By: Jesse Cryderman
Over the past eight years, Pipeline has published an annual issue exploring the competitive landscape. In the beginning, this focus was centered squarely on Cable vs. Telco, and for good
reason. With the introduction of cable broadband and Voice-over-IP (VoIP), cable companies (MSOs) began to leech customers from wireline providers at a remarkable rate. In a 2008
story, Editor-in-Chief, Tim Young reported on data from Insight Research that estimated telcos would lose more than 17 million residential phone lines to cable competitors…
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By: Scott St. John - Pipeline
There's a seismic shift taking place in the way communications service providers (CSPs) view the world. For many CSPs, their focus is changing from a network-centric view to a more
customer-centric one. As a result, they are starting to see products and services as the heart of their customers' experience. This shift is not only having a direct impact on customers, but
it's having a significant impact on the way CSPs are looking at communications technology products as well. When asked about this emerging trend, Ernest Margitta of Tribold commented: "We're
definitely seeing our customers looking for real solutions that will have a tangible impact on the customer experience…
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By: Becky Bracken
The business model for data is broken. Communications service providers (CSPs) are investing more and more into connectivity and ARPUs continue to sink. Operational and business support
systems (OSS/BSS) solutions are already regarded for their efficiency and ability to reduce operational and capital expenditures (OPEX and CAPEX). Nevertheless, these tools are also
opening up a whole new world of service differentiation and revenue. Here are five easy ways CSPs can engage with OSS/BSS solutions to drive down costs and generate new revenue that could easily
add millions to the bottom line this year…
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By: Scott St. John - Pipeline
Think back to 2009. The U.S. was in the throes of The Great Recession and the first signs of hope had just begun to appear. In February of 2009, Congress passed the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act. Four days later, the president signed it into law making $787 billion (later increased to $840 billion) available to spur economic recovery, including $26.5 billion for broadband
and other infrastructure projects. In June of 2009, Pew Research published the Home Broadband Adoption Report which indicated a nearly 10 percent rise in home broadband adoption from the previous
year across most socioeconomic classes…
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By: Jesse Cryderman
One of the most annoying factors with TV services is the set-top box (STB). This big, clunky extra piece of equipment that subscribers need to find space for and pay to rent--all so the
service provider can deliver and charge for their services. To make matters worse, each time a customer moves or upgrades services, they require a new STB and must return, deliver, and arrange to
receive a new one. Even though some cable operators such as Comcast have come a long way with their "take it with you" program, it still begs the question: does anyone really need a STB
anymore?While I doubt that anyone loves their set-top box, they do perform valuable services and they are an integral part of the modern TV-video experience…
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By: Becky Bracken
Nothing annoys a customer more than having to sit and wait for hours for a technician to arrive for a service call. The four-hour time windows, missed work, cancelled appointments and no-shows
are enough to drive a subscriber right into the arms of your competition. Today's mobile workforce management solutions can fix the age-old problem of customers feeling like they're being held
hostage by a technician's schedule. Far from the days of a dispatcher sitting in front of a push-pin-dotted map, today's slick mobile workforce management solutions can make even the most complex
service organization hum with efficiency, keep customers happier, and leverage improved customer service as a competitive differentiator…
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By: Tim Young
Competition: It’s something that many CSPs didn’t have to worry much about at one point, but we all know those days are long gone. Telcos have video plays. Cablecos have VoIP
plays. Over-the-top (OTT) providers offer versions of pretty much everything that they can, threatening ARPU in certain segments. Most matters of competition are qualitative in
nature: Which provider delivers quality of service levels that keep you happy? Is the price right? How many channels come with the basic package? Is caller ID
included? However, the mobile question is essentially dichotomous…
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By: Monica Ricci
The telco's future success depends on their ability to evolve from service provider to service enabler, and to do this CSPs must exploit the vital advantages they offer to both the creators and
the consumers of content. Cast your mind back a decade or so, to a time when telcos were preoccupied with identifying and profiting from the next "killer app." In retrospect, a telco
“killer app” never emerged, and now that traditional revenue streams are eroding, you could make the case that voice and messaging were the “killer app” of the last decade…
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By: Becky Bracken
The moment has come when technology and mobility have caught up with the anywhere/everywhere consumer demand for video content. For communications service providers (CSPs),
movies, videos, games and television are some of the most important differentiating services around. Let's face it: consumers are fanatical about content. It doesn't matter how slick your customer
portal is, if your potential customers know they can get their favorite TV show or video game on their phone or tablet from you--and only you--you'll not only capture that customer those
customers, but hold on to them…
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By: Carl Moberg
No Longer Set and Forget The requirements for service fulfillment have changed dramatically in the last few years, owing to applications driving the need for more flexible network architectures
and dynamically changing overlay networks. Network devices are no longer configured for static applications, and only occasionally upgraded. New architectures require management systems that
support high frequency; fine-grained configuration changes in real-time and in a fail-safe manner. Modern communication applications and services require frequent configuration changes…
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By: Jesse Cryderman
LTE: What's the Buzz? The fourth generation of wireless technology has been a deployed reality for several years, but now global deployments are really picking up steam, thanks to LTE. This
month, Movicel (with help from ZTE and Huawei) deployed the first LTE network in Africa, 45 days ahead of schedule. Croatia, dubbed "little France" for its stunning cuisine and wine culture,
also moved into the LTE fast lane thanks to Hrvatski Telekom and Nokia Siemens Networks. Moving East, research from ABI indicates Asia-Pac operators are betting heavily on LTE, and moving to the
forefront in the race to advanced radio access technology…
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By: Tim Young
“While the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department.” I believe this quote
begins with "And while".... Please follow up accordingly. –Andrew Carnegie, “The Gospel of Wealth” (1889) Perhaps that was a slightly easier statement for Carnegie to make than it might
be for most. After all, he was decidedly on the winning end of competition. What’s more, Carnegie amassed his grand fortune on steel, which is a competitive industry, no doubt, but for
which competition is arguably predictable…
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