New Research - Telco 2.0: why so slow and how to accelerate?

Our new, in-depth research among senior execs in 'upstream' industries (e.g. retail, media, IT, etc.) and telcos shows that poor communication of 'Telco 2.0' value propositions and slow implementation by operators is frustrating upstream customers and operators alike. This new, free report (sponsored by Openet and independently produced by STL Partners), identifies strategic customer segments for telcos building new 'Telco 2.0' business models, key obstacles to overcome, six real-world implementation strategy scenarios, and strategic recommendations for telcos. (More)

The next New Digital Economics Executive Brainstorm is on June 12-13 at the Grange St Paul's Hotel, London. It will develop the themes of the Silicon Valley brainstorm in the EMEA context, and covers:

• Telco 2.0 - Shifting Profit Pools and Strategic Growth Opportunities
• Digital Commerce 2.0 - Revolutionizing Payments, Advertising, Retail and Content Experiences
• Cloud 2.0 - Transforming technology, media and telecoms
• Digital Things 2.0 - New sources of value in M2M and the 'internet of things'

There will be over 60 industry leaders stimulating the debate from the telecoms, banking, retail, advertising and technology sectors, including:

• Stephen Shurrock, Chief Commercial Officer, Telefonica Digital
• Rolf Skilling, SVP, Telenor Digital
• Subhra Das, EVP Marketing & Customer Experience, Du
• Scott Seaborn, Group Head of Mobile, Ogilvy Group
• Vincent Brunet, EVP mobile services, Orange Group
• Ian Glenn, Head of EMEA, Amazon Web Services
• Andrew Nash, Director Identity Services, Google
• Cenk Bayrakdar, Chief Products Officer, Turkcell
• Bob Brace, Head of Cloud Services, Vodafone Group
• Rainer Deutschmann, SVP Core Telco Products, Deutsche Telekom
• John Milliken, Managing Director, Mobile Money Network

There's more detail on the agenda here, and you can book now here , email contact@stlpartners.com or call +44 (0) 207 247 5003 to take advantage of our special 'Early Bird' Rates.

Silicon Valley report: the money's moving, but are telcos?

It was exhilaratingly clear at the Silicon Valley brainstorm that critical inflection points are being reached in many key areas of the digital economy: the challenges are increasingly well defined, and the intellectual, practical and economic resources being employed to solve them have the quality, power and resources to succeed. The tantalising question for all was "how do we position ourselves and implement strategies that will enable our business to be one of those to profit from (or at least survive) these changes?" (More)

Factors driving Enterprise customers' choices

Jaco Fourie, Ericsson explains how enterprise customers like to feel they are the "only" customer, and other lessons on factors driving choice and spending. View here - login/free registration

Lessons for telcos from Amazon's rejuvenation of its business model

Philip Laidler, Consulting Director, STL Partners describes how to move from a one-sided (retail) business to a two-sided (platform-based) business, how to leverage 'trust' and customer data to create a compelling new merchant and consumer experiences, and how to create a self-reinforcing growth model. View here - login/free registration

Strategy 2.0: Google's Strategic Identity Crisis

Google's shares have made little headway recently despite its dominance in search and advertising, and it faces increasing regulatory threats in this area. It either needs to find something else or start paying out dividends, like Microsoft (or indeed, a telco). Overall, this is resulting in something of a strategic identity crisis. A review of Google's strategy and implications for Telcos. (More)

Mobile Broadband 2.0: the top disruptive innovations

Key trends, tactics, and technologies for mobile broadband networks and services that will influence mid-term revenue opportunities, cost structures and competitive threats. Including: LTE, network sharing, WiFi, next-gen IP (EPC), small cells, CDNs, policy control, business model enablers and more. (More)

Facebook: what the IPO filing revealed

New figures released in Facebook's S1 filing for its IPO confirm Telco 2.0's previous analysis of Facebook's performance in our report 'Dealing with the Disruptors'. This further strengthens our views that most valuations are overblown, and that Facebook will be forced to move into communications. (More)

Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Skype - dealing with the disruptors

Our new 284 page strategy report, launched and previewed at our EMEA event in London, has attracted massive interest. It's our most important report yet, dealing with the players that some leading telcos are now calling their 'real competitors'. It includes a concise executive summary, in-depth analysis of the player's business models, and strategies for dealing with each. Here is an updated extract of the analysis and further details of the report. (More)

The Roadmap to New Telco 2.0 Business Models

This Strategy Report plots the transformational path that telcos need to follow to achieve the $375Bn p.a. 'Telco 2.0' opportunities. It describes the six growth opportunity areas for the Telecoms industry, identifies new categories of operators, benchmarks the primary strategies needed by each to evolve and thrive in the new industry environment, and highlights leading examples of telco business model innovation. It has 284 pages, including a 13 page Executive Summary and a detailed index. (More)

Vodafone CIO: 2012 a big year for customer data, analytics, and M-Commerce

Albert Hitchcock, Vodafone's Group CIO, sees significant changes in the mobile money and advertising industries in 2012, driven by improved use of customer data and analytics. He describes Vodafone's approach and early learning in this video interview. (More)

'Under-the-Floor' Players: threat or opportunity?

The telecoms industry often puts so-called OTT (over-the-top) players like Google and Facebook at the forefront of its concerns, as they pose new competition for services and applications. But what about encroachment of companies "underneath" the telcos, displacing them from their core asset, the network? Telco 2.0 examines the strategic threats and opportunities from wholesale providers, outsourcers and government-run broadband networks. (More)

Your Text is on Fire: OTT's to burn 40% SMS revenue by 2015

In four years' time, Telco SMS revenue will decline on average by around 40% across Europe and the Middle East according to the senior execs at this month's Telco 2.0 brainstorm in London. The main cause is competitive pressure from 'OTT' alternatives (Facebook, Skype, Google, BBM, etc). Mobile voice isn't that far behind, with a 20% decline foreseen. What can be done and what is the role of RCS-e? (More)

The Telco 2.0 Challenge and SAP's vision

Telco 2.0 have reviewed SAP's vision for telcos to 'operate at internet speed' against our Roadmap strategy principles in this white paper, and challenged SAP to build a Proof of Concept implementation of a complex multi-sided business model with a leading European mobile operator within one month. We can't share the confidential details but we were impressed with the results. We're now looking for more operators who'd like to set a new Telco 2.0 challenge - to find out more please email us at contact@telco2.net.

The value of "Smart Pipes" to mobile network operators

Regardless of business strategy, the development of 'Smart Pipes' - more intelligent networks - will be a key driver of shareholder returns from operators. Smarter networks will also benefit network users - upstream service providers and end users, and operators, and their vendors and partners, will need to compete to be the smartest. What are they, why are they needed, and what are the key strategies employed to develop them?. (More)

How to Spot a "Business Model Problem"

What is a 'business model problem'? How can you tell when you've got one? What are the key business model challenges faced by telcos today, and how should they address them? (More)