Mobile operators eager to synchronize
all user’s information flows
On many developed markets, where the penetration of mobile telecommunications has already reached or even exceeded the size of the population, the competition between the mobile operators is not so much in the acquisition of new subscribers, but in keeping the existing ones. This and other issues were raised by IT Expert during the discussion with the Chief Executive Officer of DIT Systems, Viachyslav Ostrovsky.
According him, the main tools of such competition are the offered tariffs and competitive Value Added Services, required and demanded by the mass segment of subscribers. “With this, provision of competitive services is possible with the existence of a corresponding modernized infrastructure, that can accommodate the required bandwidth with the consideration of the size of subscription base . The development of such infrastructure is one of the main factors influencing the costs and expenses of the modern mobile operators, who are actively engaged in the development and modernization of their networks”, – notes Viachyslav Ostrovsky.
According to the expert, mobile operators realize that they are simply missing additional potential revenues from various innovative applications and services, which are provided to the users directly and are hard, or in some cases impossible, for the operators to compete with. “Good examples are applications like Skype and Viber. With their help, any modern smartphone user with Wi-Fi access is able not only to exchange messages, have a voice or video communication, but also share various data. Although many operators try to block or complicate the operation of these services in their own networks, they are not able to control the access when the user is in a Wi-Fi zone. Such services have de-facto became real competitors for mobile operators, especially considering the fact that for accessing such services, often it is the infrastructure of the operators themselves that is being used (data services (GPRS/EDGE/3G/LTE))”, – says Viachyslav Ostrovsky.
When it comes to social networks, operators simply cannot ignore them, but, as has been noted by Viachyslav Ostrovsky, just like with the services mentioned above, the mobile operators are kept a side from any revenues or other benefits earned by the social networks.
“With such tendency in place, it is easy to assume that in about 10 years, the mobile data services, just like voice calls will be free and mobile operators will be earning on providing access to information resources, for which they need to build a network of data centers” – suggests the expert.
According to Viachyslav Ostrovsky, one of the development directions of such VAS is the popularization of services, which allow to aggregate content on demand. “For example, we have developed DIT Unified Communications Solution, or DIT UCS as we call it, which makes user’s life much easier and allows the subscribers to organize and manage all online communication channels, including emails, social networks, information resources, calendars and contacts in a single intuitive interface and is available not only for the latest smartphones but also for owners of budget and feature mobile devices”, – he said.
The operator, in its turn, is able not only to increase the level of customer loyalty, by providing a really useful tool of mass communication under its own brand and with the consideration of its marketing specifics, but to also receive additional revenue from subscription fees and a range of other sources. This way, the operators can benefit by effectively applying the added value, and by offering and providing the services which before did not contribute any benefits.