You can’t beat the mobile operators (carriers)
Posted by anup on September 28, 2006
Continuing on my previous blog on this topic of Mobile value chain and role operators play…I am now ready to take a side and am in the camp of folks who believe that Mobile operators will control this value chain for some time to come. This may change in future with technology (3rd generation WiMax etc..) but don’t see anything in the near future.
Everyone from Nokia to Yahoo to Microsoft to Google have tried to bypass wireless operators and gain traction in the mobile market but have had limited success, if any. I expect all OEMS as well as Microsoft/Google/Yahoo etc. to keep trying to get around the operators’ in future. However, the only model I see working is that of partnership and it’s just a matter of time before you will see these high profile partnerships (discussed in last blog) on the mobile side.
BlackBerry maybe is the only one that succeeded with this. But the BlackBerry business model may have peaked: It’s not normal to have a monopoly on push mail, because push mail is not rocket science… in my last company, where our team built mobile instant messaging service, pushing instant messages to the handset was norm.
Mobile operators control the relationship with the customers. That is, it’s the operators that send out the bills, sell (often at subsidized prices) phones in their stores , take the calls when something goes wrong and decide for the most part what goes on a phone and what is easily accessible from the top-level menus. This operator/customer relationship and operator control over the applications and accessibility of those application on the phone is crucial to success of any data service. I don’t see anyone in the Mobile value chain coming anywhere close to having these two distinct advantages that an operator has and that in my opinion will carry the day for the operators…be is US, Europe or Asia.
So, partner up! My personal experience partnering with some of the largest operators in the world has been very positive and in my opinion, unlike most other industries where partnerships just don’t work, operators are very adept at partnering and know how to partner. Good luck!!