Last year was one of dynamic change and investment in the telecom sector as a whole as operators across the world launched LTE services. Meanwhile, over-the-top providers and mobile virtual network operators stepped up their game for the hearts and minds of customers through service enhancements and quality of experience. Industry consolidation began as players realigned themselves to best address the demands of fast-evolving technologies and business models.
This year will see the next stage of evolution in services and business models. During the next 12 months, roaming services will see a dramatic boost, fueled by MVNOs providing high-quality international services to their customers while OTT providers look to expand their reach into more mainstream telecom services.
In response to these new challenges and developments, the sector as a whole – wholesale carriers, operators, OTTs and MVNOs – will adopt a more collaborative approach. New entrants like OTT players will engage with both operators and infrastructure providers, taking advantage of their expertise to break out from their current silo-based models and offer a wider range of services. Mobile operators, too, will begin to collaborate in order to provide a range of interoperable services normally associated with OTT providers including file-transfer and voice-over-Internet Protocol services.
In Europe, additional adjustments to roaming charges and other regulations are expected, which will further open up the telecom market. This will lead to a number of new niche MVNOs founded on innovative, roaming-only premises. For carriers, these regulatory developments will offer opportunities to improve roaming monetization through the launch of enhanced services such as LTE roaming, VoLTE and tailored packages for specific customer types. This will once again stimulate usage as consumers receive a higher-quality user experience relevant to their needs.
According to the GSMA, there are now over 330 commercially launched LTE networks available in 112 countries across the world. The technology is in place to support high-speed and high-bandwidth services all over the globe. With this widespread launch of next-generation data services and their associated speeds, end users have dramatically different expectations of quality of service. Consequently, in 2015 we can expect an ever-increasing number of operators across the world to go beyond just providing fast mobile data access to launch a variety of high-quality innovative services, including next-generation voice.
A greater number of operators in Africa, as well as the Middle East, will roll out advanced data services and we can expect to see an increase in demand for interconnectivity between these markets and Asia-Pacific.
With market consolidation continuing and so many dynamic factors in play, for providers to succeed they will need to have a compelling offer across the range of services including voice, messaging, IPX/GRX and signaling. Operators will also look to their infrastructure providers to offer far more than just the transport network, seeking intelligent services that facilitate monetization, innovative packages and efficiencies.
To satisfy the new generation of demanding end-users, innovation is key. The best way to achieve that is for all the players in the mobile ecosystem to work collaboratively – OTTs, MVNOs, operators and app developers – to create benefits for all parties and, ultimately, the end customer.
Daniel Kurgan, CEO of international wholesale carrier BICS
Editor’s Note: With 2015 now upon us, RCR Wireless News has gathered predictions from leading industry analysts and executives on what they expect to see in the new year.
