Differentiation will be a priority as operators try to distinguish their different M2M strategies, according to a report from Current Analysis.
Operators will also need to pump up the services side of the business looking for opportunities to offer if not literally an end-to-end product, at least a set of value-added managed and professional services that provide customer loyalty, differentiation and incremental revenues.
But listing application partners will become less important as different carriers are using the same partners.
Operators need to continue to show evidence of traction with case studies as well as quantitative indications such as the number of sims in service. However, the report says the sim numbers should be segmented at least to separate out consumer electronics devices versus industrial M2M connections. Without that kind of segmentation, they can easily be skewed by including, for example, tablet and e-reader connections.
And the report believes that US operators should learn lessons from their counterparts in Europe when it comes to value added services for M2M, quoting as an example Orange’s M2O City joint venture with Veolia Water on smart metering.
In a separate report, Current Analysis reported that Verizon was investing in LTE innovation centres to drive service development efforts for both M2M and smartphone and mobile broadband usage.
And in a report on Telefonica, it said that if the company was to succeed in its managed mobility services strategy it should concentrate on its strengths in emerging markets, in particular in Latin America and China.
“We are taking a positive stance on Telefonica’s announcement, because the company articulates its set of offerings for managed mobility, offering a comprehensive solution set that is available throughout its footprint and essentially worldwide,” says the report.
