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?
5 Myths about M2M
This is the presentation made by Blueslice’s Carrie Wertheim at M2M United in Chicago on June 24, 2008.
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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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