By Sanjay Gupta
Not too far into the past, most people in most places on Earth would crib: not enough bandwidth, not enough bandwidth, not enough bandwidth…
Those were the days when the big daddies of telecom were either laying down fibre or in the process of provisioning services for next-gen networks. But users had already begun to be impatient with bandwidth.
So, one change I have noticed in the past few months is that nobody mouths the much-reviled B-word: that bandwidth is available is a given. No wonder, then, that data is increasingly filling up the pipes and bringing in pesos for telcos.
In the US, mobile data service revenue reached $90 billion last year, accounting for over 50% of revenues for wireless companies in the OND quarter of 2013, as per a Reuters report.
Even in ‘poor’ India, the average data consumption is growing like the potatoes for McDonald’s fries. As per industry estimates, the average 3G subscriber consumed about 530MB of data during 2013, a 23% increase over 2012.
India is not going to see data revenues overtaking voice anytime soon. But given that neither the talk times nor the monetary returns from voice are growing, it is data that will drive business for telcos.
This shift in focus from voice to data requires certain key changes at the telcos too.
For one, telcos will need to ramp up their 3G networks and improve coverage (too many flip-flops between 2G, 2.5G and 3G when users move around). Unfortunately, not many are talking about 4G yet in India.
Another thing will be to revamp their IT systems (at both Operations Support System and Business Support System levels) for better overall control and agility.
Here, the role of analytics and convergent billing solutions is of prime importance. With increasingly intelligent and real-time analytics, telcos can come up with personalised solutions at ever-greater speeds. And convergent billing will allow them to reduce the hassles for those who subscribe to various plans and make life easier for them (and tougher for competitors that continue to use separate solutions for pre-paid and post-paid).
The role of IT is going to be more and more embedded into the operations of telcos if they are to successfully ride the data wave.
sanjay.g@expressindia.com
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