2. Content aggregation and distribution
3. Network Operator
4. Mobile phones and operating systems
1. Conetent and Application creation :
Here you have big players like Google , Nokia and small players in different countries. Developing killer application requires undertsanding market needs and long period of mass adoptation.
Big players have patience enough to look at launching applications , testing and waiting for long period for adoptation.
Telecom operators have focussed on providing delivery platforms with open platform and testing capabilties to small player, hoping that killer applications will be delivered. But have been lacking in collaborating with small players in providing market insights and proper revenue share model. Also Telco lifecycle for returns is max 2 years.
This has been big learning from success in Japan for local applications and contents whereas other contitents even Europe and North America failed.
2. Content Aggregation and distribution providers
These are players who purchase contents like Hello Tunes, Music songs, video clips etc from multiple content creators and tie up with Telecom operators on revenue model . They may directly reach market through Mobile Internet accessibility.
Google , Yahoo , facebook and Skype provides contents directly. Some operators are actively engaged in this sphere.
3. Network Operators
Without any doubt teelcom operators need to invest in network to provide coverage and mobile data connectivity.
4. Mobile Phones
Manufacturers have to provide open operating system (OS) for applications and provide conveniece of use to end user at appropriate price value.
What Telecom Operators should Focus on :
1. Billing : Telecom has biggest point in providing billing both post paid and prepaid. End subscriber would always want to make transcations through mobile with bills being part of mobile services. Operator should leverage this, and even big content providers would partner for this.
2. Subscriber Insight: Who better than operator have insight on subscriber behaviour. Operator should invest in tools to capture real time subscriber usage and buldling multiple products customized to user needs. This will encourage content aggregators to partner with operators to provide customized offering . Operator can himself act as content aggregation provider.
3. Location Based Services: Not all phones support GPS , operator has the beat visibility of customer location . Operator should leverage this capability to develop customized location related services for segmented markets.
4. Enterprise Segements: Enterprise will be key user of mobile applications be it Mobile Helath, mobile education , M2M applications like smart grids . Operator should develop end to end ecosystem to deliver and manage industry vertcal solutions.
5. Mobile data Network: There is no double mobile broadband will explode and operator need to invets in network to leverage benfits. Network optimization and customized plans will be key so that return on per byte transferred is maximize.
Both telecom operators , content providers and mobile manufacturers have to work jointly as part of ecosystem exploiting each strenght and weaknesses to create win win situation.
About Me
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
My Post : Role of Government - Key question on being Service Provider (BSNL/MTNL), Policy Maker, Strategist? Illustration Telecom Sector
Government role and responsibility is always debatable during different phases of growth.
- After independence government focus was on self reliance.
- After 40 years of independence liberalization has been the way.
- Providing support : Protecting interest in areas which are not capable to compete at global market but livelihood of many people depend upon ex : agriculture sector.
Government should make its role clear by understanding:
- Which industry should we support : This has to have overall big picture where government should see in terms of Jobs it can create and India can be competent to be in top 5 global market. Ex : Software industry, small automobile manufacturing and not Health sector .
- Which industry to protect : Government also need to have clear policy on long term which industry in wants to protect ex Agriculture as livelihood of 50% popoulation is dependent. But this does not mean protection can be life long , govt needs to have involvement to develop them to make self reliant.
- As regulator : Define policies which provides safeguard of interest of its citizens at any cost. Hot discussion is Bhopal case of Carbon carbide where foreing investment was there but policy to protect citizen interest was missing . Similar are related to health and environment safely standards.
- Its own responsibility : Provising Infrastructure , Health , education , employment, environment safely. Government can not run away from its responsibility by simply privatizing. As education , health privitization will benefit rich and middle where as poor will not get any benifit as business is not vilable unless government provides incentives at some areas and cover poor under obligation.
Telecom has been an area whose success can be seen from penetration , subscribers which has resulted in profits for business and created this industry to be viable. Telecom has played direct role in contribution towards GDP of India.
- Building infrastructure for Delhi
- Building image of India
- After independence government focus was on self reliance.
- After 40 years of independence liberalization has been the way.
- Providing support : Protecting interest in areas which are not capable to compete at global market but livelihood of many people depend upon ex : agriculture sector.
Government should make its role clear by understanding:
- Which industry should we support : This has to have overall big picture where government should see in terms of Jobs it can create and India can be competent to be in top 5 global market. Ex : Software industry, small automobile manufacturing and not Health sector .
- Which industry to protect : Government also need to have clear policy on long term which industry in wants to protect ex Agriculture as livelihood of 50% popoulation is dependent. But this does not mean protection can be life long , govt needs to have involvement to develop them to make self reliant.
- As regulator : Define policies which provides safeguard of interest of its citizens at any cost. Hot discussion is Bhopal case of Carbon carbide where foreing investment was there but policy to protect citizen interest was missing . Similar are related to health and environment safely standards.
- Its own responsibility : Provising Infrastructure , Health , education , employment, environment safely. Government can not run away from its responsibility by simply privatizing. As education , health privitization will benefit rich and middle where as poor will not get any benifit as business is not vilable unless government provides incentives at some areas and cover poor under obligation.
Telecom has been an area whose success can be seen from penetration , subscribers which has resulted in profits for business and created this industry to be viable. Telecom has played direct role in contribution towards GDP of India.
Some policies which government has done totally lacked long term focus are:
- Too many operators and licenses has resulted in redution in revenue growth and profits of top 5 players. Also business vilability of others is unknown.
- Spectrum is national resource which need to be used effectively and efficiently by government while distributing to operators and ensuring its utilization to best by operator.
- Lack of policy in extending success storing of urban/semi urban to rural India in mobile voice and mobile broadband by involving all operators.
- Role of BSNL /MTNL which is run by government in long run, If too much delay is done there will be no taker.
- Big opportunity lost in creating areas linked to telecom like mobile handset manufacturing , telecom equipment manufacturing . Ex Huwai , ZTE are now international player but where supported by chineese government . Look at situation of C-DOT. No one manufactures hansdet in India except assembly why ? All due to lack of vision.
- There is fund government collects from all operators to develop rural market for telecom penetration but collecting fund and startegy are totally different.
What government should do now:
- Decide whether it wants to run BSNL/MTNL and not fool nation in the sake of rual development.
- For Mobile : BSNL is big company and no one can buy BSNL . Therefor either sell circle wise or zone wise.
- Wireline : Unbundle copper as BSNL is the one which has copper in India. By unbundling BSNL can provide infrstrastructure on which private operators can create services
- Convert BSNL to infrastructure and maintenance organization which will ensure that mass retrenchment is not required
- Create common and sharred passive infrastructure for rural/semi rural areas on which MVNO(Mobile virtual network ) concept can be applied where operators can provide services without building infrastructure. Funds which it collects from operators for rural developemnt should be used.
- For low end mobile handset , it should encourage in terms of cost , duties to make local manufacturing viable option to businsess community. This still has potential.
- Govern usage of spectrum and ensure it is not wasted.
- Let market drive cost , we are already offering cheapest communication services in the world. Ensuring all operators offer desired quality of services to citizen of India.
- Use money collected from 3G spectrum on development of country rather then on reducing its fiscal deficit and covering its inefficiency
Look at CommonWealth Games CWG2010, what was government expecting by spending 25,000 crores :- Building infrastructure for Delhi
- Building image of India
Some may argue that spending this money on building education and health for poor would have been right.The above two any how government has to ensure.
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