As LTE networks continue to pick up subscribers all over the world, it is important for operators to grab the chance to achieve business growth based around new revenue streams. By successfully marketing a range of value-added services that capitalise on LTE's strengths, they will help to sandbag themselves against pressure on margins, as well as assert their differentiation against competition coming at them from multiple sources.
"LTE is just an access technology," says Mark Windle, head of marketing at OpenCloud, a vendor of telecom software solutions. "It's not a fundamentally different experience for subscribers, apart from going faster. So what can be put on top of it? Operators must make use of IMS, which provides a core on top of LTE, helping to orchestrate many kinds of service."
Operators must ask themselves which services fit best into an LTE landscape that is still developing and shifting, while their carrier partners need to consider their own role in this challenge. Here we look at five possible areas where added-value potential might be found.
To read part II – VoLTE – click here.
