Category Archives: Mobile Operators
Pontis reaches 300 million subscribers worldwide
Continuous, personalised engagement with subscribers result in greater loyalty and improved business results
May 21st 2013. Pontis, the leading provider of individual Customer Lifecycle Management (iCLM) solutions for Communication Service Providers (CSPs), has announced that it has reached 300 million subscribers worldwide, through dozens of tier one mobile operators across the globe. Continue reading
Google lets slip intention to support SMS in RTC offering
Google Hangouts’ Dori Storbeck reveals it in Google blog
It seems that Google’s Google’s G+ community manager of Hangouts and Chat, Dori Storbeck, accidentally let the cat out of the bag over Google’s intention to roll out support for SMS within Google Hangouts here. She was actually trying to publicise the release of an iOS client for Hangouts here. Storbeck describes the move as an upgrade to Google’s Real-Time Communication product. Asked about support for SMS, Dori replied, “Yes, SMS integration is coming soon – it is one of our most requested features!” However, the blog was later edited to say,” Oops! We actually have nothing to announce at this time. My apologies.” Still, JF Sullivan, CMO with Acision, still believes Google’s inevitable move into SMS will have major repercussions. Continue reading
BlackBerry opens up BBM to Android & iOS
No mention of WP8 version, though
In a typical if-you-cant-beat-em-join-em approach, BlackBerry has just announced plans to make its IMS facility BlackBerry Messenger BBM available to iOS and Android users. That is, of course, if Apple and Google allow BlackBerry to upload the apps to their resxpecitive app stores. There’s no mention of a Windows Phone 8 (WP8) client, of course. One UK publication described BBM as the “rioters’ texting toool” because BBM proved to be the IMS of choice amongst London rioters. Other observers take the view that WhatsApp is likely to have the most to lose. However, GoMo News believes that it’s the mobile operators who are most in danger as a universal BBM could seriously dent their SMS revenues. Continue reading
Tektronix & TM Forum ally over Big Data
Intention is to provide guide to Big Data analytics best practices
In order to deliver a comprehensive set of new best practices for the telecoms industry covering big data analytics implementation Tektronix Communications has announced its collaboration with the TM Forum. The objective is to achieve the best-in-breed big data implementation and value extraction. The pair who have been co-leading the TM Forum project group since January 2013 intend to publish a report containing new best practices and guidelines to help carriers worldwide define and refine their ‘big data’ analytics offering. Continue reading
Mobile Brits def not security aware
25% enter personal data via mobile data connexion
If you’re doing consumer research don’t make the focus too wide. This seems the moral of the tale for Experian Consumer Services. The company carried out research into consumers attitudes to online identity protection recently. The message for mobile operators – ie the role played in protecting consumers got a bit buried, it seems to GoMo News. As we’ve previously reported, it’s mostly not the MNO’s fault, but when things go wrong consumers tend to blame them – not the companies providing the insecure service. Consumers are still naïve it seem. Experian found that 25 per cent of those surveyed admitted to entering personal data via mobile data connexion. You can bet they hadn’t installed mobile security software. Continue reading
Guest Post: The time is now – it’s time for innovation
by Mark Windle, head of marketing with OpenCloud
How the impetus now lies with mobile operators to innovate, to launch a new frontier in communications pioneering
Recently, research from Infoma here has shown that the number of traditional SMS/texts being sent has been overtaken by instant messages on chat apps, such as WhatsApp. This number is only set to escalate, as Informa estimated that by the end of this year 41 billion instant messages will be sent every day, compared with an average of 19.5 billion SMS texts. SMS revenues are still expected to grow, however it’s clear that mobile messaging is now dominated by over-the-top (OTT) solutions: voice and other communication services are heading the same way. Continue reading
Mobile masts ‘half as high again’ allowed under eased planning rules
But, say ministers, changes could equally allow shorter masts with less range
Britain’s planning rules are to be eased so that Telcos can install 18 feet-high mobile phone masts without permission, half as high again as existing rules allow. Under proposals quietly ushered through last night (Friday 3rd May 2013) ministers argued the relaxed measures would encourage mobile phone operators to install shorter masts with less capacity and shorter ranges, at the same time enabling them to bring faster broadband speeds to rural areas. Planning minister Nick Boles said, “These proposed technical changes allow the new technology needed for improving mobile coverage and speeds for local residents to be installed in a way that ensures better use is made of existing infrastructure.” Continue reading
Businesses impacted by poor indoor coverage
GoMo thinks it has something to do with operating frequencies
A study conducted by market research firm YouGov in the USA, Germany, Spain and Britain on behalf of SpiderCloud reveals the extent to which businesses are suffering from poor indoor coverage and capacity. The study finds that businesses in the USA are the most likely to suffer from poor indoor coverage and capacity with 61 per cent of IT decision makers reporting that they struggle with this issue. Whilst in Europe, Germany tops the tables with 50 per cent reporting this issue compared to 43 per cent in Spain and 39 per cent in Britain. Continue reading
Dhiraagu selects MACH revenue protection to minimise revenue leakage
MACH’s Fraud Management and Revenue Assurance solutions support unique functionality that significantly speeds up leakage detection
Press release
April 30th 2013 MACH, the leading provider of cloud-based managed communication services, has announced that Dhiraagu, the leading telecom service provider in Maldives, has selected its Revenue Protection platform to minimize revenue leakage, caused by fraud and billing inaccuracies, across its mobile and fixed line networks. MACH’s Revenue Protection platform comprises its FAME Fraud Management and CASHBACK Revenue Assurance systems. Continue reading
Guest Post: MNOs ‘turn the tables’ on the OTT providers
by Lyn Cantor, CEO with Tektronix Communications
A recent report published by Informa Telecoms and Media (see here), has revealed that instant messaging conducted over ‘chat apps’ like WhatsApp have overtaken SMS traffic. There is an expectation in the industry that internet brands such as Google, Facebook and Skype will continue to steal market share from the likes of Vodafone and Telefónica, undermining the mobile network operators’ (MNOs’) position as main providers of real-time communications. But what goes around comes around and operators are now in a much stronger position, with many looking to bring the internet brands (OTT/Over-The-Top players) into their own network portfolios. Continue reading
JOYN or Big Data – two reactions to SMS losing to OTT
There must be gold in them there texts somewhere
The recent news (see here) from Informa Telecoms & Media that OTT (Over-The-Top) messaging services like WhatsApp are overtaking SMS/texting has created a flurry of activity within the mobile and cellular industry. For example, the solution proposed by Florent Stroppa, who is general manager for Europe with OnMobile, is that MNOs (Mobile Network Operators) should embrace joint initiatives like JOYN. By contrast, Gordon Rawling, who is director for EMEA marketing with Oracle Communications, thinks that Communication Service Providers (CSPs) should mine their customer data in order to stay relevant to subscribers and protect valuable revenue streams. In order words, the solution is Big Data. Continue reading
BroadSoft says that MNOs are missing out on UC opportunities
Rating: Apparently people already know what unified communications offer
With the worries over security that have been generated by the introduction of BYOD (Bring Your own Device) rollouts, there’s been renewed interest in ‘unified communications’ (UC). That was the clear message GoMo News received from a cosy chat with Leslie Ferry, vp for marketing with BroadSoft. Over the years, the term unified communications has been frequently reinterpreted. However, Ferry was adamant that people understand what is meant by UC and are positive in their desire to achieve this. Moreover, Ferry argues that with their investments in LTE networks, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are strongly positioned to meet the UC needs of an increasingly mobile workforce. Continue reading
Vectone casualty in UK’s Maggie Thatcher spat
Rating: Independent ringback tone service from Vectone has gone missing
GoMo News has become absolutely fascinated by the UK’s mobile industry’s complete failure to pick up on the opportunities created by the death of the former British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. Emotions are running high here in Blighty [the UK], especially given the fact that tomorrow’s [April 17th 2013] State Funeral for Maggie threatens to create as much civil unrest as the original protests against her ‘Poll tax’. Stepping into the void created by the UK’s mobile content Kings, GoMo News took the trouble to outline how people could create a Maggie ringtone here. Now we’ve discovered that it isn’t possible to have a Maggie related ringback tone. Continue reading
Telefónica goes for fast handset upgrade with O2 Refresh
Rating: Abandon your handset before it becomes retro
It seems that Telefónica/O2 in the UK has finally woken up to the dangers of 24 month contracts which it needs to offer in order to remain competitive with its rivals. 24 months might make sense to accountants but it makes little sense to consumers. In terms of technology, an Internet year equates to three months. So by the time today’s contract subscribers have reached the end of their contract, their smartphones is seven years out of date. To counteract this, O2 has launched a new tariff aimed at enabling customers to get the latest phone whenever they want. It’s called O2 Refresh and GoMo News suspects that rival operators will be watching closely to try to evaluate the effectiveness of this new tariff. Continue reading
Mobile devices will generate ginormous amounts of data says Juniper
Rating: Wi-fi will carry more of it than the cellular networks
In a new report, Juniper Research predicts that the amount of data traffic generated by mobile devices (smartphones, featurephones and tablets) will exceed 90,000 Petabytes by 2017. That’s equivalent to approximately 7 billion Blu-ray movies or almost 42 quadrillion tweets. The report entitled, Mobile Data Offload & Onload: Wi-Fi, Small Cell & Carrier-grade Strategies 2012-2017′ can be found here. It says that only 40 per cent of the data generated by these devices will reach the cellular networks by 2017, as majority (60 per cent) of the data traffic will be carried over Wi-fi. Continue reading
