Review of the 2014 mobile telecom market, preview of 2015. and 6 research notes
Strand Consult would like to start the year by giving you the opportunity to read some of the many exciting research notes that we published in 2014 and then suggest you to read our predictions for the mobile telecom in market in 2015. When reading the predictions, remember that to judge the fortune teller not on what he says about the future but whether he was correct about the past. As such, Strand Consult publishes links to its predictions from the past 13 years so readers can judge for themselves whether we were right. Read the predictions for the last 13 years
2014 was a year marked by market consolidation which will continue in 2015. When a market consolidates, competition authorities frequently intervene and impose some remedies or conditions for the consolidation. Read our relevant research note 10 reasons why consolidation in the European mobile market forces operators to review their MVNO strategy where we explain the challenges facing the industry and how the MVNO market is going to play a central role.
Although many mobile customers migrated from prepaid to postpaid products, the prepaid market still dominates the global mobile industry. This research note discusses how the level of innovation level on the prepaid market could improve. With the right analysis and strategy, mobile operators can improve margins on their prepaid business by 2-5%. This note details the opportunities that many mobile operators forego because they fail to have the right prepaid strategy.
Mobile coverage, both the actual infrastructure footprint and users’ experience, is driving increased pressure from politicians and regulators. Operators need to assess this dimension of their strategy. Strand Consult has worked on this issue for years and has had success in Denmark. Read It’s time to take consumers’ complaints about poor mobile coverage seriously. The way most mobile operators have addressed coverage to date won’t solve the problem in the future.
Net neutrality will continue to be an important area of political and regulatory interest in 2015. Strand Consult has a team studying this issue. When the Norwegian telecom regulator presented a statement on zero rating that read like a blog from an activist group, Strand Consult published this research note, calling for policy based upon critical analysis, not ideology.
In 2014 Strand Consult was critical of the European Commission and former Vice President Neelie Kroes who was responsible for the digital agenda. Strand Consult was underwhelmed by the accomplishments of the EU on the digital/mobile/telecom front in the last four years and believes that the policy failures can have serious consequences for the telecommunications industry and the EU at large which depends on the connectivity it provides. This research looks at the long-term consequences of the failed digital policy. Europe’s Disconnected Continent: The next crisis hitting the EU will likely be digital – and long and expensive for society . Strand Consult takes a practical view of telecom policy, one that supports cooperative relationship between telecommunications providers, regulators, and government. It should be based on what the parties can do for society. Unfortunately the relationship is more like a battle where particular interest groups abuse the political system to win favor for their constituents.
The Consumer Electronics Show is on in Las Vegas and the Mobile World Congress will take place at the the beginning of March in Barcelona. As it does each year, Strand Consult publishes pre and post research notes about the conference. Read Strand Consult’s Pre and Post View to Mobile World Congress 2005-2014
If you want to know more about Strand Consult’s reports and workshops, please contact us. – Our job is to ensure that our customers navigate successfully in a complex world with many challenges. Contact us here.
