I cannot recall a time in this industry where there’s been more hesitancy and concern among telcos than now. In our 70+ meetings at MWC23, we saw that OTT dynamics were very real, with operators seeing an acceleration of dumb-pipe scenarios. They could see what’s coming, but felt there wasn’t much they could do to manage it.
While 5G was supposed to blow open the types of revenues and price optimizations not possible with 3G and 4G, many operators we met were disappointed that 5G still lacks use-case merits, with some saying it’s not “baked enough” to bring meaningful monetization. While there are some B2B use cases showing promise, the customer value proposition is less obvious. In essence, they feel they paved the way to the application economy with 4G, but have yet to reap the benefits of it through 5G.
“What’s the point of 5G?,” asked Telecoms.com’s Scott Bicheno in his recent MWC recap, where he says “MWC felt like everyone was in waiting mode, hoping someone else would solve the 5G use-case/monetisation problem so they could jump on their coattails.”
While we agree that 5G is not “here” in all its glory yet, we do believe it’s inevitable that high-power connectivity, AR, and VR will drive it forward, first in certain niches, and ultimately on a broader scale, like B2B network slicing or IoT management, for example.
As 5G networks show success in different niches, we are confident more compelling 5G experiences will come to fruition. In the meantime, we are helping operators do more to gain control of their business trajectory and to protect P&L and mitigate churn, while also laying a solid business foundation.
App QoE as the North Star
Managing the perfect storm of “app chaos” – more demand for more apps with more complexity – was a priority for many of the executives we met. Many of them are drowning in data. CTOs, SVPs of Planning, SVPs of Big Data, and SVPs of Marketing and Products can no longer fly blind when it comes to the waves of application traffic swamping their networks.
Many said they see a direct linkage between App QoE and customer satisfaction, and they are aware of the “zero tolerance” subscribers have any time there is a frustrating app experience. Their customers, whether consumer or business, expect the quality of experience to be consistent, regardless of the increase in volume or complexity of the applications and content delivered. Whether immersed in streaming video, multiplayer gaming, social networking, or apps for work and learning (often simultaneously), subscribers want a smooth, seamless experience.
These growing expectations mean operators must get to the root cause of issues faster. They must rapidly determine the best course of action, whether it requires CapEx, OpEx or something else on their end. And, they must be able to recognize when issues are tied to the OTT provider’s network or the user’s device.
On top of all of this, telcos are increasingly pressured by a challenging economy. They need a positive ROI on their existing capital investments and a way to optimize those investments for as long as possible. In addition, they want to boost operational efficiency for “right-time, right-place customer care.”
As they achieve those goals, they will collect deep network and user insights, which will help them develop new revenue streams around fraud management, IoT management, and service tiers tailored to usage and devices.
We feel these needs drove interest in our AppLogic product at MWC23, as it classifies 95% or more of all app traffic, measuring the QoE subscribers are getting at any given moment in time.
By helping our customers shift from a technology-centric approach to a customer experience approach, we are helping them develop richer, more meaningful relationships with their customers. This, in turn, reduces churn, drives loyalty, and increases the likelihood they will try new products and services tailored to their desires and circumstances.
If you want to see how App QoE can help you improve customer satisfaction while reducing costs and setting the stage for new monetization opportunities, contact us for a demo or meeting with one of our representatives.
Learn more about AppLogic here.