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E book 9 -2014 dated 11 july 2014

From a blog dedicated to provide Strategic Insights for Telcos and CSP's

Blog Source : www.maliksadiq13.wordpress.com

Table of Contents

About Sadiq Malik ( Telco Strategist )

1 What every Telco CxO needs to know about the Broadband Era !!! 2 VDI : Gold lining on the Telco Cloud 3 Carrier Wifi : panacea for the African broadband crisis ???

4 Multimedia Collaboration for the Virtual Enterprise ? Your Telco SP can do ii !! 5 Thinking innovately about Wireless Broadband : Key Insights 6 Strategic Insight : Blue Ocean opportunities for Converged Telcos !!

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About

Sadiq Malik is Principal Consultant at Broadband Gurus Network which provides a portfolio of consultancy services to address the ongoing business challenges faced by organisations throughout the telecoms value chain.

Broadband Gurus Network , a think tank that is focused on helping Telcos and Government Regulators on how best to monetize broadband in the pursuit of bridging the Digital Divide in Developing countries.

At Informa Telecoms Media’s Middle East & Africa region Sadiq spearheaded the design and delivery of consultancy packages to help telcos and CSPs succeed in a fast evolving market landscape with alternative business models . At BCT Global, Sadiq led the formation of the telco services division where he secured contracts concerning a range of innovative services in the broadband arena.

As strategic projects consultant for Motorola, he initiated projects with a long-term impact on the company’s intellectual and brand competitiveness such as the establishment of Africa’s first cellular training centre.Sadiq has managed several key projects for Telcos / CSP’s including: LTE Business Planning; Fixed Mobile Operator Consolidation assessment; monetising VAS strategic planning and Smart Cities Evolution (technical and commercial planning).

Sadiq is speaker at telco conferences and conducts CxO workshops for CSP’s in Malaysia , Dubai, Cairo and Johanesburg. Some of the workshop themes : Convergent Billing , Hybrid Broadband Architectures , IPTV Commercial strategies , 3G LTE and Wimax Technical and commercial aspects , Telco 2 business models , Mobile network optimisation and Capacity planning , Business case build up Mobile TV etc.

In the last 5 years he has trained over 1000 managers from the Telco industry in MEA and Far East.

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1: What every Telco CxO needs to know about the Broadband Era !!!

A historic opportunity awaits the communication industry in the years ahead – a chance to connect 7 billion people using broadband wireless and wireline technologies. But it will take more extensive use of technology with improved performance to offer true broadband connectivity to achieve this level of penetration. Telcos used to be the center of gravity in the mobile value chain, but no longer. In the new basis of competition, ecosystems like Apple iOS or Google Android have become the focal point for service creation and distribution, ironically with help from telcos in the form of device subsidies. In the space of five years, ecosystems have mushroomed to take control of what took telcos nearly 30 years to build.

Telco Execs must understand role of new generation applications, content and platforms to generate revenue from broadband networks assets as well as the critical role of billing engines and CRM systems and how to convert these into revenue generating assets. Success in broadband lies not just in deploying exciting new technology, but specifically in deploying a network and service creation infrastructure that is both cost effective, and capable of delivering – over time – the range of services that appeal to potential subscribers .Operators evaluating broadband ( wired and wireless ) investments must extend their consideration beyond the accepted virtues of the technology and consider how the platform fits into their specific near and long term business model, measuring cost of ownership with potential for harnessing time-to-market advantages to grow subscriptions and generate revenue.

Today, communications service providers deliver traditional and IP services that span voice, data, video, content, prepaid and postpaid, fixed and mobile. To succeed, service providers must change to an infrastructure that supports new business models, real-time customer interactions, and new partners and channels. Driving this transformation are underlying business applications such as billing and revenue management (BRM), customer relationship

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management (CRM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP). The new enterprise opportunity is a credible source or new revenue but there is still great confusion over where to start, how to scale and which divisions within telcos should be targeting these markets. Cloud Computing has captured the interest of enterprise customers because it offers flexibility and an ability to control costs. It fits well with the new Telco philosophy as it is about supplying assets as services

Governments and Enterprises the world over are embracing technology to improve service delivery and smooth transactional efficiency …in essence e-Government is about transforming government to be more citizen oriented. Broadband technology can play a critical role by increasing worker efficiency and reducing total costs for service delivery for municipalities. While designing new business models, Broadband operators must deploy networks with capabilities, such as mobility, messaging, location, presence, profile and call control, and combine these with internet-style services such as social networking, search, advertising, direct marketing and mapping, thereby enabling richer, more compelling and more personalised services than the Internet players can offer.

Instead of creating and distributing mobile applications themselves to their subscribers, mobile operators must increasingly add access to multiple wireless stores on their devices. In many ways, the switch makes mobile operators look more like owners of a shopping center, while device makers, operating system developers, and other third parties own the shops that sit in these virtual carrier malls. While this new model has spurred a great deal of innovation, it’s also fragmented the market. And even though, operators may not be selling these virtual goods to consumers, they still want a portion of the profits since they have invested billions on the access networks.

Media convergence is becoming a reality. Carriers must start to integrate IPTV, mobile TV and Web TV/video offerings into an integrated user experience in and out of the home, and build new value added services on top of it. The new media offerings and ways to deliver content over-the-top are fast emerging as a sound way to distribute and consume content online. The vast amount of content (video, audio, photos, etc.) suggests that a new way to discover media and personalize the experience is needed. Creating a next generation telco means looking beyond traditional telco business models in the context of the changing telecom value network.

Fixed-mobile Convergence (FMC) has traditionally been used by the telecom industry when discussing the physical integration of wireline and wireless technologies. Simply defining convergence as how wireless technology should integrate with wireline technology effectively misses the broader importance and implications of convergence which is also about convergence between the media, datacom and telecommunication industries. Convergence will influence a host of companies and change the way end-users access their information, thereby enabling a new paradigm of “anytime, anywhere, any device” information exchange and access.

The so called “Web2.0” is the most influential driver in the combined Internet and telco industry. Players like YouTube, Facebook and MySpace have become some of the most used services and known brands on the Internet. OTTs do not compete for telco service revenues; instead, they compete to control key links in the digital value chain, with business models that span consumer electronics, online advertising, software licensing, e-commerce and more. Telcos

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must diversify data products are beyond the simple SP , with a mixture of hybrid consumer and business products and fixed/mobile products.the telco digital business needs to be measured not by direct revenues, but according to whether it helps to grow and protect core telco business by increasing usage, creating user lock-in and driving subscriber acquisition.

Telcos are being disrupted because the basis of competition in mobile has fundamentally changed. It has changed from “reliability and scale of networks” to “choice and flexibility of services”, representing transition from “mobile telephony” to “mobile computing”. Telcos need to move their innovation focus from technologies (be it HTML5, NFC, IMS, VoLTE, M2M or RCS-e) to ecosystems. That requires a much better understanding of how ecosystems are engineered, and how ecosystems absorb and amplify innovation. The change in the basis of competition is fundamental and irreversible.

Sadiq Malik ( Telco Strategist )

2 : VDI : Gold lining on the Telco Cloud

According to leading analyst firms, the hosted virtual desktop (HVD) market will accelerate through 2013, growing from 500,000 to 49 million units. And worldwide revenue will reportedly grow from about $1.3 billion in 2009 to somewhere around $65.7 billion in 2013 — or roughly from 1 to 40 percent of the worldwide professional PC market. As more enterprises adopt cloud computing and lowered total cost of ownership, cloud-based VDI implementations are forecast to nearly quadruple in the next five years. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the growing demand for highly secure remote access interfaces.

Desktop virtualization is a transforma¬tive, game-changing technology that can enable productivity gains, cost savings, increased security and more efficient use of IT infrastructure. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) introduces a new way of managing user environments. VDI

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allows IT administrators to host and administer user desktops on Virtual Infrastructure in the data center.

All VDI ( Virtual Desktop Infrastructure ) solutions have virtualization of the user’s desktop in common. A complete VDI solution may also include other design elements that compliment, extend, or leverage the core features of a virtualization platform. A full spectrum VDI solution starts with the user’s access device and includes a number of logically sequential components spanning the full lifecycle of user activity. The major use cases currently driving adoption of VDI are:

• Outsourcing: Companies looking to outsource development while retaining close control of their data and source code can use VDI to present developers with a fully functional desktop capable of installing development tools and rebooting without affecting other users.

• Extending PC Lifecycle: Companies facing a PC upgrade cycle or deployment of a major operating system upgrade might instead migrate to a server based computing model, redeploying existing PCs as Thin Client access devices.

• Unifying IT Strategy: Companies that have already invested in virtualization strategies in the data center and are seeking to unify desktop and server side processes have an opportunity to leverage server and client side computing loads across a common platform. Simplified disaster recovery, enhanced data security, and reduced headcount can result from such consolidation.

• Performance Driven VDI: Companies needing to introduce a demanding new application that strains current PC hardware might elect to deploy the new application as a link from the native desktop to a VDI session. This offloads CPU demands from the local desktop, both extending the PC lifespan and ensuring adequate performance of the new application.

• Enterprise Desktop Replacement: Companies seeking to escape the constraints of legacy desktop computing and move towards utility computing will benefit from more advanced VDI configurations with dynamic provisioning and personalization of the virtual desktop made available to stateless user access devices.

Virtualised servers and desktops hold the key to more efficient IT management. Although virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) has historically been deemed too expensive, the recent surge of cloud computing offers a cost-effective, managed platform for VDI that stands to revolutionise the structure of enterprise IT.Cloud compute IaaS ( via which HVD / VDI is delivered ) constitutes the largest segment of the addressable market (the broader market also includes cloud storage, backup and archiving).

While SME’s offer the biggest growth potential many of these companies simply do not understand the concept of the Cloud solutions. Many consider it to be unsecure which is rather ironic, considering that most Cloud solutions are more secure than the average SME’s Pcs. As such to compete aggressively in the expanding Virtual Desktop Solutions market a Telco must consider the following realities :

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• Ensure “ Reliable cloud,” achieved through redundant infrastructure clustering; thus able to offer a very high SLA for infrastructure availability — often as high as 99.999% . In general, monthly availability SLAs of 99.95% and higher are the norm, and are typically higher than availability SLAs for managed hosting.

• Offer a shared resource pool (SRP) pricing model or be flexible on pricing the service. In the SRP model, customers contract for a certain amount of capacity (in terms of CPU and RAM), but can allocate that capacity to virtual machines in an arbitrary way, including being able to oversubscribe that capacity voluntarily; additional capacity can usually be purchased on demand by the hour.

• A single architecture, feature set and cross-cloud management, for both public and private cloud IaaS, make it easier for customers to combine and migrate across service models as their needs dictate, and allow the provider to leverage its engineering investments more effectively.

• Offer a firewall (intrusion detection system/intrusion prevention system) as part of their offering, as well as access control lists (ACLs) and additional security services that will meet regulatory compliance needs.

• Support the use of Internet-based IPsec VPN, including allowing customers to use their own Internet Protocol address ranges. Some providers use Internet based Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN to enforce secure access to management consoles.

• Offer a portal and self-service mechanism that is designed for multiple users and that offers hierarchical administration and role-based access control (RBAC). Telcos may offer monitoring as an option, with a hybrid hosting or other managed services offering.

The deployment of high-speed fibre and LTE networks means that organisations no longer need to deploy or own any IT infrastructure. Instead, they can use Telco networks to simply rent hardware capacity and software applications as and when they need them from so-called cloud service providers. With a culture of aiming for five nines (99.999% uptime) reliability, Telcos are well-suited to the delivery of cloud services ( such as VDI ) which are dependent on continual connectivity , appropriate bandwidth, quality of service, billing relationship , end-to-end security and hopefully customer trust.

Sadiq Malik ( Telco Strategist )

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3 : Carrier Wifi : panacea for the African broadband crisis ???

Despite the arrival for so much submarine cable bandwidth it seems the hapless African broadband consumer will not experience true high speed broadband for atleast a decade. So what is the current situation with the Operators in South Africa ? Congested networks , refarmed 1800 spectrum for LTE which is ruining the HSP + experience , smartphone flood , insufficient Spectrum , disgruntled customers , declining rather than value based pricing etc etc. Not to mention the fact that some Operators become professional spectrum squatters without the financial means to build a national broadband network. As for the rest of Africa : the same lamentable situation.

The Regulators are stubborn since they refuse or delay the allocation of Spectrum in the 2.6 and 800 mhz for LTE. The Operators are asinine since refuse or delay in look at non licensed Spectrum to rollout a RAN. Infact the Regulators and Operators spend more time in criticising rather than collaborating with each other. The Digital Dividend is a pipe dream for the majority of the African population. Most Africans don’t have access to electricity or clean water what in the world are they going to do with Broadband ?? Nobody gives a hoot !

The profitability of mobile Internet services is at risk, unless mobile operators and Regulators look to new, complementary technologies that can serve data traffic with a dramatically lower cost curve than the traditional, cellular-only RAN and backhaul solution. It takes many years and billions of dollars for mobile operators to acquire and build out new licensed spectrum. Operators cannot simply double their use of spectrum and double the number of cell sites in their network each year.If no changes are made demand could exceed capacity within two to three years and with today’s architectures operators could rapidly run out of spectrum and money. Operators need to harness a solution that will further dramatically bring down their backhaul and RAN costs, while allowing them visibility and control of the new RAN, maintaining the same ease of use for their subscribers.

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The Wi-Fi offloading has became lately the most hotly debated business opportunity that provides solutions for MNOs for a lot of challenges like spectrum licensing, running costs, coverage gaps ,deployment delays, and congestion. In addition, Wi-Fi can give new business opportunities to MNOs to access new types of users like laptop, tablet, and home users.Offloading to Wi-Fi is the fastest way to achieve this dramatic reduction in backhaul costs (compared to fixed broadband) and RAN costs, without the need to purchase additional spectrum. Wi-Fi offers an immediate solution to operators worldwide looking to increase capacity and coverage. Its availability is widespread and growing, with over one million commercial hotspots today. Unlike cellular radio technologies, Wi-Fi uses the same frequency bands worldwide and users have had few problems sharing this unlicensed spectrum.

Over the years Wifi has undergone a resurrection of sorts with new standards that integrate it more tightly into the Mobile Core. The revolution of smartphone industry, which rose after the Apple iPhone®, had a vast spread of Wi-Fi technology along with smartphones. The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations aims to make a globally applicable third-generation (3G) mobile phone system specification, became aware of the increasing role of Wi-Fi and started putting standards for Wi-Fi and Mobile Networks interoperability. Some mobile operators, Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs), and vendors saw the potential in Wi-Fi as generic and low cost wireless technology to provide their data and Internet services to millions of users through their already equipped Wi-Fi in smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PDAs.

And oh yes : Wifi is now CARRIER GRADE !!!

• The Wi-Fi Alliance Passpoint certification program and the Hotspot 2.0 specifications provide seamless Wi-Fi access in public hotspots and when roaming. With SIM-based authentication, mobile devices can automatically connect to any hotspot operated by a mobile operator or any of its partners, as they do with cellular data roaming.

• The Wireless Broadband NGH initiative provides a roaming framework that facilitates roaming agreements among mobile and Wi-Fi operators, and establishes roaming best practices for Wi-Fi.

• ANDSF facilitates discovery and selection of non-3GPP networks in mobile devices. With ANDSF, operators can use PCRF-defined policies and real-time traffic management across mobile and Wi-Fi networks.

• 802.11n : 802.11n is an amendment which improves upon the previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output antennas (MIMO). 802.11n operates on both the 2.4 GHz and the lesser used 5 GHz bands. It operates at a maximum net data rate from 54 Mbits/s to 600 Mbits/s.

Hotspot 2.0 was created by the Wi-Fi Alliance in 2012, a technology intended to render Wi-Fi technology similar to cellular technology with a suite of protocols to allow easy selection and secure authentication. It allows the mobile devices automatically select the Wi-Fi network based on its SSID. It also allows reacting some useful information such as Network and venue type, list of roaming partners, and types of authentication available.

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Mobile IP allows the mobile device to have dual IPs to communicate with each access technology; with the H1 interface the Home Agent (HA) manages the mobility between the two access technologies.

The 3GPP provided further enhancement with release 10; a completely seamless Wi-Fi offloading, where the mobile device can have multiple connections to each technology managed by the 3GPP core network. Some heavy traffic like video streaming and P2P downloads can be routed via Wi-Fi and the HTTP and VoIP traffic through the cellular Network.

Wi-Fi is expanding its role in carrying wireless broadband traffic in both private and public networks. As it becomes more deeply integrated into the mobile network infrastructure, Wi-Fi will provide the same seamless experience that subscribers are used to in cellular networks. Automatic SIMbased authentication, optimized network selection, secure connectivity, and policy-based service options will increase the value of Wi-Fi access even as operators move to higher-capacity, faster LTE networks.

WiFi data offload can alleviate mobile network congestion, reduce churn and lock in customers with bundled WiFi/3G services. It can reduce operating expenses through the use of lower cost infrastructure, and increase revenue through subscriber retention and increased market share.Wi-Fi roaming also delivers important benefits to operators. Analysts agree that operators will greatly increase the amount of data traffic they offload to Wi-Fi and femtocells. They estimate that 30% to 60% of total data traffic will be offloaded from 3G and 4G mobile networks by 2015. At this rate, by 2015 commercial Wi-Fi networks will carry as much mobile data traffic as was carried by all mobile networks in 2010.

Leading Mobile Operators are using carrier grade Wireless Mesh as part of the Data Offload and incremental revenue strategy. In 2010 Mobily Saud Arabia ( who launched the first TD LTE commercial network in the world ) noticed a massive increase in data usage, fuelled by offering unlimited data subscriptions. Against this backdrop of increasing data usage, Mobily saw Wi-Fi as an efficient way to reduce the cellular capex investment in broadband infrastructure needed to match this spike in data usage. Today Mobily has around 350-400 public hotspots with each Hotspot comprising of multiple Wi-Fi Access Points covering multiple business verticals including cafes, hotels, hospitals, outdoor, and some challenging venues such as stadiums and Holy Pilgrimage areas.

Mobily’s business model is predicated on a hotspot portal based Wi-Fi virtual network with multiple service monetization models for both Mobily and non Mobily subscribers PLUS a cellular-to-Wi-Fi offloading virtual network, offering seamless and secure user experience with the use of EAP-SIM protocol and WISPr clients. Mobily intends to “offload” at least 20% of current mobile broadband traffic onto Wi-Fi networks and is designing the Wi-Fi network to meet this key performance objective . The Hotspot 2.0 standard will open the door for inbound roamers to connect seamlessly and securely to Mobily’s Wi-Fi network while their usage is being charged back to their home operator.

The devices using the most mobile data – smartphones, laptops and tablets – all support Wi-Fi. Currently, laptops and tablets ubiquitously support Wi-Fi and support of Wi-Fi by smartphones will increase from 50% to 95% by 2014.With smartphones and Broadband

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‘dongles’ consuming considerable volumes of data very easily bill shock refunds have plagued Mobile Operators in advanced countries. As such, communications such as that sent by AT&T, particularly to iPhone users, advising them turn off Data roaming and suggesting the use of Wifi alternative have been quite common.

A seamless Wi-Fi offering will provide an attractive up-sell opportunity to existing mobile data bundles; either as a flat-fee, mobile roaming charge (MRC), or perhaps a free feature that can then be charged through usage. A good data offload solution can potentially play a wider role in extending service support to other technologies such as WIMAX or LTE, e.g. providing support for interworking of voice and messages services between 2G/3G and LTE. Essentially, capex can replace opex in the short term if it is justified by a longer-term return on investment. Therefore, ‘LTE readiness’ becomes crucial from a corporate as well as an operational perspective.

So what about reliable high speed Broadband for the masses ? Don’t be surprised if it is not LTE running on 800mhz because the allocation of Digital Dividend has been delayed in Africa : It might be Wifi backboned on terrestrial fibre ( esp in the rural areas ) to give the the african subscribers what they deserve after years of patchy low speed connectivity languish !!

Sadiq Malik ( Telco Strategist )

4 : Multimedia Collaboration for the Virtual Enterprise ? Your Telco SP can do it

For some enterprises, video conferencing has proven to be a powerful collaboration tool that has lived up to the promise of significantly reducing travel. Many have found the complexity, inconvenience, and expense of traditional, location dependent video conferencing exceeds the value anticipated by their enterprise. As the workforce increasingly shifts to mobile employees and teleworkers, location dependent video communication becomes a hindrance. Instead, what is needed is the

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capability to have video conferencing from any location. While multimedia applications such as video conferencing, message management and telephone calls over the Internet aren’t new, the way they can be used simultaneously with secure wireline or wireless remote access to the network from anywhere, with a variety of devices, is new.

At the most basic level, virtual enterprises are now cost-effective, technically viable alternatives to the traditional office because of the new capabilities of communications networks. In the past, we had multiple networks – voice, data, wireline and wireless – all functioning independently of each other and using different technologies for voice and data. Today, these multiple networks are converging into one, using the same packet technology. Packet technologies like Internet Protocol (IP) and Voice over IP (VoIP) convert voice, video and data into tiny packets that can be transmitted together over a single, high-speed network, eliminating the need for separate networks. When all voice or video or data information is handled the same way – by one high-speed, packetized network, either wireline or wireless – the boundaries are eliminated and simplified from having multiple networks that made it difficult to use multimedia applications simultaneously. You can access the network through a desktop computer on a wireline connection at home or be on the move with a wireless connection for your laptop or Smartphone.

Virtual multimedia capabilities are valuable across all industry sectors. Take healthcare as an example. A nurse needing help with a patient can immediately reach a doctor without wasting valuable time calling office, mobile and home telephone numbers. The nurse could quickly share pertinent medical information, prescriptions and even X-rays with the doctor, ultimately providing better patient care. The benefits of video / multimedia solutions for the virtual enterprise have been proven by many corporates whose associates around the world who have been enjoying the freedom and mobility of virtual work for some time. A blue chip Insurance company conducted a sample of full-time teleworking employees that showed a 15% increase in individual productivity and somewhere between 42% – 90% reduction in telecom-related costs for mobile workers.

Real time collaboration and immediate access to information means the most remote, geographically-dispersed workers in any industry sector can function as cohesive, integrated teams increasing productivity and shortening decision cycles to be more responsive to business or customer needs. Of equal importance is the potential for enterprises to drive their operational costs lower. Telcos are in prime position to supply mobile video conferencing solutions to the Enterprise sector. Their access layers ( Hspa+ and LTE ) are getting faster and IP optimised , dual mode ( 3G + Wifi ) smartphones are being subsidized , converged billing systems allow granular invoicing , PCRF middle ware can allocate bandwidth fairly etc.

Mobile collaboration systems combine the use of video, audio and on-screen drawing capabilities using newest generation hand-held mobile devices to enable multi-party conferencing in real-time, independent of location. Benefits include cost-efficiencies resulting from accelerated problem resolution, reductions in downtimes and travel, improvements in customer service and increased productivity.

Rather than traveling great distances in order to have a face-face meeting, it is now commonplace to instead use a telepresence system, which uses a multiple codec video system (which is what the word “telepresence” most currently represents). Each member/party of the

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meeting uses a telepresence room to “dial in” and can see/talk to every other member on a screen/screens as if they were in the same room. This brings enormous time and cost benefits. It is also superior to phone conferencing (except in cost), as the visual aspect greatly enhances communications, allowing for perceptions of facial expressions and other body language.

British Telecom and AT&T have launched one of the world’s largest telepresence networks, following successful trials conducted in 2009.The pair say the service is the first interoperable exchange for telepresence, and will allow business customers to schedule meetings and connect via Cisco endpoints.Meeting support, assistance and billing will be handled by customers’ individual service providers, and the operators plan to introduce a directory to help users determine which other organizations can be contacted through the connection.

According to Dion Hinchcliff much has been made of the likely underperformance of a particularly high-profile type of collaboration tool — enterprise social networks (ESNs) — if rollout is conducted without the requisite supporting behavioral, cultural, and process changes. We forget at our peril that collaboration is a fundamentally human activity. This implies that any use of enabling technology without taking into account how people actually conduct their work, their inclinations to share information and interact with each other, and in particular how the proposed technology will empower them and alter their collaborative behavior for the better/worse, is bound to disappoint.

Sadiq Malik ( Telco Strategist )

5 : Thinking innovately about Wireless Broadband : Key Insights

Mobile Broadband has seen feverish enthusiasm in the last two years, as evidenced by the number of LTE field trials taking place on a global basis. However full commercial deployments have

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been lagging because developing a coherent business case predicated on sound monetisation strategies remains an elusive and complex and process. The broadband market represents a tremendous opportunity, but there are definitely right and wrong ways to go about pursuing it.The industry needs an avant-garde approach that will leverage the inherent nature of an IP based architecture to accelerate the rollout out of profitable networks by paying specific attention to some critical elements which can make or break the LTE / 4G business case.

Smart Billing means more revenue

When implementing billing and customer management platform several factors come into play : integration with existing systems, managing multiple billing systems, installation and service scheduling; trouble ticketing, billing blended services, managing channel relationships, automated provisioning, customer self-service, provisioning flexibility, and reporting. In fact, when properly integrated, a service based billing/CRM/Provisioning engine can evolve from an expense item to a revenue engine. If properly managed, efficient billing and CRM can translate into lowered costs, increased cash flow and increased profits.

Core Network Consolidation means reduced Capex

In an all IP world , multi-core processors coupled with powerful virtualization technology enables the consolidation of all the physically discrete carrier-grade servers into a very attractive platform for low-end scalability. Replacing 20+ carrier-grade servers with either 2 blades or 2 carrier-grade servers based on multi-core processors represents a dramatic way to lower the cost of the core network elements required to serve the first subscriber; this type of radical consolidation represents at least a 10:1 reduction in initial CapEx, plus a comparable reduction in recurring operating expenses.

The greatest opportunity for revenue growth for wireless broadband presents itself in the form of smaller markets with less than 100,000 subscribers. By dramatically lowering the cost to serve the first subscriber using a consolidated core, new networks can be built on a campus or targeted community basis with new services tailored to the specific needs of these smaller, targeted markets.

Use of Smart Antenna technology

Radio technology factors into any multivariate ROI equation in three ways:

• Range: dictates the number of base stations required to reach initial coverage objectives, driving the peak negative cash flow point • Capacity determines how much revenue will be received per unit of capital expenditures on spectrum, equipment, and site acquisition, as well as per unit of operating expenditures on site leases and maintenance • Coverage will affect marketing costs through its influence on unit subscriber acquisition expense and churn rates.

Any successful broadband operator will find their network making a transition from range-limited to capacity-limited site density much faster than typical voice networks. Simply because subscriber usage is 10x higher for broadband data and available spectrum options are

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limited. One critical element responsible for the wide variance in network capacity concerns how Operators use their antennas. Modern smart antenna systems (eg : MIMO ) employ sophisticated techniques to control the distribution of radio energy in each sector Using average sector throughput as the measure, LTE can provide four times the throughput of 3G given the same amount of spectrum, but can scale to 10 to 15 times the throughput using a full 20 MHz of spectrum since LTE uses the most advanced antenna techniques.

Network Sharing can be beneficial

Site sharing entails two or more license holders to acquire and rent a common site to host the Base Transceiver Station and transmission equipment. In addition, common equipment such as antenna systems, masts, cables, filters, outdoor shelter, SSC etc. can also be shared. Analysis has shown that sharing infrastructure will deliver healthy savings in capital expenditures (10% – 30%) and operational expenditures (20% – 40%) over a ten-year period. The reduced environmental impact is the green bonus for Telcos.

Develop the Hybrid Infrastructure mindset

By cleverly combining the capabilities of a different technologies, the resulting broadband network architecture can provide high capacity for true broadband services ( full triple play ) and global coverage at an affordable cost. The various access, distribution and core network technologies in the hybrid recipe include:

• Wireless: Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), Broadband Fixed Wireless Access (BFWA), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Free Space Optics (FSO), Satellite and Stratospheric platforms. • Wire line: copper pair (for example xDSL), optical fibre, coaxial and power-line cable.

Mixing / bundling several technologies offers Flexiblility ( several deployment scenarios and supported services can be fulfilled ; Scalability ( for low-cost initial deployment ) and Enhanced technical performance: in term of coverage, capacity and throughput.

Final Thoughts

Telcos need to architect an easily managed network infrastructure that combines all the main elements : a consolidated network core to reduce the capex /opex , an efficient billing and CRM model that is generates revenue , smart antenna technologies that optimize the spectral efficiency , mixing fibreoptic and satellite for cost efficient backhaul and site sharing to accelerate the time to market.

In the final analysis the end-users will get a full set of broadband services at an affordable price and Telcos will not lose money through ill advised investments in technology.

Sadiq Malik ( Telco Strategist )

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6 : Strategic Insight : Blue Ocean opportunities for Converged Telcos !!

Essentially, the future of the convergent industry is in service provision with globalization and personalization spurring consumer demand. The upsurge of convergence has brought not only opportunities, but unparalleled resource advantages to operators. However, whether an operator can go with the flow and thrive in the new environment depends not only on reformulating strategy but also on its timely and effective implementation.

Their competition landscape has now shifted from a local and niche turf to the global arena, competing with device manufacturers and application store owners. Operators need to realize that extending connectivity alone cannot keep them afloat. Instead they require software, device and service strategies that can add value and at the same time differentiate them from competition.In the future, the primary operational mode for large players might well be as aggregators of massive services. The key is to open the platform and gain as much partner power as possible. This is the fundamental reason why concepts like Web2.0 and P4P (Proactive Network Provider Participation for P2P) become important. So what is the killer app in mobile boroadband ? PPP ?

Based on smartphones a PPP ( Personal Portable Portal ) is generated by integrating frequently used personal applications into a terminal platform for easy and quick access. These applications include vertical portals, professional services, communities, directories, personal information management (PIM), location-based services (LBS), work, entertainment, activities, images, IM, sports, music, reading materials, and Emails.A PPP is distinguished by its inherent freedom, flexibility, and adaptability. Its features include a framework, user data hosting and management, virtual resources, and independence from terminals.

Personal portals are easily configured, combined, updated on the web, and loaded onto various terminals. A PPP service platform stores information, status, content breakpoints, past

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records, and the relationships between the application widgets uploaded to each PPP.The PPP is destined to evolve into a platform oriented to massive volumes of personal applications like an application store that supplies a steady stream of services and is expected to maximize the spending power of personal information.

Believe it or not but due to their small size, the long tail providers ( Google , U Tube , Facebook etc ) are unable to conduct independent marketing activities, giving operators a unique advantage. For Telcos , most value customers are real-name customers, unlike Google’s anonymous and even nameless customers. Only operators can obtain data on user behavioral patterns, which is a huge advantage over other competitors.Hence, operators are in a position to help their partners promote their products and recommend suitable products to the right customers. They can match massive services to millions of users. This is the service aggregators core competitiveness, yet most operators have been asleep at the wheel and have not collected, collated or utilized the data.

Many applications, such as home security protection, health and medical care, do not merely involve information distribution and interaction, but require hardware deployment and maintenance as well. The long tail providers find it hard to provide delivery or services in a large area and operators with massive service teams can help them and profit as well. The long tail providers lack branding power and a strong credit rating. When users purchase their services, a guarantee is needed. Operators with long-term operations experience and a good credit and credibility rating can play the role of guarantor. This means that operators must qualify suppliers and control risk. Similarly, when users pay for a service, they usually will not trust an unknown service provider. A third-party, reputable platform is needed for completing settlement and payment actions. This is where operators’ existing mature billing platform can really shine.

Telcos should build an open platform, utilize their long-term operational resources and experience to integrate more and better services and provide desirable services to end users. By doing so, operators can gradually move their commanding positions from network connections to their own exclusive services or the services with the best user experience. Pureplay broadband access – the mainstay of traditional telcos’ business today – will remain the cornerstone of digital communication in the future for both landlines and mobile communication. The “right” strategic orientation for each telco will depend on five key levers:

1) Personalization of service ecosystem and the customer experience 2) Uncompromising defense of relationships with end customers 3) Cost-efficient broadband network build-ups 4) Realignment and radical streamlining of operating models 5) Financial resources to drive digital transformation and consolidation.

In Africa the first order of business is consolidation. Against the backdrop of globalization, local operators are not in a position to compete with the industry titans. Eventually, they will either turn into mere conduits or be acquired. Telecom giants must keep expanding through mergers, and control more users, thereby gaining the foundation to compete with the service titans and even become new service aggregators.

18

Telcos in Africa need to convince capital markets by presenting them with attractive consolidation and streamlining scenarois, abandoning secondary activities and committing to cooperative ventures that will ensure sustainable profitablity.They must slim down their various network, sales and service business models, abandon secondary activities and use M&As or collaborative ventures to penetrate fast-growing markets.

What role will telcos play in the future ? Will they be mere data pipes? Broadband access and platform service providers? OTT service groups even? Whatever the future holds, all companies are called on to refocus and realign – and to do so fast. Given the right strategy, telcos can therefore consolidate their position at crucial links in the value chain.If telcos do their homework with respect to broadband access strategy, transformation into a cost efficient lean telco, and to consolidation they have a real chance gaianst the OTT players instead of complaining they are becoming ” dumb pipes ” : YES ..you are dumb if you dont know how to play the game !!!!

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