Many have compared telcos’ transformation from pure-play telco to digital players as a metamorphosis. You can see why: the weak, bloated caterpillar (telco) emerging from the chrysalis, reborn as a strong and beautiful butterfly (digital player). A fair analogy but one that perhaps does little to convey the massive pressure that telcos are under to transform the business model. Think, perhaps, instead, of the bullish caterpillar, preparing to emerge from its chrysalis, as spiders build webs all around it, ready for the butterfly to flap straight in to! Read More →
Posts By Katie Matthews
Bridging the gap from telco to DSP
Operators are constantly being told that they need to up their game if they want to remain relevant in the digital economy, and fundamentally alter their business model to maintain a foothold in the value chain.
Articles (very like this one!) urge MNOs to become fully-fledged digital service providers (DSPs), while at the same time acknowledging that no one has a game plan for achieving this. Whatever strategy operators ultimately adopt to put themselves at the centre of this emerging ecosystem, becoming a digital telco requires a huge effort and big scale implementation. So, what’s a feasible stepping-stone for getting there? Read More →
Why is the West failing at Sponsored Data?
Operators are feeling the pincer effect of a disconnected business model that requires vast investment in the network, just as revenues from voice and messaging services are diminishing.
The solution to this dilemma is twofold: reduce the cost of the network, while providing increased capacity, and seeking new sources of revenue. Operators are already finding ways to initially transition from backbone and connectivity provider to capitalize on emerging digital economy opportunities.
Do operators need to show more imagination over their channel mix?
Despite maturing markets and the digital shift, most operators continue to work with an outdated store mix that was designed in a simpler channel environment.
Big branded stores were designed to sell devices, which made sense during the massive shift from feature phones to smartphones. But that wave has leveled out, while branded stores remain a major spending item for operators, typically consuming 5-6% of total operating costs.
Omni-channel: from buzzword to business case
The concept of omni-channel has been around for ages, so long in fact that it has become one of those cover-all buzzwords that has started to lose meaning. So before we go any further let’s define what it is, and how it is different from another overused (and often misunderstood) buzzword ‘multi-channel’.
Why Gartner’s ‘Bimodal IT’ is simply a compromise
Gartner has responded to the tension within IT organizations between their old-style legacy systems and modern IT practices with a model that it calls ‘Bimodal IT’.
Is the ‘backseat driver’ operator a good thing?
Mobile World Congress is no longer an event entirely led by the mobile industry. Reflecting the situation on the ground, this year’s MWC was a funny mix of digital Internet, IT and entertainment. And as Ovum analyst Mark Newman put it: “The extent to which the telecoms industry is part of the broader technology and entertainment landscape is a moot point.”
What telco critics think operators should give up for Lent (or forever)
We’ve been asking ‘What should operators give up for Lent?’, and this week we invited a few of our media and analyst friends to dinner so we could pick their brains on the topic.
MWC, Lent, and some dietary advice
It’s that time of year again – when otherwise sane and intelligent people decide that for the next 40 days they are not going to eat any chocolate, drink any alcohol, have more than one coffee a day, or order chips with their burgers. It’s going to be salads and water all the way for the period known as “Lent”.
Putting the magic back into customer relationships
Valentine’s Day is only around the corner and romance is in the air. So (tenuous link alert!) we have been thinking about how we can spread a little love and happiness, and see the relationships between operators and their subscribers blossom and thrive.
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