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Juniper Research predicts that by 2022, mobile operators can collectively generate an additional $35 billion annually from new and underdeveloped revenue streams.
Juniper Research observed that with the number of connected devices expected to nearly triple between 2017 and 2022, from 17.5 million to 51.5 million, demand for ubiquitous connectivity would accelerate; representing a clear opportunity for the expansion of enterprise-facing products.
In the report, Future Mobile Operator Business Models: Challenges, Opportunities & Strategies 2018-2022, the researcher suggests that services such as Internet of Things (IoT) enablement, A2P messaging, carrier billing and big data analytics would collectively deliver a net increase of more than $7 billion this year.
It If implemented, these, together with cost savings identified in the study, would enable operators to offset the impact of falling voice and data revenues and maintain, or even increase, current margins.
The new report also stated that while big data collection presented some challenges around security and anonymization, raw or packaged data could be monetised via pay per usage, metered usage or flat subscription.
CRM: critical for customer retention
Additionally, the research outlined strategies through which mobile network operators (MNOs) can reduce costs across their operations. It argued that significant improvements were required in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to maximise customer retention, critical in saturated markets.
According to research author Dr Windsor Holden, ‘There are still high levels of dissatisfaction with regard to issues such as time taken to answer complaint calls. Furthermore, as operators seek to diversify and offer new services they will, in turn, need to ensure that their CRM services are robust enough to cope with the inevitable array of queries these will provoke.’
Meanwhile, the research also recommended that operators should implement network sharing to reduce site lease and infrastructure costs. It claimed that the strategy would reduce both capital and operating expenditure, plus enabling faster deployment and reducing carbon footprints.
