Leading operators see highest value in video on demand, mobile payment services and cloud storage to compete in a digital world

BARCELONA, SPAIN: Tecnotree Corp. announced the results of a global operator trends survey carried out by MobileSQUARED, investigating the opinions of 52 operators on their visions for the digital marketplace between now and 2017.

The international study ‘Unravelling the Operator Bundle’ found that operators see bundled services - where the customer can choose their preferred content, third-party services, voice and data services - as a commercial necessity. With the advent of new mobile services, increased content consumption and next-generation smart devices, operators must look at how best to enable access to new offerings through intelligent, personalised packages.

Despite operating in an app-centric mobile world, the survey gained widespread agreement from operators that that the digital services that will be the most critical, are video on demand (50 percent), mobile payment services (50 percent) and cloud storage (50 percent), adding maximum value to the operator’s business.

Interestingly, when determining the main reason that operators see such value in bundled service packages, it was not a case of the exclusive content as they see enticing customers. Instead the results highlight that the primary reason for customer demand is price (42 percent), a desire to purchase different content for a one-stop shop (25 percent), whilst 21 percent said that the expectation to receive extra benefit was a deciding factor.

“The operator’s business is evolving at a rapid pace and as such they must become smarter in their interactions with each customer, to provide them with the services that they really want”, says Timo Laaksonen, chief commercial officer of Tecnotree.

“We partnered with MobileSQUARED in this research to gain an impartial insight into what is currently making operators tick, and to determine what will really be the focus points in the near future. There have been some verifications, some surprises and questions raised – but all of which point to the fact that in the next three to five years we are set to witness the operator’s bundle increase in both size and complexity.”

Gavin Patterson, chief markets analyst at MobileSQUARED, added, “It’s an exciting time for mobile operators, and with a global market of 900 mobile operators sitting on a pot totalling $41.4 billion to spend on OSS/BSS services in next 12 months, the opportunity is ripe for a digital content and service platform.”