In an earlier blog post, I laid out five trends from 2011 that I expected to continue this year and if the recent OPASTCO Winter Convention was any indication, those trends are alive and well. At the show, I had the privilege to interact with service providers and partners. Not surprisingly, the majority of my conversations centered on the Connect America Fund, its implications for rural service providers, and reactions from OPASTCO members. Although there were certainly some who were disappointed with the current CAF/ICC framework, for the most part, IOC leaders understand the inevitable direction that the FCC is heading, and are looking for ways to move ahead.
Underlying the FCC’s desire to drive ubiquitous broadband is a desire to drive efficiency in the telecommunications industry through consolidation and network transformation. Successful service providers are now feeling a sense of urgency to not only enhance network infrastructure, but also to find new revenue generating services.
Transformation ahead
As they look for new revenue streams, there were four primary revenue-generating services that came up continuously. Many service providers at the show were asking Calix to help them understand these potential new revenue streams and provide real-world examples from their peers who are deploying these services. Below I’ve compiled a summary of these four high-flying applications and some examples of Calix customers who have seen success in deploying them.
- Business Services
Providers are investing in business services both in existing territories and adjacent CLEC territories by investing in fiber infrastructures that can serve the current base and potentially attract new businesses to the area. To learn more about this, check out Rebecca Stone’s recent post about a webinar hosted by the USDA demonstrating how broadband investment can drive business opportunities.
- Technology Support Services
Service providers see this as a natural extension of their business but are looking for good implementation examples. How have providers managed their customer’s perceptions of providers as a free resource? How are internal resources managed? Some Calix customers have seen success in these areas by investing in fiber access infrastructure. Because of the much lower maintenance requirements and higher efficiencies of fiber, these customers have been able to reduce their field workforce and retrain them to support new roles like technical assistance and new service research and testing. Stay tuned for more on this topic in a coming blog post.
- Home Security Services
Home Security Services are often seen as a perfect fit for service providers since they already run 24x7 call centers and can offer the monitoring services as part of the support package. Calix customer Reservation Telephone has taken it a step further —using their fiber access investments to offer video monitoring services to a variety of businesses in their region.
- Usage-Based Billing
Interest in usage-based billing is growing. While some are waiting for an industry shift because the term has negative connotations, other companies are getting creative and working to design programs that benefit both the consumer and the business model. Creative service providers are putting a positive spin on this concept, and rolling out behavior-based options designed to fit certain consumer lifestyles. For instance, a provider could design a service package targeting heavy OTT subscribers with the promise of increased TV quality during congestion and a higher priority of service. Flow Analysis tools like Calix’s Flow Analyzer can help mine consumer data, identify trends and build profiles that fit your customer’s needs.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on these four revenue-growth options. Have you implemented any of them? If so, what have you found? If not, are you considering it? I look forward to your comments
micah_ruge
on:
Photos from the Field: Tennessee & Florida
