Vaibhav Mehta, Elitecore's VP of new business development, explains how closer collaboration with OTT players will allow operators to get more out of the mobile value chain
How can mobile operators be more than transport providers?
Service revenues in the over-the-top market worldwide are expected to grow at an annual rate of 32% through 2016, reaching $16.4 billion, according to IMS Research. The mobile operator clearly is being left out of the whole value chain, which means the current operator business focus should be to find the right formula that can monetize such services, converting “dumb” pipes into “smart”, revenue-generating pipes.
Mobile operators can do this by cooperating with their OTT ecosystem partners. This basically means having a two-sided revenue model, which focuses on both business-to-consumer and business-to-business revenue opportunities. This route is a win-win not only the mobile operators but also device-makers and OTT players that want to tap the mobile subscriber base. This is where an operator can build a revenue model instead of merely acting as a transport mechanism.
They can jointly introduce segmented services based on the value and strategic importance of particular users. The operators can partner with these OTT providers to offer dedicated quality of service to subscribers for a nominal charge or no charge, and while the OTT providers’ advertisers enjoy a better guaranteed viewership, leading to increased advertisement revenue.
Of course, building such in-depth synergy between the operators and the OTT providers requires a pre-integrated policy manager solution.