Next Generation Communications Blog

Mobile advertising

Sponsored Data Plans Can Help Keep Mobile Subscribers Connected

By: Paula Bernier, TMC Executive Editor 

It’s no secret that many of us these days are very attached to our smartphones and tablets. Yet for all the entertainment and value these devices – and the applications, information, and people they can access – provide, nobody likes getting bills from their wireless carriers. That’s especially true when the dollar figure at the bottom of those bills increase.

But there are some options mobile carriers might want to consider to help keep their subscribers’ data plan bills more manageable, and keep their customers happier. One way to allow for that is by introducing sponsored data charging programs.

Sponsored data charging programs are an effective way mobile carriers can help their subscribers justify the cost of connectivity, while growing their own user bases and expanding their ecosystems to include more application providers and marketers. That’s the word from Barbara Sampson, senior marketing manager for policy and charging PLM marketing, and Thomas King, manager of the policy and charging portfolio, at Alcatel-Lucent. The two wrote a recent TechZine posting, Operators benefit from sponsored data charging, that details how mobile operators can prosper with these types of programs.

Small Cells Fill the Gap in Mobile Network Infrastructure

By: Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor

There will be 70 billion connected devices globally by 2020, according to a recent Alcatel-Lucent posting. That’s a lot of demand on operator networks.

“We know that there’s a new market and new problem here to solve,” said Mike Schabel, senior vice-president of small cells for the wireless division at Alcatel-Lucent. “To handle the expected volume, we would need to significantly increase the number of cell towers used in the network. So we made [base stations] smaller.”

Small cells represent the future of the network for operators. They are cheap, easy to deploy, and can be adapted to deliver the right amount of coverage for an area of heavy use.

Sponsored Data Charging - Disrupting the Mobile Industry

By: Barbara Sampson, Senior Marketing Manager, Alcatel-Lucent

New Service Provider Revenue Monetization Model

Just as LTE has evolved to be the predominant technology for mobile broadband providers -- generating an average data volume per user of 168% higher than 3G data – so must the traditional charging model change. One charging model growing in popularity is Sponsored Data Charging. 

Sponsored Data Charging enables mobile subscribers to view, stream, and benefit from sponsored content and use applications over the mobile service provider’s network without that data usage coming out of their monthly plan. The data charges that a subscriber would pay for the sponsored content are paid instead by the third-party provider owning the content. Even more importantly, a subscriber can test out certain sponsored applications and features for a short time to determine whether to subscribe, without impacting monthly data-plan limits.

Not only is Sponsored Data Charging built for massive broadband usage from all kinds of connected devices, it also can support emerging technologies such as VoLTE and NFV. Key target industries include advertising, retail, media, entertainment, healthcare, and financial services.

Build a Brand Experience that Engages Young Consumers

By Daisy Su, Senior Strategic Marketing Manager, Corporate Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent (@daisysu)

I’ve received a lot of questions from mobile operators, who are asking about mobile data growth and how it’s related to the youth market — meaning consumers from the age of 18 to 25 or sometimes 18 to 22. The mobile operators’ own research shows that the youth segment is valuable — and influences adult segments. The Business Case for Youth section of the Mobile Youth Report also says: “The youth market is worth $1 trillion dollars. Youth drive high-end smartphone markets. Youth have the highest lifetime value of all customers.” As a result, mobile operators around the world are taking notice of young consumers, and some are investing in a new youth brand to attract that segment. 

Alcatel-Lucent's Optism Solution Scoring Big Wins for Operators and Brands through Targeted, Permission-Based Mobile Advertising


By Beecher Tuttle

The most successful advertisers and brands are always those that evolve alongside technology and adapt their campaigns based on recent consumer trends. Just as advertisers once changed their focus from print to digital platforms, marketing groups are now concentrating their efforts on the mobile market.

The inherent difficulty in mobile marketing is that it has almost become synonymous with spamming, where advertisers blanket mobile phone users with promotions, deals and company news that they simple don't care about. If only advertisers could partner with mobile operators and develop a base of consumers who are interested in connecting and interacting with their brand.

With the Optism Mobile Advertising Solution from Alcatel-Lucent, they can.

Opt-In Mobile Marketing Strategy: 6 Tips for Success

By Susan J. Campbell

As consumers, we are constantly on the go with a mobile device of some kind in our hand providing directions, connection with a colleague or access to the data we need to close the big deal. The same device guides our social lives as we’ve come to rely on smart devices to manage our activities, content and connections. For brands, this provides the perfect opportunity to develop an Opt-In Mobile Marketing Strategy.

A recent blog by Mihai Vlad of Alcatel-Lucent’s Optism unit entitled, Thinking Human: Six Steps for Building a Successful Opt-In Mobile Marketing Strategy, highlights the opportunity that exists with the proliferation of the mobile phone as the must-have device. By developing an Opt-In Mobile Marketing Strategy, mobile operators, marketers and their brands can ask permission before engaging with consumers. In doing so, it provides unprecedented access to the consumer’s attention and the opportunity to build trust.

Permission-Based Mobile Marketing Strategies Hold Value for Advertisers, Operators and Consumers

By Beecher Tuttle

The influx of smartphones, tablets and next-generation networks has created a number of new ways for brands and marketing agencies to reach consumers. Unfortunately, many of today's mobile marketing techniques fail to engage consumers, who often find the advertisements to be bothersome, intrusive and unrelated to their interests.

One innovative and effective way to bridge this gap is a strategy called permission-based mobile marketing, a targeted advertising technique that changes the marketing paradigm by creating a dialogue with consumers, rather than an invasive, one-sided monologue.

The basic premise of permission-based mobile marketing is rather simple: users opt-in and give their consent for brands to send them targeted, preference-based marketing materials for products and services that they are interested in. If executed properly, a permission-based mobile marketing strategy can create value for brands, agencies, consumers and mobile network operators.

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