Happy New Year!
All the best for 2009!
Re-inventing M2M and MVNO… with new names
Two up and coming markets over the last five years may have been marred by the name they are given: MVNO and M2M. Both terms have become taboo for the markets to which they refer: wholesale mobile service providers and operators of device connectivity, respectively. Recently, they have both been slated for re-labelling. Will their new names help their untapped potential, or confuse the markets, or is this just a matter of semantics?
The taboo “MVNO”:
What began as a reseller model by companies like Virgin at one point reached great hopes and expectations as to their impact on the wireless market. However, as many high profile operations became glorified resellers and ultimately failures, we began to wonder if the MVNO model would ever work again and, even if it could, with the same tarnished term “MVNO.” What we’re seeing today is a new breed of MVNO under names like quad play, multi play, wholesale mobile operator, or cableco. Ultimately, the key for these players is all about differentiation and bundling. Successful MVNOs today are thriving in different forms, for example, as converged service providers with multiple plays (up to the quad, a blend of voice, video, data, and mobile), as enterprise MVNEs offering specific corporate services, global operators who are offering cheap calls and data across many countries, niche market MVNOs, etc. Even well established telecom service providers, such as cablecos, are urgently assembling their mobile plans, and for sure want to do it as more than a reseller with no control (see Pivot).
The misunderstood “M2M”:
The challenge to M2M is being able to justify the low ARPU that devices generate and find a value chain that works for all players. This market continues to be seen as the next great thing in wireless, an untapped opportunity of connected devices in a world of saturated markets. The new term on the rise is “embedded wireless.” Perhaps this term will better invoke the goal of carriers to embed wireless connectivity into all kinds of devices and appliances, and they’re starting to get serious about it:
“Whatever device it gets embedded in is OK with me, as long as I have the ability to place it on my network,” said Tony Lewis, vide president of Open Development for Verizon Wireless. “Pretty much everybody has a handset… so where’s the next big momentum in this industry? It’s in the connected devices. An embedded module is a radio chip that would be placed in that device. It could be as extreme as your refrigerator or toaster; it could be as useful as medical devices; as fun as gaming devices; attaching things not just to your car but to your parking space, your front door, your medicine cabinet.”
So will we think of M2M and MVNO differently under its new monikers?
More on “The Greening of Telecom Network Equipment”
Apparently this topic is getting more and more attention these days. It happens that Light Reading’s Green Telecom 2008 one-day conference was held in Dallas this week. The discussion here was more focused on environmental friendliness in mature markets existing for the purpose of cost savings, not about opportunities in emerging markets. This is especially important right now as corporate budgets tighten: “We’re all trying to conserve cash,” said Kathy Loshbaugh, VP of network engineering at Sprint Nextel Corp. “And I think now is a perfect time to look at energy costs.”
The point made is that lots of energy is being wasted, and the market is open to more energy management suggestions. Operators declared how power consumption as a reportable metric is beginning to influence equipment purchasing decisions.
And just before lunch broke, Charlene Lake, VP of public affairs at AT&T announced, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.”
Sure, what used to be called efficient or requiring lower energy consumption might now just be rephrased as GREEN, but in any case it’s generating more urgency for operators to consider better operations and equipment selections, and for the market to drive improvements such as ATCA.
The Greening of Telecom Network Equipment
Being green has become an inseparable part of our lives, from the cars we drive, the inspiration we receive, the threats to future generations, the politicians we elect, and the little things we can do.
However, it has simultaneously become a part of the future of telecom, but perhaps for many different reasons. In a earlier 2008 article, Peter Jarich explained how green telecom equipment marketing might be more than just a fad.
In emerging markets such as Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, energy efficiency is a requirement. As networks grow, base stations may rely on solar and wind energy, so reducing power consumption and decreasing the equipment footprint is key. This is the way to open up new markets which are otherwise unreachable. Consider where reliable energy is not readily available — rural areas with very basic infrastructure where electricity is scattered and wired connectivity is nonexistent. However, wireless growth into these areas is opening up new markets and adding millions of people in our hyper-connected world.
For example, as VNL writes: “We don’t live in cities. We may not spend $75 a month on phone services. But together, we’re worth hundreds of millions to the operators who reach us.” VNL defines microtelecom along four principles: “low cost, low power, ease of deployment, and modelled for purpose.” Together, this approach creates a viable model to serve low-ARPU users and re-engineer GSM for the billions of low-income, rural users.
In mature markets in developed countries, energy costs are high and are rising. Even though there is access to reliable energy, operators need to consider running their networks and base stations as efficiently as possible to manage OPEX and deliver profitability.
ABI Research has predicted that 335,000 cellular base stations will include solar power by 2013, and this is just one element in the formula of managing an operator’s energy usage.
Another element is the increasing value and deployment of next generation core network equipment (NGN), which can be energy autonomous or generate huge benefits in terms of energy requipments, NOC footprint, and scalability to operators. Reducing power was not the driving force in evolving NGN from legacy equipment, but it has certainly become an increasingly lucrative differentiator.
Adopting an NGN and energy efficient operating model is one way for mobile operators to benefit from improved equipment, expand into new markets, as well as promote greener company practices.
BroadSoft Connections summary
Here’s over to Jon Arnold for his coverage of this event:
Day 1
Day 2
Next Week at BroadSoft Connections
BroadSoft’s user forum BroadSoft Connections is taking place next week in Scottsdale. This has got to be one of the best vendor events around, and this is boosted by BroadSoft’s rapidly growing footprint and customer base. We anticipate participating in great discussions on subscriber data management, fixed mobile convergence, multi plays, and central data store for IMS.
“As the telecommunications industry increasingly migrates to IP, the possibilities for new multimedia services creation grow exponentially…”
Roaming Opportunity for Global Voice and Data - Informa
Informa and Angela Stainthorpe have come out with a promising outlook on the market growth of roaming: “The potential for the roaming market is significant, with 600 million people using roaming services by 2013 – 64% more than in 2008” (Angela Stainthorpe, Research Analyst and author of the Global Roaming Report (3rd Edition), Informa Telecoms & Media©).
The number of people using their mobile phone whilst abroad will grow over 50% between 2008 and 2013, voice roaming traffic will double over the period and data roaming traffic will increase to many times its 2008 level. These figures represent a great opportunity to build mobile telecommunications into a truly global service, and to reap the rewards in subscriber reach and revenue generation.
This remarkable growth brings up many questions as to how these subscribers will roam, who will collect revenue, and will these charges be at similar levels to today or lower/higher? Will frequent travelers continue to use multiple SIM cards, and, if not, how will operators manage multiple regional identities? What will be the future of nontraditional mobile service providers focused on roaming, of mobile network alliances, and of regulation?
Red Herring Discusses “Roaming Shock” and a Possible Cure
Joel Dreyfuss from Red Herring writes, “If you’ve ever used your mobile phone on a trip abroad, you’ve encountered ‘roaming shock.’” The reality is that voice and data roaming can be quite expensive when roaming between distant or even adjacent countries, however, a few recent measures are quelling this “roaming shock.” One of them is the European Commission regulations for specifying maximum roaming charges. Another one, which is more exciting, is the emergence of new consumer options built on better technology and driving new competition.
For example, United Mobile, as covered in this article, can offer international calls at 80% less than many carriers. Mobile calls between most EU countries start at €0.29 ($0.40) per minute, with incoming costs free. Data costs as little as 99 Euro cents per megabyte, compared to an average of €5.24 in the European Union. (Disclosure: United Mobile is an existing Blueslice customer.)
What this means:
1. United Mobile was one of the first MVNOs to build infrastructure and has survived the MVNO graveyard as a result, when many MVNOs, mostly US-based, disregarded attempts to build a real network-based operation.
2. Keep your eye on companies that began as MVNOs and add convergence services and multi-play operations to better differentiate. Do we still call these MVNOs? This kind of player is able to be more than an MVNO because it “operates its own telecommunications infrastructure.” Also the term MVNO has become taboo, so perhaps we’ll be calling these operators: alternative service providers, wholesale operators, convergence players… or better yet, just mobile service providers and let the consumers do the choosing.
Red Herring Canada 2008
Red Herring Canada 2008 is happening right now up at the lovely resort of Tremblant in Quebec, celebrating the best of Canadian technology companies. Blueslice CEO Stephan Ouaknine will be speaking tomorrow (Tuesday) at 3:45pm and 4:45pm.
Video: Stephan Ouaknine Gives an Overview of Subscriber Data Management
Stephan discusses new subscriber profiles and how multi-play operators require more flexible subscriber data management platforms. This interview comes from IP Convergence TV.
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About the SDM Blog
The SDM Blog is the place to read what Blueslice employees and some of our friends from elsewhere have to say about subscriber data management, as well as related topics such as HLR/HSS, AAA, quad plays, roaming, and next generation mobility.
It's not an official Blueslice blog, and any opinions belong to the authors and do not necessarily represent the official company views of Blueslice.
Blueslice is one of the companies that has led the evolution of next generation HLR/HSS solutions. You can learn more at Blueslice.com. -
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