The mobile operators are getting progressively involved regarding the recognition of over the top OTT services increasingly sharing their expected potential clients to legitimise the traffic because the variety of smartphones and the data packages are growing fast.
The initial over the top communication was a significant factor regarding the decline of the worldwide postal letter sets. Recently, the VoIP apps such as Skype have eaten a big share of the telecommunications market, and currently, the revenues of the mobile operators are firmly within the spotlight.
The mobile operators started to prepare defence strategies against the over the top threat, with different success degrees. The current mobile operators in some countries in the world have secured themselves from the impact of over the top services throughout the country’s regulations. Whereas these rarely lists as the full ban, and regulations in some markets have become less and less over time, providing the mobile operators in such markets a temporary rest.
In other places, some of the mobile operators chose the option of enforcing their over the top apps block on their networks; also, tries have been created in order for disabling the handsets from supporting them. Such steps, however, may give a rebound to the client’s disapproval as well as the possible regulatory interventions. New pricing methods have risen where the mobile operators have no alternative options except supporting 3rd-party over the top apps.
Many mobile operators have built propositions for offering very larger minutes and messaging texts bundles instead of competing head-to-head with the over the top new entrants in the pricing war – efficiently at the peripheral price of 0 without getting any bigger value destruction. This step can offer partial solutions in case if it’s merged with the usage-based data pricing. Some price variations will carry on, though – especially for roaming, where the use of over the top is particularly widespread.
Plus these defensive responses, many mobile operators have launched their own OTT services or through partnering with any existing players. The process of developing over the top offerings can give the mobile operators an opportunity for enriching the core communications services for the existing subscribers, leveraging the wider capabilities of smartphones, as well as enabling the off-net users to get addressed. Other derivative benefits may include the acquisition of a deeper insight into over the top usage as well as contributing to the wider fragmentation of the over the top community.
The marketplace for over the top apps is very crowded, never the less big percentage of mobile operators claim that they are able to develop a better over the top app than an independent over the top player could. The mobile operators bring the variety of key assets that many independent OTT players cannot offer such as:
- Existing billing relationship.
- In-depth customer insight.
- Trusted brand.
Substantial subscribers base in order for marketing to.
Also, mobile operators are in better positioning comparing to the pure over the top players in order for forming partnerships with other mobile operators while developing over the top apps. However, success can’t just be measured by the number of subscribers as the carefully positioned over the top play will reflect in:
- Deepening the connection between clients and the brand of the mobile operator.
- Reducing the churn.
- Raising the loyalty.
- Creating a catchy point of differentiation for new clients.
Over the top (OTT) may also be used to target a niche segment, for example, over mobile operators seeking to serve ex-pat communities overseas may the top entry over the Mobile Virtual Network Operator. As an alternative way, OTT can be used in conjunction with the MVNO in order for reducing the airtime costs.
To be effectively functional, the mobile operator over the top strategy may need to create perceptible benefits to the balance sheet of the mobile operator throughout lowering the costs, tapping new revenue streams, growing the market share, improving the loyalty, and decreasing the churn. The mobile operators which have launched over the top apps already have typically decided to first launch and then monetize.
The mobile operators have 3 options in order for assessing when evaluating an “own over the top app” strategy. Ultimately, the decision will come down to unique needs and the position of a given mobile operator because each of these options will bring its own benefits as well as risks. These3 options are:
- Building a bespoke over the top app in-house.
- Buying a ready-developed over the top system.
Partnering with an established over the top player either by having“white-label” solution or on “joint-branding” basis.