Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Business Area Mobility Services, TeliaSonera, has said the industry still has a long way to go to work out business models that recognise the contributions of the telcos, as well as the IP service providers.
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Speaking to Mobile Europe, Karlberg said that the debate needed to move on from discussions about who would win and lose, and into how the players involved can work together.
One area Karlberg identified was in interoperability.
“IP development and the new players are pushing us into new business models, and new ideas about the business models. We are in a world where the telcos have worked so hard for interoperability it is unthinkable that you can’t make a call from one operator to another. But if you are in the IP world it is a necessity to chat from MSN to MSN, so that’s a closed society in that sense.
“To that extent the more closed companies have to meet the open infrastructure of the telecoms world, its interconnection fees and how to handle traffic in this environment.”
Yet Karlberg agreed that the telcos too are being challenged by the introduction of new services from IP service providers.
“There’s a new business case that has to be developed and so far there have been more efforts made to protect versus new ways forward in my mind.”
“It’s a real hen and egg question. Google/ Yahoo.MSN, can they distribute their services without access? No. Can the telcos develop all these services themselves? No. So it’s obvious that these two parts have to find a business model to work together. The Yahoos need more speed in the network to distribute their services, and the telcos are dependent on more services to stay attractive. We have to leave the idea of who will win and find a way to live together.”
Karlberg also questioned whether the accepted view of convergence would really be valid.
“Customers want to get all kinds of service regardless of device. But then when you look at the businesses involved you don’t really see these layers together fixed, broadband, mobile and cable. I see an evolution where each technology broadens its scope, for example fixed line going from telephony to internet and now IPTV. But at the upper end you are seeing customers with a fragmented service.”