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SIMalliance launches Open Mobile API for secure apps

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The SIMalliance has announced the availability of its Open Mobile API. The organisation says that the API, which allows application providers to access the Secure Element within a mobile device, is designed to combat  a “growing number of malicious attacks on smartphone applications and operating systems”.

The API provides a means to use two-factor authentication to aid the secure delivery of NFC, payment and identity services. The SIMalliance said that single factor authentication – where users log in to a mobile application or service using a password – has been shown to be inadequate as attacks on smartphone and tablet applications “increase in number and sophistication”.

By connecting the application to the Secure Element via the Open Mobile API, many of the security breaches we see today will become preventable, the SIMalliance hopes.

Created by the SIMalliance Open Mobile API workgroup, release v.1.01 of the Open Mobile API delivers the transport layer between the smartphone application and the Secure Element.

“The development of a standardised API is a very significant step towards reducing the threat of identity theft and fraud on today’s generation of smartphones and tablets,” says Frédéric Vasnier, Chairman of the Board, SIMalliance.

“Knowing their data is safe will increase consumer confidence and stimulate growing demand for new services – and that is good news for the user, the mobile operator and the hundreds of brands that now recognise the opportunities of engaging with their consumers on the mobile.”

You can read a position paper from SIMalliance here. The paper highlights the need for a change in how security is approached on the connected mobile device. It focuses on the need to create security (and security policy) at the development stage, and highlights the telecoms industry’s unique position of already having a solution to the problem.

Sandvine brings policy to 20 Telefonica territories

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Sandvine has announced that it is now providing its policy control product to Telefonica in over 20 countries, providing traffic control and management for the mobile operator.

Telefonica is using Sandvine’s Policy Traffic Switch to collect network data and present that to executive management functions to help them to make business decisions and to enforce new policies in the network.

“As a global company, Telefónica’s network insight and business intelligence is key to understanding how we can better serve our vast subscriber base worldwide,” said Vicente San Miguel, CTO, Telefónica Corporate. “Working with Sandvine since 2008 has brought us closer to understanding and acting on the needs of our customers, while improving revenue opportunities and the cost-effectiveness of our network.” 

In one use-case, Telefónica’s UK subsidiary, O2, is helping reduce consumer bill shock, in compliance with the new European Union Data Roaming regulation, using Sandvine’s Quota Management solution. Sandvine’s solution monitors subscriber roaming usage in real-time and proactively keeps subscribers informed of their usage through automated messaging that notifies subscribers when they are nearing and surpassing their quota.

At another subsidiary, Telefónica recently introduced a menu of tiered pricing plans that accommodate subscribers’ personalized network usage patterns and budgets. These plans were designed with the help of Sandvine’s Business Intelligence solutions and are enforced in the network by Sandvine’s Usage Management product.  Under this model, subscribers can choose from plans that range from a basic email or social networking plan, to more comprehensive plans that also cover real-time entertainment usage. 

Telefónica is also helping to protect their global consumers, through the implementation and adoption of measures to combat child pornography through Sandvine’s URL Access Control product.  Many governments, regulators, and public advocacy groups are increasingly looking to ISPs to prevent users from inadvertently, or deliberately, accessing questionable Internet sites.  In this use-case, Sandvine’s URL Access Control leverages the PTS traffic identification capabilities to restrict access to specific websites with minimum impact on both the subscriber and the service provider.

eircom and O2 bring network sharing to Ireland

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Telefonica O2 Ireland and eircom Group have said they want to provide the “best mobile network infrastructure” in Ireland, as a result of an agreement to share elements of their mobile networks.

The two operators have said they will co-operate in areas including site equipment, power supply, technology and transmission sharing. That means that wherever possible, the existing sites of both operators will be consolidated. Where new sites are to be built, they will be built jointly and staff from the networks teams of both operators will work together in a single team to manage the day-to-day build and operation of the distinct networks.

eircom Group, CEO Paul Donovan said, “The current economic realities require all operators to think creatively on how to operate more efficiently. This new collaboration between two of the largest operators in the Irish market demonstrates how working together we can deliver tangible benefits for customers. ”

Stephen Shurrock, CEO of Telefonica O2 Ireland, said, “Today’s announcement will enable us to not only deliver new and enhanced services, including faster broadband speeds, but also to do it in a much more efficient way, providing the best mobile infrastructure for the customer and the economy alike. There is a strong strategic requirement for greater collaboration and focus in the area of investment in helping to accelerate the introduction of new technologies and O2 is delighted to be at the forefront of this development”.

ZTE – growth in managed services surpasses 300% in Europe

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ZTE, a global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, has announced that the company has surpassed 60 percent growth for its managed services in terms of contract value worldwide. Managed services are said to have become one of the company’s new growth areas – especially in Europe where ZTE says it has seen growth of over 300 percent.

ZTE has made a number of breakthroughs in the European and American markets to lay a solid foundation for the future development of telecom services. For example, ZTE won a six year managed contract with H3G Austria in 2010 to provide a full portfolio of network operations and maintenance (O&M) services to more than 4,000 H3G sites including the O&M of third party equipment. In Poland, ZTE will provide CDMA2000 1x/EV-DO network construction and managed services to the largest Polish operator Polkometel’s entire network, as well as to its GoTa dedicated trunking Push-to-Talk (PTT) service.

Mr. Yang Jiaxiao, general manager of ZTE’s service product line, said, “In 2010, ZTE’s managed services portfolio grew rapidly, and we have signed managed services contracts with a number of operators in Europe and North America. ZTE will help network operators achieve efficient operations with comprehensive and high-quality services.”

ZTE’s managed services are used in almost 70,000 sites and by 30 million users of 45 operators in more than 100 countries globally, and with more than 20,000 kilometers of OFC (Optical Fiber Cable) O&M in use.

Since 2006, ZTE’s strategy has focused on its transformation from an equipment vender to a leading software and services provider. In order to provide increasingly customised service solutions to global operators, ZTE says it will focus on developing managed services, cloud computing and integrated circuit in terms.

Mobile entertainment market to grow by 15% in 2011 despite global economic uncertainty, says new report

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A new report from Juniper Research has found that revenues from mobile entertainment content and services are expected to increase by more than 15% this year from $33.2 billion to nearly $38.4 billion.

This continuing growth comes despite the backdrop of an uncertain economic climate, demonstrating both the relative robustness of the mobile content industry as a whole, and the opportunities in comparatively untapped segments such as mobile gambling.

The report found that the transition to a predominantly app store-led content delivery model had greatly benefitted smaller content developers, which have had their opportunity for end-user visibility dramatically increased. For example, in the mobile games segment, developers such as Rovio (with Angry Birds) and Lima Sky (Doodle Jump) have each achieved more than 10 million paid downloads.

In addition, a variety of larger digital content publishers and service providers have also profited from the greater levels of consumer awareness and usage of mobile content and applications:

·         In the fast-growing mobile gambling segment, there has been a surge of activity on both browser-based applications and native smartphone apps.

·         Mobile gambling has been given an additional fillip by deregulation of the European remote gambling  laws.

·         A number of US state lottery providers are considering the deployment of mobile lottery services in the medium term.  

According to report author Dr Windsor Holden, “While revenues from traditional staples of the mobile entertainment sector – such as ringtones and logos – have gone into steep decline over the past couple of years, the tremendous scaling up of activity in games, streamed music and social media has driven strong overall growth. Furthermore, as major retailers, brands and media organisations  increasingly utilise mobile content to drive awareness of and engagement with their products, this growth will continue.”

Metaswitch acquires Colibria

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Metaswitch Networks, a supplier of next generation infrastructure and applications to network operators, today announced the acquisition of Colibria, an independent provider of enhanced instant messaging, presence and network address book solutions. Colibria’s all-IP, standards-based portfolio is being deployed by operators worldwide to deliver messaging and content sharing capabilities. 
 

“Operators around the world have quickly come to realize that it is time to turn up the heat on their over-the-top competitors,” said Kevin DeNuccio, CEO at Metaswitch Networks. “The way people communicate is quickly evolving from just voice and text to a new, richer set of social interaction and contextual calling services. Metaswitch is in the middle of this transformation, helping service providers address these demands and putting their brand front and center in the new communications experience. Colibria technology will play a key role in making this happen.”

The Colibria acquisition is said to further complement Metaswitch’s recently launched Thrutu service, an in-call content sharing experience that enables mobile users to impulsively exchange information during a call. Available as a branded platform for global operators, Thrutu allows operators to introduce these new services today. The addition of Colibria’s IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) and Rich Communication Suite (RCS and RCS-e) compliant portfolio further broadens the range of options that Metaswitch can now present to operators looking for short, mid and long-term answers to the dual challenges of countering competitive threats and keeping the voice call relevant.

“We see RCS as a strategic move by service providers that resonates well with customers. A move that could attract nearly 44 million subscribers by 2015,” said Diane Myers, directing analyst, VoIP & IMS for Infonetics Research. “We’ve tracked both Metaswitch and Colibria for a while and see the combination as a potent force in SIP-oriented converged applications for wireline and wireless operators.”

“We are thrilled that Colibria has been acquired by Metaswitch,” said Lars Myhrum, Colibria CEO. “The companies share a common culture of engineering excellence and customer-first thinking. Colibria has been in the forefront of messaging and rich communication services, exemplifying Norwegian companies’ ability to innovate and succeed alongside major international companies. Metaswitch will now allow us to write the next chapter in that story.”

Metaswitch says it will continue to invest in and support Colibria’s brand, products and strategic industry partnerships. Myhrum will assume the General Manager role for Metaswitch’s presence in Norway, with responsibility for the ongoing development and evolution of the Colibria product line.

Mallinson out, Brown in as CEO at ip.access

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Femtocell vendor ip.access has a new CEO, following the departure of Stephen Mallinson after 11 years spent at the helm.

The new CEO is Simon Brown, known to Mobile Europe readers from past stints as CEO of SMS router vendor Telsis, and COO at messaging software company Followap before it was sold to NeuStar. Following that sale, Brown then headed NeuStar’s Next Generation Messaging division (as it was then known) for a short period before moving to Telsis. He is also chairman of Movirtu.

Andy Tiller, ip.access’ SVP Product Management & Marketing,  said that the “transition” period had taken place over the past three months, and had been amicable and orderly. All major customers have also been informed, he added.

Brown has a good grasp of the mobile infrastructure industry, he said, through his involvement with Telsis and Followap, and before that with Nokia Networks.

The change in CEO doesn’t signal a change in direction, or strategy, Tiller added. Instead, it “signals a continued belief in the industry and the potential for ip.access to maintain its growth.”

ip.access’  investors include Amadeus Capital and Scottish Equity Partners. It has also attracted industry investment from Cisco, Motorola, ADC, Qualcomm, and Intel Capital.

Manx Telecom deploys Alcatel-Lucent’s IMS solution

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Alcatel-Lucent today announced that Manx Telecom, the largest telecommunications and Internet provider on the Isle of Man in the British Isles, is deploying its End-to-End IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) to address demand for seamless access to voice, data and multimedia services. The solution will create one unified network by which Manx Telecom can deliver broadband services to consumers and enterprises anywhere, anytime and over any device.

Alcatel-Lucent’s IMS solution allows Manx Telecom to modernize its existing fixed network with an IP-based architecture to provide subscribers with VoIP over narrow or broadband access, while also simplifying operations and lowering costs.  By overlaying broadband, Manx can deliver enhanced voice services to subscribers across devices and networks and give consumers and business users the ability to personalize services.

“With Alcatel-Lucent’s IMS solution, we now have a single, scalable platform that can offer multiple customer services with integrated management to deliver the enhanced services being demanded today and prepare for the services that people will seek tomorrow,” said Mike Loundes, CTO of Manx Telecom.  “This is a key milestone in the deployment of our network which is one of the biggest technology investments the Isle of Man has ever seen, and enables us to fully optimize our network assets to differentiate Manx Telecom in the marketplace.”

Alcatel-Lucent’s IMS solution also supports the Global System Mobile Association’s (GSMA’s) Rich Communication Suite enabling Manx Telecom to unify messaging across mobile handsets and the web to improve communication and collaboration.  These capabilities include: unified network address book; presence; multimedia instant messaging (including SMS, text and video); and image share to extend service offerings into the Internet domain. 

“Manx Telecom’s deployment of our IMS solution enables the rapid and economical addition of new subscriber services that can be easily scaled to the meet customer demand,” said Adolfo Hernandez, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s activities for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.  “It ensures an optimal and seamless experience will be had by subscribers, while also generating new sources of service revenue for Manx Telecom and substantially lowering its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).”

Customer experience – the impossible journey?

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There’s an old Irish joke that has someone asking our traditional Hibernian archetype for directions to a nearby town. “Ah now, I wouldn’t start from here,” comes the answer.

Following a Twitter chat I took part in (and you can file that phrase under Words I never thought I’d write) yesterday, I feel a bit like that about mobile operators and customer experience management.

The Twitter chat, organised in a joint effort between analyst house Telesperience, Nokia Siemens Networks and Cerillion, and using the hashtag CSPCX, broadly outlned what the business benefits of customer experience management are, and asked how to achieve them in the communication service provider environment.

For me, the replies showed that the principle barrier to joined-up customer experience management has been cultural. The conversation quickly got into discussions of how to value customers, which customers to value, who to interact with. In short, it got complicated – and I think that mirrors where operators themselves are on this. Yes, there are technical issues, but they are a result of the way operators have developed over the years.

Operators do indeed know that the game is about reducing the cost of customer retention, and reducing the requirement for incessant customer acquisition. To do that they have to think of their customers in different ways. Operators are told they need to develop much deeper understanding of their customers, on a micro segmented level. They must be able not only to pick up on customer issues historically, but predict when a user might be about to encounter a problem and take action. Yet although operators may talk the language of customer experience management, they find it very difficult to act in a customer-centric way.  Here’s why I think that could be.

Operators were designed as one to many delivery networks. The model was one of high growth (a landgrab, as it was described to me) and of scaling rapidly. The customer service model wasn’t exactly take it or leave it. It was more take it or leave for one of our competitors, who are all probably much of a muchness in any case. And if you do leave, we’ll find a new customer to replace you, as this mobile thing is going crazy.

Then the business model had to change, as the supply of new customers ran out, and operators in mature markets realised that stealing each other’s customers with cheaper and cheaper deals was no good for anyone. There was also an explosion of what you might call user touchpoints – many more services available, smarter devices, different channels to the user (call centre, text, email, online and paper) and a lot more that could go wrong, or right. Allied to this, customers got a bit more powerful, or at least visibly more powerful.

So the focus shifted to trying to act a bit smarter. What was needed was the ability to display an understanding of what customers required, in service quality and in interactions with the operator, so that customers themselves became advocates for the business. That way, you would spend less on customer acquisition (free handsets, cheap deals), less on customer rentention (more free handsets, more cheap deals) as your customers became, in general, more loyal.

The problem is that operators were told, “To do this you need real time data discovery and analysis on a per-customer basis, not on a per-service level. You need to then turn that data into actionable business intelligence by teams that have the facts at their finger tips, the phone manners of an angel and the business savvy of a Harvard MBA.” (well, perhaps not a Harvard MBA, but you get the point)

Ah. We can’t possibly do all that for all our customers, operators say. It will cost a fortune. Can we perhaps just do it for a few, high value, customers? Sure, came back the experts. But who are your high value customers? Are they the highest revenue generators, the highest margin customers, or the biggest influencers – the mouthy social network types who can amplify perception of your brand for better or worse? We need to deep dive into customer metrics, associate that with social network analysis, provide highly segmented customer profiles for you, so you can respond accordingly with offers and services and perhaps even prioritised service levels. You need to understand micro-segmentation, personalisation, customer self-service and advocacy.

Jeepers, says the operator. This is harder than I thought.

It is hard, isn’t it. Poor you. But there’s more. You need to create, appoint or invent a CEM champion to work horizontally across your business, to turn all of your employees into CEM champions. You need to work holistically, organically, proactively, vertically and horizontally, change your entire working culture. Then you stand a chance.

OK, said the operator. Let me come back to you on that one.

So what’s to be done? Well, gradually, the technical issues can be resolved. The technical issues, where too much data swills around and the data you do want is hard to identify and share, were born as a result of the cultural mindset of the operator. Once the culture changes, then the technology will change too. It’s not easy, it requires a gradual and long term transformation of the OSS and BSS functions, but it can be done. Information can flow more easily around the organisation, and it can be presented in a more meaningful manner to customer service, product management and marketing teams. We can even listen to the customer. We can invest in customer support, and use new (two-way) channels to communicate with the customer.

This can all be done. It’s just that, although operators know where they want to get to, truly they wouldn’t start from here.

Keith Dyer
Editor
Mobile Europe

 

LINKS:

http://mobileeurope.co.uk/news/blog/8697-four-reasons-why-operators-should-focus-on-innovation-instead-of-blocking-ip-services

http://mobileeurope.co.uk/news/news-anaylsis/8686-mobile-money-network-looks-to-operators-to-scale-mobile-retail-service

http://mobileeurope.co.uk/news/news-anaylsis/8682-newbay-puts-operators-on-notice-over-notifications

http://mobileeurope.co.uk/news/press-wire/8691-operators-in-western-europe-emerge-from-recession-but-those-in-eastern-europe-continue-to-struggle-says-report

http://mobileeurope.co.uk/news/press-wire/8681-telefonica-and-microsoft-bring-bluevia-to-net-framework-

Four Reasons Why Operators Should Focus On Innovation Instead of Blocking IP-Services

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Embrace, collaborate and listen…

Regular readers will know that I often use this spot to allow those in the industry the chance to make a point, or raise an issue they think is important. Today’s article comes from Andreas Bernström, CEO at Rebtel, who argues that operators need to take a more open approach to those who they see as disruptive and threatening. Without second guessing Mr Bernström, I think there are operators with a more enlightened approach than he describes out there, but his views are definitely worth a read and should give pause for thought.

Andreas Bernström writes:
One of the fundamental governing principles of the Internet that ensures our freedom on the web is network neutrality.

The discussion about network neutrality and how it pertains to Wireless Networks has had a new lease of life recently due to the plethora of disruptive third-party VoIP services that are threatening operator’s revenue streams.

In Sweden, the debate has been particularly fierce with Telenor, the world’s sixth largest mobile phone operator with more than 203 million subscribers. Telenor has already given notice to Swedish consumers of its (self-proclaimed) right to cut off access to innovative calling apps such as Viber, Skype and Rebtel.

In Italy, matters have already taken a turn for the worst. Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world’s second largest by subscribers, is already starting to enforce such restrictions to its network. Chances are the same treatment will be carried out across Vodafone’s remaining European markets.

Operators appear to be panicking.

Instead of embracing the technology and collaborating with innovative companies to overcome this market challenge they are blocking services and stifling consumer choice. This strategy is destined to fail and here are four reasons why:

Legislation
In China, the land of the great firewall, Skype is illegal. Government authorities in many European countries look, for all intents and purposes, to be reluctant to take a stand in the matter of network neutrality and seem to be convinced their respective markets will govern themselves without their intervention.

Is the type of development we have seen in Italy the kind of “self-governing” measure that authorities really want to see?

Some foresighted countries have taken action to legislate network neutrality rules, but the majority are yet to follow. The “traffic shaping” measures resorted to by Vodafone are just a glimpse of what’s to come with operators blocking services, then charging consumers premium for using them and rationalising the actions by claiming it’s in accordance with “Fair Use Policies”. Data is data. Bottom line. If you’ve paid for it, you should be at liberty to use it for whatever you want.

It’s time for government authorities in the respective European countries to work with the mobile industry to prevent operators, and the like, standing in the way of innovation. If authorities and industry don’t collaborate to address this issue, the EU is likely to step-in and legislate.

Lack of Substitute Services
Why is it that operators fail to commit to developing novel services that bring value to their subscribers, and instead focus on blocking third-party services that do? To prohibit something without offering an adequate alternative service reeks of desperation and is testament that the business model of operators is failing.

A relevant historical analogy is file sharing. In the absence of adequate substitute services, consumers were forced to look elsewhere. The computing capabilities Smartphones possess in this day and age are nothing short of amazing. They are competent enough to play host to an array of amazing services that create true value and open the door for incumbents to sell more data packages than ever before. Operators, seize this opportunity to help your customers discover the power of Smartphone technology and the utility it brings.

Consumer Hostility
To claim that VoIP services are a breach against the operator’s “Fair Use” policies of data services is solely a question of them not being unable to make as much money on data packages as they can of off their margins on voice. To even attempt making a case for calls over 3G putting more strain on an operator’s network is incomprehensible.

What’s next?
Blocking and charging users more for wanting to see what their friends are up to on Facebook or because they want to watch a clip on YouTube instead of on the operator’s video service? It’s almost humorous to hear operators systematically refer to the term “Fair Use” in their defence, while they charge their own users almost $20 per MB in data charges when travelling abroad.

Competing Forces
When it all comes down to it, what this “trend” amongst operators does more than anything is propel companies such as Rebtel, Skype and Viber to fight even harder for consumers’ rights worldwide. We’re committed to continuing pushing the envelope and develop new innovative services with the best technologies available that benefit consumers.

Incumbents are likely to keep clinging to diminishing margins, lock-in contracts, hidden fees, lavish offices, expensive TV commercials and obsolete technologies. Either way, they cannot stand in the way of what the future holds in store.

There’s an old proverb that reads, “If you can’t beat them, join them”, something that operators should take to heart and consider by embracing new services for increased data revenues. Ultimately, when the Internet converges with telecom, operators are forced to adapt or face a slow demise. The Internet stands for transparency, consumer value, openness and change, all values that clash with that of today’s operator’s.

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