Service Layer Transformation
New services
Currently operators all provide the same set of basic connectivity services. The major challenge facing Mobile Operators, it would seem, is to unleash the power, ubiquity and mobility of the smartphone when used in conjunction with their network and so deliver a new generation of differentiated, value-add services to their customers. Services that deliver an enhanced user experience, increase use and command increased customer loyalty. Unlike their over-the-top competitors, network operators are in a unique position in the service delivery chain to provide a superior service to their customers by adding network-side intelligence to the power of the smartphone. By doing so, they provide a service that meets the specific needs of their customer which will keep their customers loyal to their network. Otherwise users will continue to take-up the most attractive 18 month contract offer (including the latest smartphone) from another operator and switch networks. As they are doing en masse at the moment.
Service Layer transformation
The services mobile operators provide today are provided by Intelligent Network (IN) platforms, which make-up the bulk of an operator’s current service layer. Today’s IN platforms are complex, inflexible, time-consuming and costly to adapt. They were conceived and developed in a different telecommunications era. Only by changing the service layer to address the new market requirements will operators free themselves to address the four major and pressing “must do” service layer requirements:
- Deliver Classic telecom services – at a dramatically lower price
- Launch new telecom services that deliver superlative device and network-side functionality – much more quickly and at a lower price
- Expose network assets to partners – for content and value-added services
- Deliver pricing innovation – unconstrained by delivery and charging systems