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Five trends have matured the prepaid market to the point where it is no longer just for those who can't afford postpaid mobile services. Operators who want to thrive in this new, more mature prepaid business must embrace new market segments and find ways to serve underbanked subscribers.
Aug. 30, 2010 | Report | by Carl Howe | CO-AUTHORS: Christopher Collins
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While tools like blogs, tweets and social networks were once considered the exception in the workplace, they are rapidly becoming the norm. Unified communications solutions can enhance the way workers collaborate and communicate with one another, but they will need to include social media to deliver a complete collaborative experience.
Aug. 25, 2010 | Report | by Zeus Kerravala
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Communications service providers (CSPs) need to rethink, redesign and automate supplier/partner relationship management (S/PRM). Traditional processes built for the carrier network interconnect era need an overhaul to address new levels of scale, speed and variety. Done well, S/PRM may actually offer CSPs opportunities for market differentiation.
Aug. 24, 2010 | Report | by Susan McNeice
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The evolution to 4G has the potential to reshape market share and market perception in wireless. Operators must focus on their current 3G customers, T-Mobile subscribers and prospects in their legacy service area to gain early momentum.
Aug. 23, 2010 | Report | by Eugene Signorini | CO-AUTHORS: Joshua Holbrook, Chris Marsh
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In its National Broadband Plan, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission recognizes broadband as a key facilitator of effective and affordable health care delivery in the U.S. in its National Broadband Plan. Broadband service providers need to be aware of the risks and opportunities the plan presents.
Aug. 19, 2010 | Report | by Brian Partridge
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Waning enterprise pessimism over cloud computing is setting the stage for significant market opportunity, but providers need to make their platform bets now and start building solutions. OpenStack's strategy shows promise.
Aug. 19, 2010 | Report | by Ted Julian
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Some European mobile network operators reported weakening sales of mobile broadband (MBB) during the first half of 2010. But there is no cause for alarm. The recent slowdown is a natural consequence of market maturation. As the market matures further, however, operators should focus more on customer retention and less on attracting first-time users.
Aug. 19, 2010 | Report | by Declan Lonergan
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As smartphone usage and video traffic increases on mobile networks, content delivery networks (CDNs) are beginning to make their mark on the mobile landscape. Carriers and content providers should consider CDNs as they seek to strengthen their presence in the mobile market.
Aug. 18, 2010 | Report | by Terry Cudmore
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Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) may not be mainstream, but it is starting to find a home in early adopter enterprises. Yankee Group's Anywhere Enterprise: 2010 U.S. Cloud Computing FastView Survey illustrates that while enterprises with cloud experience are planning on expanding IaaS adoption, certain barriers still need to be addressed.
Aug. 18, 2010 | Report | by Sandra Palumbo
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Mobile network operators should adapt their customer segmentation strategies to the needs of today's sophisticated mobile consumers. To enable more relevant customer classification and accurate campaign targeting, future models should combine real-time behavioral insights with traditional demographic and telecom-centric approaches.
Aug. 16, 2010 | Report | by Declan Lonergan
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The Topline Data Forecast presents the global connectivity markets, technologies and competitive landscape at a regional level. This data module is updated quarterly for Link Research clients.
Aug. 13, 2010 | Data Module | by Declan Lonergan
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The advent of 4G networks, smartphones and more demanding Anywhere Consumers mean the mobile Web is fast becoming a make-or-break platform for today's businesses. Companies that focus on improving mobile customer service, not just e-commerce, will prosper.
Aug. 12, 2010 | Report | by Sheryl Kingstone
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Data traffic, spurred on by smartphones and new 4G devices, is putting increased pressure on operator networks and revenue. Operators need to get beyond tiered data plans and embrace new business models that better leverage their unique customer relationships and enable them to profit from emerging device and application ecosystems.
Aug. 4, 2010 | Report | by Chris Nicoll
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With its recent acquisition of Cinterion, Gemalto dramatically raised its profile in the machine-to-machine (M2M) world and potentially changed the dynamics of the market. Operators and others looking to play a role in M2M need to partner or buy up key firms fast, while valuations are still reasonable.
Aug. 3, 2010 | Report | by Andy Castonguay
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By replacing something of value (a credit card number) with something of no value (a random string of numbers), tokenization can bolster security and reduce compliance risk and expense. Though lack of standards and risk of vendor lock-in may hamper adoption, tokenization nonetheless shows promise not only for internal operations, but as a basis for revenue-generating services.
Aug. 2, 2010 | Report | by Ted Julian | CO-AUTHORS: Nick Holland
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Mobile video is already stoking unprecedented data traffic levels, and the demand will only increase as newer, video-savvy devices and 4G networks proliferate. Communications service providers (CSPs) can prepare for the onslaught by revamping their back-office systems and adopting more creative pricing and business models.
Jul. 30, 2010 | Report | by Terry Cudmore | CO-AUTHORS: Chris Nicoll
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Despite widespread acceptance that NGA is the end game of network deployment, telcos hesitate due to questions about business models, the nature of the interaction with content and application providers, and issues around service innovation and building demand. Embracing cooperative and open models is key to answering these questions.
Jul. 30, 2010 | Report | by Benoît Felten
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Social media interactions are dramatically changing the way businesses interact with their customers. Contact centers that can analyze, monitor and integrate real-time communications with social media to improve the overall customer experience will gain broad-reaching benefits.
Jul. 29, 2010 | Report | by Sheryl Kingstone
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NTT's surprise purchase of South African integrator Dimension Data is the latest in a string of clever acquisitions boosting the Japanese telco's global IT and cloud computing credentials. But to capitalize on its growing asset base, NTT must focus on integration and clearing brand clutter.
Jul. 29, 2010 | Report | by Camille Mendler
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AT&T and Verizon have started to roll out significant differentiators for their video services, leveraging what each sees as its greatest asset and seeding the interactive TV market. In order to continue the momentum, both companies must aggressively court outside developers and trumpet their differentiations to consumers.
Jul. 29, 2010 | Report | by Vince Vittore
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Mobile network operators (MNOs) can achieve innovation and growth in their messaging businesses if senior managers have the courage to make it happen. Top MNO execs should update their organizational structures, adopt more open business models and insist on deeper understanding of customer behavior within every department.
Jul. 27, 2010 | Report | by Declan Lonergan
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Latin America should be a ripe market for IPTV, but regulatory uncertainty has prevented the technology from taking off. Until these issues are resolved, IPTV in Latin America will be highly segmented with opportunities largely in existing cable operators migrating to IP, smaller countries and the hospitality market.
Jul. 27, 2010 | Report | by Vince Vittore | CO-AUTHORS: Wally Swain
How Can the Telecom Industry Start Growing Again?
Mobile traffic is rising, and consumers and enterprises are constantly demanding more bandwidth, content and speed. In this webinar, analysts Declan Lonergan, Benoit Felten and Camille Mendler offer their unique perspectives on how the industry will grow, from next-generation access services, to the mobile Internet, to cloud computing and more.
Jul. 27, 2010 | Live Webinar | by Declan Lonergan | CO-AUTHORS: Camille Mendler
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Fiber to the premises (FTTP) is a market that is growing, but not quite as fast as expected, primarily due to the lack of a holistic view by all the players in the value chain. Such perspective is especially important to telcos, which need to see how each player's drivers can be leveraged to boost the market.
Jul. 22, 2010 | Report | by Benoît Felten
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Sluggish economic recovery in Central and Eastern Europe is driving consolidation among regional telecom operators. But unless consolidating operators address the need to integrate product portfolios, systems and processes, they will fail to achieve the true benefits of scale.
Jul. 21, 2010 | Report | by Camille Mendler
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Nice, France, is deploying near field communications (NFC) citywide, and Orange France expects to roll out the technology nationwide in 2011. The initiative solves two key NFC problems and offers a path to profitability for stakeholders in other regions considering the technology.
Jul. 21, 2010 | Report | by Nick Holland
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Yankee Group research shows Apple iPhone owners shop more, buy more and remain more loyal to their phones than users of other devices. Mobile operators must understand the six forces that drive this behavior or risk falling further behind operators that have adapted to the Apple platform.
Jul. 19, 2010 | Report | by Carl Howe
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Cloud computing overall is on the cusp of broad adoption in enterprises, but the specific use cases, challenges and attitudes toward the cloud vary widely depending on cloud type and app. Data from Yankee Group's Anywhere Enterprise: 2010 U.S. Cloud Computing FastView Survey breaks down the state of adoption and plans for platform-, infrastructure and software-as-a-service opportunities.
Jul. 15, 2010 | Report | by Sheryl Kingstone | CO-AUTHORS: Phil Hochmuth
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Consumerization is running wild in the corporate world, and enterprises have finally stopped fighting the trend and embraced individually liable policies in the hope of benefiting from the phenomenon. With the proper planning, provisioning, expense, support, security and growth policies, it doesn't have to be anarchy.
Jul. 15, 2010 | Report | by Joshua Holbrook
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After multiple false starts, interactive advertising will hit the market in force this year. For service providers, that means potential opportunities for additional revenue streams. However, they must be realistic in their expectations and should be in the planning stages now.
Jul. 12, 2010 | Report | by Vince Vittore
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AT&T's tiered pricing plan will have a significant impact on many players in the mobile data industry. Now that data customers must keep tabs on bandwidth consumption, operators, content providers, manufacturers and developers will either enjoy new growth opportunities or be forced to rethink their mobile business strategies.
Jul. 8, 2010 | Report | by John Keough | CO-AUTHORS: Susan McNeice, Jennifer Pigg, Sheryl Kingstone, Chris Nicoll
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Traditional network architectures can no longer handle the requirements of the virtual data center. Instead, enterprises need to migrate to flatter architectures based on emerging network fabric technology. Here we detail fabric strategies from Juniper, Brocade and Cisco.
Jul. 8, 2010 | Report | by Zeus Kerravala
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Mobile network operators (MNOs) can limit the effects of voice service commoditization by introducing innovations like visual voice mail and call completion solutions, and by integrating mobile voice with downloadable applications and Web services. In fact, we forecast global mobile voice users will grow from 4.33 billion in 2009 to 5.31 billion in 2014, when voice will still account for 70 percent of MNO revenue globally.
Jul. 6, 2010 | Report | by Declan Lonergan
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AT&T's shift away from unlimited smartphone data pricing is a positive trend for carriers, but it will create additional complexities for businesses trying to manage employee wireless usage. AT&T and other operators that follow this trend must help enterprises manage increased consumerization of smartphones.
Jul. 6, 2010 | Report | by Eugene Signorini
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The apparent progress of mobile operators Verizon Wireless, AT&T and T-Mobile in developing a joint venture to drive adoption of near-field communications threatens to disrupt the overall payment landscape in the U.S. Long considered the "nuclear option" should negotiations between operators and payment card companies fail, an operator-backed mobile payment system would create a uniquely powerful challenge to the hegemony of MasterCard, Visa and American Express.
Jun. 30, 2010 | Report | by Andy Castonguay
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Amdocs is focused on providing communications service providers (CSPs) with the tools and services required to navigate today's increasingly volatile telecom industry. Yankee Group evaluates the vision and road map it unveiled at this month's InTouch 10 conference.
Jun. 30, 2010 | Report | by Sheryl Kingstone | CO-AUTHORS: Camille Mendler, Brian Partridge
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Content delivery networks (CDNs) are more important to telcos than ever because they help reduce network traffic in the face of ever-rising data traffic levels. While most telcos are considering buying or building their own CDN offering, partnerships are a faster route to higher level, revenue-generating CDN services.
Jun. 30, 2010 | Report | by Terry Cudmore
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Whether enterprises have planned for it or not, personally owned smartphones and other consumer technologies are an increasing presence in the workplace. IT staff and business decision-makers can gain efficiency and save money through this consumerization if they evaluate all devices with enterprise-strength fundamentals in mind.
Jun. 29, 2010 | Report | by Eugene Signorini | CO-AUTHORS: Phil Hochmuth
Preparing for 4G Video Services
In this webinar, Yankee Group Distinguished Research Fellow Chris Nicoll and Analyst Terry Cudmore investigate the pressing issues of mobile video delivery and provide recommendations to ensure that video becomes a killer application, not a network-killing service.
Jun. 29, 2010 | Live Webinar | by Chris Nicoll | CO-AUTHORS: Terry Cudmore
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Allowing workers to bring personal smartphones to the office is all well and good. But enterprise IT teams must avoid turning a business IT architecture into a free-for-all resembling a college campus network. Implementing specific security tools and network configuration approaches can create the balance between productive/happy employees and a safe, manageable network environment.
Jun. 29, 2010 | Report | by Eugene Signorini | CO-AUTHORS: Phil Hochmuth
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Several multiple system operators (MSOs) are on the verge of generating more than U.S.$1 billion in annual revenue from business services, with almost all of it coming from small business. In order to expand and compete in the mid-tier market, MSOs should re-evaluate their services, consider CLEC acquisitions and target friendly verticals.
Jun. 25, 2010 | Report | by Vince Vittore
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Leased backhaul transmission capacity cost mobile network operators (MNOs) U.S.$25 billion in 2009, and it continues to skyrocket, accounting for as much as 60 percent of opex. MNOs looking to prosper in the face of ever-rising traffic demands need to revamp their backhaul strategies, embracing Ethernet, backhaul operation and/or design services and RAN sharing.
Jun. 24, 2010 | Report | by Jennifer Pigg
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Yankee Group research finds CSPs that unify their billing/CRM systems can not only reduce order fallout and revenue leakage, but they can also save millions of dollars in support costs for failed orders vs. non-unified solutions. The best part? Unified systems let service providers offer personalized, bundled services to all customers--no matter their payment plan.
Jun. 23, 2010 | Report | by Sheryl Kingstone
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Narrowband subscribers and consumers who share broadband connections represent good prospects for U.S. mobile broadband providers and a market opportunity as large as U.S.$1.4 billion. In a world of shrinking margins, these consumers are low-hanging fruit.
Jun. 23, 2010 | Report | by Dmitriy Molchanov
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WAN optimization is a broad market category that can help improve application performance, lower the cost of bandwidth and help companies avoid costly network upgrades and new data center buildouts. We profile the top vendors--including Riverbed, Blue Coat and Cisco--and gauge their market success over the next five years.
Jun. 22, 2010 | Report | by Zeus Kerravala
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Newer enterprises are twice as likely to use cloud computing as are older firms. And while small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are often closely associated with the cloud, older SMBs are not as ripe for cloud as assumed. Using data from our enterprise surveys, we show cloud vendors and communications service providers in particular how best to target enterprise customers.
Jun. 21, 2010 | Report | by Phil Hochmuth
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Amazon and Google have rekindled the Enron-era debate about commoditizing digital assets. Buying cloud and connectivity services like pork bellies on a commodities exchange could be an efficient way to match supply and demand, but more work to standardize technology and contractual terms is urgently needed.
Jun. 16, 2010 | Report | by Camille Mendler
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With 10 years of FTTP experience under their belt, operators in Asia-Pacific are embarking on the next phase of growth and re-evaluating some of their earlier decisions. Less fiber-rich regions, which face many of the same issues, should learn from their hard-won experience.
Jun. 15, 2010 | Report | by Benoît Felten
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AT&T's new data plans will take some load off its wireless networks in exchange for about $1.3 billion less revenue. However, these new plans threaten many mobile media services, including streaming video, music and mobile advertising.
Jun. 14, 2010 | Report | by Carl Howe
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Sprint has had some tough times in the past couple years, but assuming it can execute on its current plans, the worst is behind it. Sprint is winning back consumers the old-fashioned way: with hard-nosed cost management, good customer service, and simpler and cheaper services.
Jun. 9, 2010 | Report | by Carl Howe