The gamer’s guide

To remain relevant, CSPs must recast themselves as digital-lifestyle enablers. Steadily increasing mobile broadband speeds, next-gen policy management, improved device capability, advances in real-time billing, and fine-tuned data analytics have created tremendous opportunities in the mobile gaming sector and are fueling new ways for operators to tap into this multibillion-dollar market.

Premium service packages: There are at least two ways CSPs can differentiate themselves using premium service packages. First, gamers are willing to spend money on improved QoS, particularly if they play MMOs like World of Warcraft, presenting one attractive monetization strategy for mobile operators. These games, not to mention the virtual lives they promise, are lost when service lags affect users during gameplay; the desire to eliminate latency and improve the game experience is a compelling reason for a user to opt for a higher level of service and speed from his or her wireless carrier. Policy can also be effectively exerted to create numerous personalized, premium packages that deliver a consistently top-tier gaming experience when it matters most to a user.

Second, all-access passes to game libraries present an attractive value-added service (VAS) for gamers; Deutsche Telekom, Verizon and SK Telecom offer premium subscription-based packages (versus a one-time payment) that grant users access to a large collection of premium games. Heikki Makijarvi, senior VP of group business development and venturing at Deutsche Telekom, recently commented on the merits of Exent’s GameTanium mobile service on the eve of its launch in Poland via the German-based CSP: “Subscription is the preferred consumption model for entertainment services, and we are working diligently to partner with leading players to bring the best of these types of offerings to our customers.”

Single-use performance boost: Capitalizing on microtransactions is a cornerstone of the mobile gaming opportunity, and offering customers the ability to boost their performance on a per-use basis with real-time billing is a winning strategy. Furthermore, a single-use upsell can be triggered by real-time data usage; in other words, if a gamer is nearing the bottom of his or her data bucket, he/she can be prompted to top up, purchase a day pass or choose any number of other options. Billing systems such as Amdocs’s CES 9 suite can unlock such capabilities for mobile operators.

In-game communication: CSP-delivered in-game communication has the potential to revolutionize mobile gaming because it can tap into presence, location and additional network resources. Ericsson in particular has been actively facilitating new developments.

“Today you can only talk to friends you are connected to through your third-party in-game communications provider,” said Mathias Linder, the company’s head of global sales and marketing for in-game communication, in early 2012. “Our solution includes proximity voice that allows you to talk to the strangers you meet within the game. Additionally, you will be able to create hierarchies in your team chat so you can decide who can talk to whom within the team. The lecture function in our solution will also allow users to become teachers inside the game, which, for example, will allow game developers to provide in-game personal tutorials. These functions will allow for a completely new gaming experience.”