Technical Challenges and Business Opportunities in Mobile Data

Next Generation Communications Blog

Technical Challenges and Business Opportunities in Mobile Data

By Susan J. Campbell
 
Anywhere, anytime video is in high demand and that demand is not expected to wane anytime soon. The challenge for network providers in this climate is to identify opportunities and expand upon them, while also identifying inherent risks and mitigating appropriately to remain competitive.

With the growing demand in video, there is a change happening among the business, social and personal consumers - their behaviors are harder and harder to distinguish. This is a challenge for network providers who are trying to appeal to specific market sects. Lines are blurring between these different market segments, but they are not completely disappearing.

While differences still remain, it is important for network providers to understand how best to appeal to each customer. While the business customer may be using video on a Facebook application, he or she is doing it for a different reason than the consumer doing it for fun. The network provider needs to understand the motive of the business user to be able to deliver the quality content necessary to accomplish the goal.
 
One way to be able to grasp trends in the different market sectors is to partner with key technology providers, such as Alcatel-Lucent. The company not only delivers proven solutions, it has also developed an ecosystem of innovative solutions providers that can deliver value to all users beyond their own capabilities.

An additional challenge in this space has been the fragmentation of mobile devices and operating systems. While the PC multimedia environment is essentially uniform, mobile devices continue to support a wide range of operating and DRM systems and there are no signs of these device standards merging anytime soon. If a network provider can offer device abstraction to content providers, they can in turn focus on sourcing and creating top-class content.

Even more exciting in this space are the seemingly limitless opportunities that exist for the network provider who can anticipate and embrace user demands and changes. For many a network provider, video content delivery on multiple screens is becoming a core business and many are already well positioned to capture a share of this media value chain.

One key opportunity is within the Content Delivery Network (CDN) in where providers are the incumbent suppliers of digital delivery services to the media and entertainment industries. Through trusted partnerships, all players enjoy an enhanced quality of service and scale to streamline the process of offering services and charging a premium to do so.

Mobile data is presenting significant opportunities, yet these opportunities are difficult for the network provider to grasp onto alone. In partnering with proven providers within key networks and ecosystems, they are better equipped to overcome challenges and maximize opportunities.


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