The
disruption from OTT (Over the Top) players was unexpected. It took the mobile
industry by surprise, turning the Telecom Providers, overnight, into dumb
pipes.
This
as Mobile Social Networks such as Snapchat, WhatsApp or Firechat as described
in my blog
article entitled “How
FireChat, 5G and Li-Fi means Free Voice or Data Services Network by 2020”,
effectively use Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G to deliver services such as Free Calling and
Video chat for “free”.
This
has resulted in Telecom Providers losing out on potential revenue from offering
such services themselves. With smartphones, Tablets and wearables i.e.
smartwatches, fitness trackers becoming a part of our lives, from shopping to
paying the bills, how we socialize and get the news, Telecom Providers are
losing out big time.
Subscribers
have become addicted to these services, forcing Telecom Providers to compete
with each other by adjusting their monthly plans and rates to keep the addicted
using their Data plans.
So
how do Telecom Providers break this cycle and make money from their own data
services?
GSMA's RCS now Advanced
Communications - One single embedded messaging client to rule them all
The
GSMA had launched the industry-driven RCS (Rich Communication Suite)
initiative, to create a way for operators to deliver similar services to these
OTT operators, regardless of network or device as described in my blog article
entitled “How
Google and GSMA RCS on Telcos means Ad Chatbots to unseat WhatsApp dominance”.
GSMA
has now relaunched RCS as Advanced Communications (Kumbhar,
2016, December 28) with support from Google. The GSMA’s Universal Profile
for Advanced Communication, launched in November 2016, will see the
proliferation of Advanced Communications among Telecom Providers in 2017.
This
will enable Advanced Messaging services for Telecom Providers in partnership
with Telecom Equiptment Providers to compete with the services offered by
Whatsapp, such as Video Calling as noted in my blog article
entitled “How
WhatsApp Video Calling matches Messenger and Beats Snapchat and Skype”.
Simply
put, for the end user, this means with build-in advanced messaging services
embedded in smartphones, Tablets and wearables with the ability to do the
following:
1.
Voice Messaging
2.
Video messaging
3.
File sharing
A
global standard for all Telecom Providers and Telecom Equiptment providers,
making it possible for anyone with a smartphone, Tablet or wearable that
supports GSMA's Advanced Communications standard to instantly communicate
across the Internet anywhere in the world without having to install an app.
Effectively,
this is one single messaging client to rule them all that's already built into
your smartphone, eliminating the need to switch between apps, as is currently
the case when you want to add someone to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or
Snapchat.
GSMA's Universal
Profile and MaaP - Interlink legacy SMS and IP messaging services by Q2 of 2017
A
part of GSMA’s Universal Profile for Advanced Communication is Universal
Profile and MaaP (Messaging as a Platform), the idea is that your SMS could
become one seamless IP based platform, where SMS (Short Messaging Services)
would have the same features offered by Instant Messaging Apps.
This
would Telecom Providers to monetize their SMS services by allowing app
developers and enterprises, to build Universal Profile standard applications to
send and receive messages and possibly use chatbots to enhance the services
clients offer in A2P (application-to-person) interactions.
MaaP
will interlink legacy SMS and IP messaging services and Universal Profile will
make all devices across the globe have a single standard to identify users
while using an Advanced Communication enable handset. By the second Quarter of
2017, Developer kits for app developers and enterprises for Advanced
Communications suite will be coming with the following:
1.
APIs
2.
Plug-in integration
3.
Improved authentication
4.
App security
Currently,
few handsets support the RCS standard today. with the launch of Universal
Profile and the MaaP by the GSMA, the groundwork is being laid for a
standardised interoperability framework, this will allow Telecom operates to
over from being a dumb pipe to being able to make revenue directly from their
Data plans by delivering advanced and enriched messaging experience.
These
features will be common across providers in the new 5G Network to come by 2020
as described in my Geezam blog article
entitled “5G Networks with Renewable
Energy, Fiber Optic Waveguides and AI” , making Telecom Providers and
Telecom Equipment makers better positioned to compete successfully against the
OTT players in the mobile space.
References:
Kumbhar,
S. (2016, December 28). Advanced Communications: Connectivity to everything and
disrupting OTT services. Retrieved from
http://www.vanillaplus.com/2016/12/28/24413-advanced-communications-connectivity-to-everything-and-disrupting-ott-services/
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