Telecom operators have been having a good time earning from voice and sms in the last 10 years. Profits and Revenues are great.
The current data wave may not be kind to the telecom because they couldn’t charge consumers by how much they consume like voice and sms.
The next wave, as explained in this GigaOm are the Value added services (VAS) and Over the Top service (OTT)
This fourth wave will reduce the barriers of entry and the telecoms may not be the ultimate winners.
Based on the strategy chosen, the operators will likely fall into three major buckets: access only, enabler, and digital lifestyle solution providers. To be an effective and a long-term competitor on the fourth curve, operators have to become OTT players themselves. This requires innovation, financial muscles, and a ruthless mindset to capture its share from the value chain.
Singtel looks to be seeing the big picture and restructuring for this purpose. M1 and Starhub you don’t have a feeling they are geared for that.
Read the full article [here]
Chetan Sharma wrote a great white paper on his telecom forth wave. You may want to read it [here]. I haven’t have the time to read but will read it when I get home from work.
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