It’s cold out there in the OTT world

The perception in the industry is that life is good for OTT app providers. A large variety of smart connected devices are available, and OTT services can be very easily consumed (and paid for) any time. But the reality is that OTT providers face some considerable challenges of their own. First, QoS gradually becomes a serious problem for OTT providers. Having a cool app doesn’t necessarily mean that the end user always has a good user experience; as users consume more data, networks become increasingly congested. This negatively impacts the application or service user experience that can influence the customer’s perception of the OTT provider as well. For example, have you ever tried to watch an online video clip in HD quality on your mobile device during rush hour?

Further, there are millions of applications and services to choose from between the Android and iOS ecosystems, in virtually any imaginable genre. This leaves OTT providers looking for a competitive edge, a special feature/benefit that can distinguish them from many other competitors and save them from being replaced with the push of a virtual button. 

Customer service to the rescue

OTT providers are facing an urgent need to differentiate their services with a top-notch user experience so that they can differentiate in an extremely competitive environment. CSPs have substantial network assets that, if leveraged properly, can be utilized to provide tangible value to both OTT providers and the end users of OTT services and applications, resulting in an enhanced user experience. Those benefits can include:

• QoS: The CSP can provide enhanced QoS to a particular OTT provider’s data sessions, in exchange for some of the revenues. This could be bandwidth, reduced latency or priority, or any combination, which could allow the OTT provider to offer a QoS far better than that of the competition to gain more users or charge a premium.
• Subscriber base: The CSP can expose any OTT service to millions (tens or in some cases even hundreds of millions) of network subscribers via a joint offering partnership. This can translate into tremendous opportunities for the OTT provider via resale opportunities.
• Payment pipeline: CSPs already have highly robust charging and billing capabilities that could be exposed to OTT providers, third parties and developers in order to provide for “plug and play” charging capabilities for OTT applications and services. Charging and billing through the CSP’s payment pipeline represents an easy, secure, and intuitive payment channel for the service user that also frees the OTT provider from having to deal with elaborate payment and collection setups.

It’s time to collaborate

Generally, CSPs and OTT providers still view each other as competitors. But the reality is that working together can allow both to succeed. Partnering with OTT providers can allow CSPs to battle data commoditization by introducing value into their data plans. This is done by offering end users a premium customer experience that is designed around what they do with their mobile devices, not only around how their devices are connected. Take for example; no longer selling Megabytes and Gigabytes but, instead, marketing databased music and content.   Partnering with CSPs can also be of interest to OTT providers, as it can allow them to compete more effectively by differentiating their user experience with better QoS and accessibility.

How it works

Collaboration requires a change in the traditional perception of how CSPs and OTT providers should interact. It means breaking down the service silos that exist today in which both CSPs and OTT providers each service their respective subscribers in a completely independent manner. There is a common denominator between these subscriber bases (e.g. a large percentage of smartphone owners are also WhatsApp, Facebook and Youtube app users). Unfortunately, distrust and competition inhibit a better user experience that is made possible through cooperation.

User-focused service synergies

Consider the various methods in which CSPs and OTT providers can engage to provide services when the shared subscriber base and user experience are considered as well as the many ways in which CSPs and OTT providers can cooperate to expose their services to wider audiences.