In The Loop

This week Juniper Research revealed a new study showing the wireless industry lost more than $58 billion last year. Why? Inadequate billing systems that allowed fraud or simply missed usage that should have been billed.

Called a “nightmare scenario,” the report essentially attributes the revenue assurance problem to the growing number of devices in the wireless industry. Mobile phones, tablets, and connected M2M devices all riding on mobile networks are evolving faster than the billing systems can keep up.

What this means: wireless carriers that want to remain relevant, offer compelling devices and services to their customers, and grow revenue MUST have flexible billing systems in place that can adapt, bundle, and enable new product catalog offerings quickly and nimbly. In addition, having decent revenue assurance and fraud management solutions in place is critical.

It’s something to consider. The 3G buzz is over, and the 4G buzz is growing old. The excitement of LTE has just begun to roll, but if your wireless billing system loses money, your growth won’t capture all of the revenue and profit possible from new services. More…

Last month, we got some great questions from the Billing World audience in our webinar on monetizing your M2M strategy (if you missed it, don’t worry – you can view the archive version here). We’re still seeing a lot of discussion on Over-The-Top (OTT) players in the M2M market.

Although some mobile operators seem concerned about their role – we feel that mobile providers need to embrace these new customers and their ability to introduce new and innovative solutions.  U.S. communications service providers seems to have embraced the role of OTT players, via key partnerships and the introduction of innovation or collaboration centers to foster M2M solutions. On the other side of the table, many international partners continue to assess their approach towards these vendors.

In my view, the M2M marketplace is far too vast to limit your options. With these endless opportunities – why not leverage other partners, with unique expertise, to create compelling offers for your end-customer?  Just remember that you need a well thought out M2M strategy, a compelling product and a flexible billing solution to capture the revenue. More…

Machine to Machine (M2M) is one of those emerging, tough-to-pin-down, but highly significant trends that will affect everyone in the communication business. We’ve seen a lot of M2M excitement in the billing and OSS circles this year, and 2012 will only continue the trend.

As Cycle30 continues to engage the M2M community, it’s amazing to see how many people are unaware of the latest technology and access advancements that have been realized in the marketplace.  There are a number of new offerings that deliver mobile M2M solutions that are not bound by coverage or pricing limitations.

One interesting example is a global sensor that tracks luggage for domestic or world travelers – and it can be delivered at a very cost effective price to consumers. 

If a previous business case Return-on-Investment (ROI) did not pan out– I’d encourage you to definitely take another look. Common M2M solutions have a lifecycle of 5+ years – so you don’t have to get always be break-even within a 12 month period.

If you have questions on partnership opportunities, M2M solution advancements and/or are looking to build out an M2M business plan, I’d be interested in hearing your ideas. Post a comment or drop me an email. More…