Two key VAS services being actively pursued by all APAC operators are Mobile Payments and Mobile and Internet Personalization, according to a recent APAC VAS
survey conducted by Amdocs and Coleman Parkes on 120 telecom executives from
mobile operators across Asia Pacific.
While 95 percent of respondents have an active mobile payments strategy, operator billing – a strategy that stresses billing on behalf of third parties including app stores and providers of virtual goods is key. App stores, prepaid and social media are the most pursued mobile payments segments, while the top three reasons for pursuing mobile payments were new revenue streams, customer retention and enhanced customer experience.
According to the survey, the biggest risks of not pursuing mobile payments
are failure to meet demand and marginalization.
Most mobile operators are confident their portals and applications storefronts are and will continue to be crowd-pleasers. This is a
very different picture from developed regions where mobile operator portals,
destinations that once dominated the landscape, are seriously challenged by OTT players. However, in APAC, 61 percent respondents believe operator portals are
important destinations, while 66 percent of respondents said their portals will
grow in importance in the next three years, attracting and retaining a loyal
audience of mobile users. It is interesting to note that mobile operators in
this region are also not intimidated by OTTs. To the contrary, they are
confident that the threat from these players will diminish over time.
In addition, 55 percent of respondents believe that personalization is key to
improving the value of content (and advertising) they deliver as part of the
VAS offer.
In conclusion, some recommendations from Amdocs suggest focusing your VAS business case around customer experience and retention, the
time is now to get into the mobile payments game as there is a huge unbanked
population, accept lower revenue shares for mobile payments versus first
generation commerce, continue to invest in portals, leveraging personalization
to create a better experience and lastly, continue to invest in Internet
services, as the OTT threat in this region is less, given the fact that mobile
is the primary access method for Internet usage in this region, and mobile
broadband rates are set to only grow further in APAC.
By TelecomLead.com Team
