Presence-enabled communities will be the “primary market driver” behind mobile demand for Web 2.0 applications and services that will generate $18.9 billion in 2014, according to figures released this morning from Juniper Research. Carriers will have a chance to tap into that market if they can effectively evolve beyond their traditional role as network operators.
As loosely defined by Juniper, mobile Web 2.0 features the web as a platform for applications and the user as both creator and consumer of content. That broad definition includes offerings such as mobile Skype as well as basic chat services, social networks and location-aware services such as Foursquare and Gowalla that feature community. A combination of ads, data charges and premium services will be among the key revenue streams, Juniper said.
The market for mobile Web 2.0 is one that AT&T is trying to tap with Buzz.com, a new, Yelp-like social recommendations site that will likely embrace presence management as it matures. (The offering, which is aimed at helping users find the right local business based on reviews from friends and family, launched in January and is in closed alpha.) The problem for operators, though, will be in getting their apps in the hands of users on other networks. That’s an entirely new strategy for carriers, which have long deployed products and services solely to attract new subscribers and hold on to the customers they already have. If AT&T or any of its competitors can make a go of it, they could tap an entirely new business model beyond merely being mobile network operators.
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Colin,
This is an incredibly insightful post. You’ve just nailed the Carrier’s business problem. They need to drive net new services revenue without driving up network expenses. Only way to do this is to do it across other carrier platforms.
Thanks for the note, Peter. Carriers have never been much good at doing anything other than operating a network, so it’ll be interesting to see whether they come up with any cross-network services that customers will buy into.
Hope all’s well in Boulder.
I wrote about what carriers are actually doing — technology-wise — to get into the applications game. It’s more than just a branded-app play
http://stevecheney.posterous.com/twenty-four-companies-unite-to-kill-apple-huh
Steve,
Great post. I particularly like this comment: They need/want a marketplace where transactions occur and they already have a billing relationship w/ the subscriber.
Here’s the problem – opportunity. What about billing information from the other carrier. What if they could get that in real time every time some accessed say the buzz.com web site.
That’s huge.
Here’s some other ideas… re AT&T and Buzz
Competitive Intelligence: Access to directly market to competitors’ customers: (via name, phone number, IMEI number, email address)
Recapture Lost Revenue: They can extend their service off the network to existing AT&T and any customer (roaming & Wi-Fi connected customers)
New Revenue: They can personalize and/or localize ads & charge a premium
New Revenue: They can charge a premium fee for personalized or “friend” group location-based services
Competitive Advantage/Reduce Time to Market: They could easily incorporate existing services (ie. movie reviews, restaurant reviews) into Buzz branded composite service without having to innovate, build or host all the individual services.
New Revenue: They can share/sell the data with the originating service providers, advertisers or local merchants – the First Data trusted manager scenario (see their site for additional white papers on this)
All the need is the customers meta data in real time.
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