Informa Telecoms & Media's research business has been the leading provider of strategic insight, key market data and forecasts for more than 25 years. I'm pleased to share our 2012 research agenda with you

1. Informa Telecoms & Media
2012 Research Agenda
Your global research partner
www.informatandm.com

2. Make better business
decisions
Informa Telecoms & Media is the leading
provider of research, events and training to the
global telecoms and media industry.
Every year, 10,000 companies use our services to
evaluate market opportunities, benchmark their
competitors and grow their businesses.
We are part of Informa PLC, the leading provider
of business information and services with over
8,000 employees in 150 offices worldwide.
ReseARch And consulTIng confeRences And exhIbITIons TRAInIng
Our research business delivers independent Our 100+ annual events and exhibitions are The Telecoms Academy team delivers a public
strategic insight, global market data and critical in driving the industry’s agenda. We bring portfolio of over 50 training programmes every
primary research. We work in partnership with together high-calibre decision-makers from the year. These include intensive five-day Telecoms
our clients to inform their decision-making with mobile, fixed, alternative, wholesale, MVNO, Mini MBA and specialist next generation
actionable advice and support. broadband and satellite operator communities. technology courses.
Key services include: Key events include:

3. Welcome To our 2012
Research Agenda
At Informa Telecoms & Media we are never
short of ideas for new topics and themes to
research and analyze.
As analysts we spend our lives immersed in the telecoms and media
industries, absorbing new information, speaking to key decision-makers
and making connections between trends and developments across different
countries and regions.
Producing a compelling research agenda is challenging because of the sheer
breadth and diversity of the sectors that we cover. We started putting our ideas
together for 2012 in the early summer and then condensing them into four
key themes which, we believe, will drive this industry forward over the next 12
months. Details of our 2012 research themes start on page 12.
Our four key themes for 2012 are;
· The transformed telco
· Reengineering the broadband business model
· Services, ecosystems and connected devices
· Seizing new revenue opportunities
The four themes have six mini themes, each of which will be explored in some
detail. They capture the big questions that the industry is now asking itself. How
relevant are operators in the new services ecosystem? Can operators protect
(and grow!) profit margins by cost-cutting alone? Should TV companies partner
with Internet firms? Is operator focus shifting from consumer to business and
enterprise markets (we think it is)? And how quickly should operators roll out
next generation networks?
Most important of all, our analysts' opinons are always based on a solid
foundation of market data and forecasts.
We look forward to working with you over the next year as we explore these
themes. And, as ever, we welcome your own thoughts and feedback.
Mark Newman
Chief Research Officer
mark.newman@informa.com
03

4. benefit from our
expertise
Informa Telecoms & Media's research business We cAn help you…
has been the leading provider of strategic
insight, key market data and forecasts for more Plan your strategic direction:
– Prioritize growth opportunities
than 25 years. – Size market supply and demand
– Benchmark your performance
We have more than 60 analysts in 10 research
offices across 5 continents helping our clients Build competitor and customer intelligence:
make better decisions. They are accessible, – Identify business drivers
responsive and connected to your markets, – Understand threats and challenges
– Develop product, positioning and sales strategies
business goals and challenges.
Drive product development and positioning:
Our clients rely on us to gather competitor – Justify your business cases
and customer intelligence, steer product – Formulate a pricing strategy
development and drive strategic planning. – Prepare a market entry timetable
Because our analysts spend more of their time
engaging with our clients at events, briefings
and through our support service, we are always Why choose us?
close to your business issues.
1
We provide a unique mix of in-market,
sector and forecasting expertise to
ensure local insight and a definitive
view. We don’t sit on the fence.
2
Our analysts benefit from exclusive
access to a broad community of
senior-level decision makers. We don’t
lock them in ivory towers.
3
We collect and interpret more data
across more markets than anyone else.
We don’t outsource data collection.
04

5. our services
InTellIgence cenTRe WoRld bRoAdbAnd InfoRMATIon consulTIng And cusToMIZed
seRvIce ReseARch
We offer a complete range of customized
research and consultancy services. All of our
consulting engagements benefit from our core
market data and forecasting expertise and
access to our C-level industry communities.
Find out more www.informatandm.com
/customised-research
Intelligence Centre is the central online
source of all of our advisory analysis, primary WBIS is the complete broadband and multi-
research, market data and forecasts. The channel TV resource featuring broadband,
service includes a number of powerful search, fixed-line telephony and multichannel TV
alerting and report tools as well as direct subscriber numbers from 2000 to 2011 and ouR ReseARch Includes
access to our analysts. forecasts to 2016.
Market data and 5-year forecasts
Find out more www.informatandm.com/ic Find out more www.informatandm.com/wbis Five-year historical and forecast metrics including
subscription, network and device numbers and
key financial and operational indicators. We
have a centralized forecasting team working
collaboratively with our analysts to ensure
WoRld cellulAR InfoRMATIon seRvIce neTWoRk econoMIcs Tool consistent results.
Analysis and case studies
In-depth views on emerging trends and in-market
case studies enable you to track operator strategy.
Country and company profiles
Regular, analytical snapshots of market dynamics
and company initiatives, delivered in PowerPoint.
Conference presentations
WCIS remains the cellular world’s leading NET is a new, easy to use online service which A complete archive of speaker presentations from
source of accurate, robust data and 5-year enables equipment vendors and operators our 100+ annual conferences provides invaluable
forecasts. The service tracks global mobile to model the capital and operational cost of competitor and customer insight.
subscriptions, KPIs, financial and operational deploying and upgrading wireless broadband
indicators in real time and includes direct networks and understand ROI. Surveys
access to our analysts. The full results and detailed analysis of surveys
Find out more www.informatandm.com/net designed to address industry perceptions across
Find out more www.informatandm.com/wcis key topics. Respondents are drawn from our
community of senior executives.
05

6. Talk directly To our
Analysts
We believe that providing direct access to our
analysts is essential in ensuring our research is
both relevant and actionable.
All of our services include direct analyst access
enabling you to connect with our team via
e-mail, telephone, webinars and face-to-face
briefings. Analyst access can be used to clarify
our findings, understand the background to
developments or to further explore our views
and methodologies.
WhAT ARe you AskIng us? AnAlysT Access exAMples
Analyst Access queries by topic over the last
year:
Client: Finally, Sprint is expected to maintain its CDMA
I am looking at Informa’s latest LTE spectrum network in the 1900 band for the near future,
forecasts – could you please provide me some hence the later date expected for that band.
insight into the methodology used to develop the
launch dates for Sprint's LTE networks in the US? It is also worth noting, Sprint recently announced
plans to work with LightSquared on LTE in the
Analyst Access: L-band (1600 band).
As a part of its Network Vision plan, Sprint plans to
turn down iDEN, which operates in the 800 band, Client:
beginning in 2013. It is Informa’s belief that it is at Do you have any comment on how the IDEOS
this time that that band will be transitioned to LTE. smartphone has been received in Kenya?
In addition, at the time the forecast was Analyst Access:
prepared, it was our belief that Sprint would I was in Nairobi when the IDEOS smartphone was
work with Clearwire to provide LTE in the 2500 launched in the market by Safaricom. From my
 KPIs / financials ................ 24%  Market sizing ...................... 9% band, and that it would happen relatively conversations with distributors, I sense that the
 Mobile / fixed access  Mobile broadband ........... 5% market response in terms of sales has been quite
networks ............................ 13%
quickly. Last week, Clearwire made an
 MVNOs .................................. 3%
 Connected home .............. 5% announcement that it will deploy LTE in the 2500 impressive, although no figures have yet been
 Pricing / tariffs .................... 5%
 Mobile content and  Smartphones / operating
band in some of its existing markets without released. The price of the device is low compared
applications ...................... 10% systems ................................. 7% working with Sprint. Clearwire said it may work to other smart phones in the market (it retails
 Operational strategies .... 4%  Other ................................... 11%
 Device market and
with Sprint and its Network Vision plan to build at US$100). The device’s most popular features
segmentation ..................... 4% new markets in the future. appear to be its high resolution touch screen,
the 3.2 Megapixel camera and the presence of
multiple applications.
06

7. consulting and customized
Research
Our consulting expertise is founded on our
deep industry engagement and delivered by
our experienced network of analysts.
Our approach to your business issues and
objectives is practical and pragmatic. All of
our consulting engagements benefit from our
core market data and forecasting expertise and
access to our C-level industry communities.
cAse sTudIes cusToMIsed soluTIons Include:
Market Survey White Paper – Benchmark reports
Client: Client: – Surveys
Value-added solutions provider for mobile Tier 1 handset vendor – Webinars
operators. Objective: – White papers
Objective: To assess the effect of different smartphone – Country reports
To transform its service proposition and validate operating systems on current mobile – Company reports
views of the Asia Pacific market. broadband networks and estimate the energy – Forecasts
requirements that these create on the network. – Go-to-market reports
Solution: – Case studies
“Using our network Solution: – Event facilitation
of research contacts “Coupling our in-house – Speaking engagements
we tested the view of research and data with – Workshops
the APAC market by a bespoke analytical
conducting a series model and wide
Charles Moon
Principal Analyst of in-depth strategic network of contacts,
Nicholas Jotischky
interviews and Principal Analyst we were able to
running a survey. This resulted in the publication implement a modeling
of a White Paper taking the client’s message to a tool. The result was a White Paper used by the
regional audience and was followed up by a series client to promote its smartphone ecosystem and
of strategic briefings to C-level service provider platform to mobile operators, thereby illustrating
audiences in the region.” energy savings that will become important to its
marketing efforts.”
07

8. global Reach
We believe that the diversity of global
telecoms markets requires a distinctive
regional view on localised trends, events and
consumer patterns.
We achieve this by providing in-depth country
perspectives. Over the last six months our
analysts in 12 countries have produced 65
detailed country profiles.
noRTh AMeRIcA lATIn AMeRIcA WesTeRn euRope eAsTeRn euRope
Mike Roberts Daniele Tricarico Dario Talmesio Stephen Wilson
Principal Analyst Senior Analyst Principal Analyst Senior Analyst
“In the midst of market “A key challenge for mobile “Europe’s operators must implement “Eastern European broadband and
consolidation, an understandable operators in Latin America is how to competitive strategies in the attempt voice markets tend to be extremely
outcome of the mobile broadband deliver revenue-generating mobile to counteract disintermediation. competitive, and therefore bundling
boom, what the US mobile industry content to the entire customer If successful, operators will with multichannel TV is becoming
really needs is a hefty dose of base. Operators must stop equating embrace openness and morph into an essential strategy for operators
spectrum by 2015. Without this, how content to smartphones, and something similar to an OTT player.” trying to increase subscriber loyalty.
will operators succeed in meeting should address the entire prepaid With average TV-viewing times high
the public’s proven demand for segment including basic and low- in the region, multichannel TV is a
Internet and other applications feature devices.” key part of the bundle and even has
running on smartphones, tablets potential as a stand-alone product.”
and other devices?”
office locations worldwide: San Francisco – USA | Chicago – USA | Boston – USA | Sao Paolo – Brazil | London – UK
08

9. AfRIcA MIddle eAsT noRTh AsIA AsIA pAcIfIc
Thecla Mbongue Matthew Reed Charice Wang Vanessa Jalleh
Senior Analyst Senior Analyst Senior Analyst Research Analyst
“Significant lessons can be learned “The growth prospects offered by “North Asia continues to drive the “With organic growth slowing in
from studying the practices of mobile the Middle East remain attractive, region in terms of subscribers and many markets around Southeast
operators in Africa. Be it through the but the region is complex and revenues, with innovation coming Asia, operators are focusing
use of dynamic tariffs, the spread varied and local understanding from massive Internet players, more on loyalty to maintain
of mobile-money services or the is necessary in order to take best particularly in the markets of their competitive edge; customer
creation of loyalty schemes, many of advantage of its opportunities. Japan, Korea, and China. Pressure analytic and business intelligence
Africa’s service providers recognize Stronger focus will be placed from over the top players in these is therefore becoming a key enabler
the importance of a well-segmented on mobile broadband and the markets are being addressed in gaining market share, as carriers
and relevant customer experience.” provision of converged services differently in each country, compete in the brave new world of
as operators look to become whether due to legacy issues maturing markets.”
more relevant in meeting the (Japan), vendor influence (Korea),
evolving needs of consumers and or government policy (China);
enterprises alike.” we look at how mobile carriers in
each are positioning themselves
for the long term to address
common challenges in their unique
operating environments.”
| Johannesburg – South Africa | Dubai – UAE | Singapore | Beijing – China | Hyderabad – India | Brisbane – Australia
09

10. 2012 ReseARch AgendA
The transformed telco

11. The TRAnsfoRMed Telco
C hanges in technology, usage trends
and the competitive landscape are
forcing telecoms operators to evolve a
business model that has served them
well for many decades.
Without such an evolution, operators will lose in a single country, and on a regional or global looking to develop a more sophisticated retail
ground – and business – to the so-called over- basis to meet the requirements of global enter- approach as an integral part of their customer
the-top players. And they will fail to capture new prises or partners such as consumer electronics experience strategy. But unless they find a way
revenue opportunities in mobile broadband, manufacturers. of expanding into the new connected device
M2M and connected verticals. Investment in next-generation fixed and market and become experts in mobile comput-
With the slowdown in new connections, wireless networks is challenging for any opera- ing, they risk becoming dumb shops and losing
and operators’ limited success in selling ser- tor whose revenues are stagnating in real terms. market share to consumer electronics shops that
vices to their customers, efficiency and cost Operators are reluctant to increase their capex-to- are accustomed to tight profit margins and find-
control have become the key modus operandi sales ratios and are therefore taking a longer-term ing the right balance between online and offline
for many telcos. approach to rolling out new technologies such as retailing.
The lean telco is a thread that runs through LTE than was the case with 3G. New approaches
most of the issues and strategies surrounding to extending the life and improving the speeds
the operator business. With flat – and in some delivered by copper and 3.5G networks are also
cases stagnating – revenues in mature markets, combining to make the case for investing in new
operators are under pressure to cut opex levels. network technologies more challenging. Operators are looking to develop a
Managed services and outsourcing strategies are With the slowdown in the growth of new con- more sophisticated retail approach
coming to the fore with operators more open nections, operators are starting to place a greater as an integral part of their customer
than ever to relinquishing control of functions emphasis on strategies to retain existing custom- experience strategy.
that have traditionally been seen as core to their ers than attracting new ones. Customer experi-
business. Network sharing is gaining momen- ence has evolved from a customer-care approach
tum, particularly as operators seek to justify to an important part of an operator’s corporate With over-the-top (Internet) players now
investment in LTE. strategy to improve customer loyalty. The opera- playing a dominant role in the provision of new
tor needs to be able to offer a good experience services for the consumer market, operators are
throughout its touch points with customers, from starting to review their role in the value chain
the operator store, through the service experience and the balance between serving the consumer
to the call center. Customer information is now and business segments. This change in approach
Operators are reluctant to increase a means to differentiation as part of the customer is seeing the operator become more of an enabler
their capex-to-sales ratios and experience. than a provider of new services and, in many
are therefore taking a longer- Customer Experience Management (CEM) cases, involves third-party service providers tran-
term approach to rolling out new demands a holistic and unified approach from sitioning into customers of the operator.
technologies such as LTE. the operator’s different areas. A central customer One of the areas where operators believe that
database is required in order to provide consis- they still have a strong role to play is in the use
tency across all different channels and the infor- of the SIM card as a secure element in the provi-
Operators are also coming to recognize that mation needed to deal with multiple challenges sion and sale of new services. Many of the part-
they may need to partner with each other both to throughout a customer’s lifetime. Operators nerships involving new services relate to mobile
reduce costs and to develop platforms and capa- need to realize that customer experience plays a payments and transactions. In the case of NFC,
bilities that allow them to roll out new services. key role in customer loyalty and consequently in operators want the SIM card to become the
These operator-to-operator partnerships can be their profitability. default method for securing applications. 
built both on a national level to enable third For many customers, the operator shop is
parties to deliver their services to all mobile users the most important touch point. Operators are
11

12. 2012 ReseARch AgendA / ReseARch hIghlIghTs
Next-generation access Customer experience Lean telco models
“Let’s face facts: few “An outstanding “If you would be
operators’ superfast customer experience wealthy, think of saving
broadband strategies should be embedded in as well as getting.
have gone to plan. all operator strategies, Operating in a world
Take-up has been slow, from marketing and of intense competition,
yet next-generation advertising to network regulatory intervention
Rob Gallagher Júlio Püschel Thomas Wehmeier
Principal Analyst access (NGA) networks Senior Analyst and smartphones. Principal Analyst and macroeconomic
haven’t got any Operators should uncertainty means
cheaper to build. Learning from success stories focus on customer profitability by analyzing the telcos are having to fight harder than ever to
isn’t easy either. The huge cost and complexity potential customer life-time value across customer stabilize top-line revenues. Coupled with an
of rolling out NGA has magnified differences segments. The different demands will dictate the investor climate exerting relentless pressure to
between countries and operators, making the importance of various factors, affecting everything maintain or grow operating margins, the need to
broadband market more fragmented than ever.” from subsidy rates to a diversity of bundled offers.” evolve into a ruthlessly efficient, lean business has
never been greater for today’s telco.
We believe, that some telcos are now achieving
operational excellence and our globally-
sourced case studies and analysis will identify
companies that have done this successfully and,
more importantly, outline how and why some
telcos have been able to drive costs out of their
businesses.”
> Operator profiles enable you to track the performance
of the 40 largest telcos globally. Delivered in PowerPoint
they detail operational and financial performance,
local market conditions, market share, regulatory
> In 2012, our broadband and TV team will produce over
400 analysis pieces covering topics including next- > Case studies provide real-life examples of service-
provider strategies and best practice. Every case study
developments, key operational initiatives and product
and pricing updates.
generation access, IPTV and the connected home. Our includes a SWOT analysis and directional comment
analysis is designed to support your decision making and exploring key lessons learnt and likely development.
offer key points for action.
12

13. The TRAnsfoRMed Telco
Retail Operator partnerships SIM, identity and security
“As consumers are “Operators are coming “The evolution of the
changing their to see the benefits SIM is becoming an
shopping behavior, of partnering with important issue for
telecom operators will each other to create mobile operators as
follow them. Digital national, regional and they strive to retain
commerce, social- global alliances. Within an important role in
Dario Talmesio Mark Newman Jamie Moss
Principal Analyst media networks, Chief Research Officer national markets, a Senior Analyst the provision of new
group-buying sites number of operators services and connected
and cross-channel sales will be used by operators have joined forces on NFC to expand the potential devices. The development of embedded SIMs and
intending to enhance customer experience across market for those companies and organizations soft SIMs gives OEMs and MVNOs greater freedom
all channels. Meanwhile, operators will start that are interested in rolling out mobile payment to bring their products to market and has the
retailing and billing for digital goods and services services. Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom potential to ultimately strengthen or, alternatively,
and sell new types of connected devices. are partnering in a number of different areas to to marginalize the operator.
expand their footprints, share development costs
We will be monitoring the development of and create economies of scale. And when it comes Informa Telecoms & Media is monitoring the
multichannel retail strategies, the use of social to new opportunities in M2M and connected development of advanced SIM technology to
media as a sales and CRM channel in operator devices, global approaches are essential if identify any issues with security and to map
owned and independent retail channels through operators are to forge alliances with consumer the growth of the B2B2C services market for
case studies and analysis, showcasing the most electronics firms and enterprises who themselves connectivity. We also seek to explore the long-
effective ways of getting customers to shop and have a global presence and strategy. term implications of this business model on
pay for digital and telecom services.” wireless carriers, the evolution of their role and any
Over the next year, we will compare the changes in their relationship with the rest of the
approaches of different operator groups and value chain.”
identify where the best opportunities for alliances
exist. We will also identify the risks for operators
that fail to partner and provide advice and
recommendations for how best to exploit global
opportunities without building global footprints.”
> In 2012, our content and applications team will cover
>
topics including mobile content and service value chains
We have been delivering successful consulting projects
and ecosystems, video monetisation and the impact
for over 15 years. Our approach to your objectives is
of HTML 5. Our analysis is designed to support your
practical and pragmatic; our in-market teams include
specialists across the value chain, helping us deliver valid
results quickly. > Analyst comments provide a quick, strategic analyst
view on trends and developments enabling you to
decision-making and offer points for action.
understand, react and respond to market events.
13

14. 2012 ReseARch AgendA
Re-engineering the broadband
business model

15. Re-engIneeRIng The bRoAdbAnd busIness Model
O perators have long been concerned
about managing the growth of
Internet traffic on their fixed networks.
But, more recently, it has been the burgeoning It is the growth of video usage and applica- Potential options for operators to counter Internet
companies’ traffic growth and service strategies
usage of Internet services (and especially video) tions that is driving data traffic growth. Video
over mobile networks delivered to smartphones can account for more than two-thirds of the total
and laptops that has forced them to re-evaluate data traffic handled by an operator. As such, 1 Make Internet companies
pay for sending traffic
over their networks
6 Introduce tiered pricing
and move to a commercial
model where there is a
their pricing and service strategies. operators are starting to develop specific strate- direct correlation between
While operators still harbor hopes of per-
suading Internet companies to contribute to
gies for managing and optimizing video traffic.
During 2011, operators have started active dis-
2 Compete with the services
that Internet companies
offer to their end users
the bandwidth that the end
users consume and what they
pay. This would effectively
mean increasing the price of
the cost of carrying high-bandwidth traffic, their cussions with players such as Google looking
most realistic hope of ensuring that broadband at potential approaches for reducing global and 3 Develop a platform
strategy of their own
broadband access to heavier
users
remains a profitable business involves explor- regional traffic flows. Many of these discussions
ing and implementing a whole range of differ- have involved assessing the potential of using 4 Sell network technologies
and solutions to Internet
companies to help reduce the
7 Stick with their current
strategy of optimzing the
networks, increasing capacity
ent approaches for reducing the costs of carry- CDNs and phasing out peering and transit agree- traffic burden in the backhaul (fiber and DSL)
and access (LTE) networks
ing traffic and developing a more sophisticated ments which oblige operators to carry traffic
approach towards pricing broadband access. from North America into Europe and Asia for 5 Deprioritize Internet
companies' traffic or
make certain traffic types
and introducing generous
tiered pricing plans.
minimal financial recompense. are available only over Wi-Fi
networks
Flat-rate, “all-you-can-eat” price plans have
become synonymous with the Internet and yet
in 2011 most mobile operators started to move
Tiered pricing should be seen as the away from such an approach. Tiered pricing is
first phase of a pricing revolution now commonplace and most operators seem to
which will see the emergence of a have been able to move to this new model with
huge array of different price plans. little or no backlash from customers.
Tiered pricing should be seen as the first
phase of a pricing revolution which will see the
Most operators are now using a number of emergence of a huge array of different price plans
different techniques to understand and optimize based on location, time of day, type of applica- customers single data plans for multiple devices.
the different types of traffic on their networks. tion and type of device. The term yield manage- If operators are to adopt more dynamic pric-
At the same time, there is growing interest in ment which has been embraced, for example, by ing approaches they will need support systems
using femtocells and Wi-Fi to offload data traffic. the airline industry to maximize revenues from that enable such functionality. There is a growing
Rather than simply buying Wi-Fi capacity from each flight, is now being applied to broadband need for charging – rather than billing – capabili-
third-party service providers, operators are now access. As operators explore new pricing para- ties that allow operators and apps developers to
looking to build out their own Wi-Fi networks digms, regulators will carefully monitor whether take innovative, flexible approaches towards the
and offering access to them to both their fixed they have implications in terms of net neutrality, pricing of different services, Legacy billing systems
and mobile broadband customers. a concept designed to protect freedom and open- struggle to offer this functionality and further
Devices have an important role to play too. ness on the Internet. investment is needed in areas such as improved
Operators are starting to assess the strain that dif- Operators will also experiment with different data storage, mining and retrieval systems, analyti-
ferent smartphone and operating systems place approaches for bundling broadband access across cal software for customer segmentation and more
on their networks. This will ultimately have an different devices and networks. Rather than efficient signaling management in the access and
impact on decisions about which devices to sup- attaching price plans to each device, operators core networks before operators can be confident
port and subsidize. now believe that there is merit in offering their about investing in new charging systems. 
15

16. 2012 ReseARch AgendA / ReseARch hIghlIghTs
Wi-Fi Yield management OSS/BSS transformation
“Wi-Fi is by some “Operators have found “Any attempt to
distance the most out the hard way that re-engineer the
important wireless mobile broadband can broadband business
technology in the be unprofitable. In their model presupposes
world based on volume initial monetization an intelligent,
of data carried. The efforts, mobile content-agnostic
Mike Roberts Dimitris Mavrakis Peter Dykes
Principal Analyst second wave of Wi-Fi Principal Analyst operators aggressively Senior Analyst support infrastructure.
has well and truly marketed USB modems Existing OSS/BSS
arrived and is forcing an entire ecosystem to but soon found out that smartphones can make was never designed to deliver such functionality
rethink strategies for turning end-user demand for a significantly more profitable business case. Yield and therefore transformation is vital to meet the
Wi-Fi into tangible return. management is the exercise of efficiently utilizing challenges created by the provision of next-
mobile broadband spectrum in order to generate generation, broadband data services.
We continue our ongoing research efforts into maximum revenues and profits.
Wi-Fi with a clear focus on qualifying its growth We will be studying the development of
worldwide. We will track deployment, uptake and We will be constantly looking into mobile smarter networks through case studies and
usage of Wi-Fi both inside and outside the home broadband operator business cases and will also analysis, highlighting the most effective ways of
and will pay special attention to the diverse array of be modeling the most interesting networks with monetizing data services by exploiting network
emerging business models that are underpinning our Network Economics Tool (NET).” and business intelligence.”
widespread investment into the technology.”
> Webinars offer a popular way to engage with our
lead analysts and quickly access the findings of our
research streams. In 2012, we will host more than 40
webinar sessions.
> Network Economics Tool (NET) is an easy to use online
tool which enables equipment vendors and operators to
model the capital and operational cost of deploying and
upgrading wireless broadband networks and understand
ROI. The tool allows operators to independently develop, > Case studies feature a qualitative assessment of
strategy, value chain and market positioning in addition
test and refine a business case for any target market in to a quantitative evaluation of success, including
real time using a combination of market data, technical competitor benchmarking.
parameters and economic inputs.
16

17. Re-engIneeRIng The bRoAdbAnd busIness Model
Managing and monetizing video Pricing and bundling Impact of different devices and platforms
“Video is the killer “Data pricing has “So far, user experience
app for connected come to occupy center and user demand have
devices, with stage in an operator’s been the main factors
consumers increasingly agenda. The emerging in operators’ choice
expecting multiscreen, role data plays in the of smartphone OS
on-demand, high- revenue-generating platforms. However,
Nick Thomas Panos Loukos Malik Saadi
Principal Analyst quality video content. Senior Analyst process has prompted Principal Analyst over time, the gap in
But key questions have the appearance of new the user experience
yet to be answered: who will pay for the content forms of data plan structures and billing patterns. offered by various competing platforms will
and the delivery, will it come from managed or narrow. At the same time, the popularity of
over-the-top providers, and how will vendors We will track the mobile data pricing strategies of smartphones is creating a traffic tsunami which is
throughout the value chain make money?” mobile operators in 20 markets in five continents. forcing operators to look more closely at how their
We will then use service profiling and in-depth networks are used. Spectrum efficiency, including
analysis to identify the most important trends that both data and signalling optimization, are
will shape the data plan paradigm in 2012.” increasingly becoming key criteria in prioritizing
platforms.
Informa Telecoms & Media is currently conducting
an in-depth study into the spectrum efficiency of
different platforms. Preliminary results indicate
that there are big disparities in the way different
OS ecosystems consume network bandwidth.
While some OSs are highly optimized to carry
messaging or browsing traffic others are more
> Our five-year subscriber, device, content & services and
network traffic forecasts set the industry standard for efficient when dealing with video streaming.”
their consistency, accuracy and ease of use. They are
produced collaboratively via our five-strong forecast
team and 60 country and topic-facing analysts. > Our market data offering is the most comprehensive
set of country and operator metrics available including
subscriptions, market share and penetration and an
advanced set of financial and operational KPIs across
mobile, fixed-line and multichannel TV markets.
> Our integrated forecasting approach ensures our robust
methodologies and models are informed by deep
qualitative understanding.
17

18. 2012 ReseARch AgendA
Services, ecosystems and
connected devices

19. seRvIces, ecosyTeMs And connecTed devIces
C onsumers have developed a taste
for accessing their favorite services
and applications on different small and
large-screen devices.
In turn, the developers of the platforms that sup- market paradigm. Apple and Google are the a lower-end device for prepaid markets?
port these services, the device manufacturers and undisputed champions of the ecosystem. Technology companies and service provid-
the content owners, have taken the opportunity Apple’s success in its hardware business – and ers are exploring options beyond platforms for
to extend their influence and presence across in particular the iPhone – owes much to its differentiating their products and services. With
these different devices and networks. iTunes and applications store services built on the dominance of the Android and iOS on smart
Device manufacturers have developed their Apple’s own operating system. Google’s strat- devices, differentiation in the user interface may
own service and application strategies; online egy for taking its services (and revenues) beyond be a better alternative than an in-house OS.
players have moved into the devices space, the PC is founded on the Android operating This is costly and there is no guarantee of being
investing in either the software (platform) busi- system, which is now the market-leading plat- able to create a product that can compete with
ness or in hardware itself; content owners have form for smartphones, and on YouTube. There the market leaders. But the key to developing a
adopted multiscreen strategies, often with little is continual speculation over whether these two popular and successful UI – particularly across
or no clarity about the viability of new busi- players will seek to plug the gaps in their port- platforms and devices – is not always obvious.
ness models. And TV companies are developing folios. Should Apple start manufacturing its
home gateways as their anchors to connected own televisions? Google indirectly entered the
device superiority. hardware business in August this year with its
acquisition of Motorola’s handsets and set-top-
box activities, but what it will do with its new Smartphones will become the
Impact of common/open standards on the connected- assets remains to be seen. dominant provider of Internet
device landscape No other companies come close to matching connectivity to hundreds of millions
Apple or Google’s dominance of ecosystems. of people
 0-12 months ....... 6%
Nokia and Microsoft, arguably the two biggest
 1-2 years ............. 38%
victims of the success of Apple and Google, are
 3-5 years ............. 41%
now joining forces in the development of mobile Aggregators are another group of companies
 6-10 years ............ 6%
software and services. A whole host of other facing an uncertain future as online platform and
 10+ years ............. 3% companies from the traditional telecoms, TV, service providers become aggregators in their
 Never happen .... 7% consumer electronics and mobile phone busi- own right.
nesses are trying to figure out their current and Ecosystems hold most relevance today to
future roles in different ecosystems. The “too- developed markets characterized by multi-de-
Exact question wording was: When will it become common practice big-to-fail?” question is one that constantly nags vice ownership and high smartphone penetra-
for content providers to offer content directly to consumers via connected
devices and bypass traditional service providers and operators? at these, and other, contenders. No company tion. But smartphone prices are falling rapidly
should be tempted to create its own ecosystem and, within the next two years, will be within
if its core product, its cash-cow, is not fit for reach of the mass market in the developing
purpose. world. Smartphones will become the dominant
In this brave new world, the customer is king The success of Apple and Google is changing (in many cases, only) provider of Internet con-
and traditional content providers, TV companies the outlook and business models for the sectors nectivity to hundreds of millions of people. In
and device manufacturers are under siege from in which they are active. Google dominates the doing so, they will open up huge opportunities
global players that started life on the Internet and online advertising business. Will it gain a simi- for local and global content creators and appli-
who threaten their very existence. lar stranglehold on mobile and TV advertising? cations developers. 
Creating a strong ecosystem has become Apple’s dominance today is confined to the high-
an essential ingredient for success in this new end smartphone business but what if it launches
19

20. 2012 ReseARch AgendA / ReseARch hIghlIghTs
Future ecosystems Future advertising The evolving aggregator landscape
“Who will win in a “The mobile “Aggregators have
multiscreen world?” advertising ecosystem always played key roles
Informa is often asked. is beginning to in telecoms and media,
The answer is not those fall into place. acting as trusted
that create the best The development brands for consumers
devices or services, of solutions for and helping them
Guillermo Escofet Shailendra Pandey Giles Cottle
Senior Analyst but those that build Senior Analyst personalization, Principal Analyst to navigate through
the platforms and location, targeting, seemingly endless
ecosystems that sit on these devices, across which analytics and optimization means that the content and service choices.
these services can be offered. potential to deliver contextual adverts has
greatly improved. But the rise of IP delivery and connected devices
Yet much about what makes a great ecosystem has brought a plethora of new players to the fore,
is still assumed. What are the key characteristics We will examine the growing importance of multi- all of which want to be the consumer’s navigation
of an ecosystem, and what is the best practice for screen user engagement and interactive mobile tool of choice through this brave new world.
developing one? Informa will draw on its deep advertising through case studies, analysis and
pool of research across mobile, broadband and TV producing updated market forecasts on various Informa will assess what traditional aggregators
to find out.” forms of mobile advertising.” must do to maintain their relevance in a changing
world, and analyze the new runners and riders
vying to replace them.”
> Case studies deliver detailed, timely insight into the
technology and service deployments of operators and
service providers. Our network of in-market analysts
> Our forecasts are more robust because they are
produced by a dedicated forecasting team in
ensures that our analysis is supported by local insight.
collaboration with our topic and region experts. This
integrated approach ensures our methodologies
and models are supported by deep qualitative
>
understanding.
Analyst comment provides a quick, strategic analyst view
on trends and developments enabling you to understand
and respond to market events.
20

21. seRvIces, ecosyTeMs And connecTed devIces
User interface The sub $50 smartphone App stores
“A device or service “The explosion of “The first
will be hamstrung if smartphones and phenomenally
it lacks a good user the drive by mobile successful mobile
interface (UI), no operators to get them content ecosystem
matter how brilliant into people’s hands is predates Apple’s App
the engineering creating value in the Store by many years
Andrew Ladbrook David McQueen Jamie Moss
Senior Analyst behind it or how Principal Analyst market. However, the Senior Analyst and was built by a
appealing the content increasing clamor mobile operator,
is. The user interface is becoming synonymous for smartphones will drive them into lower Japan’s NTT DoCoMo. The business model pursued
with a user’s experience, and can make or break a price tiers, changing market dynamics. In most by DoCoMo with i-mode was not that different to
device or service. emerging markets, PC/laptop prices are a barrier the one later adopted by Apple with the App Store:
to Internet uptake and low-cost smartphones will a marketplace where all kinds of third parties
Informa will be examining what makes a good increasingly play a significant role in such markets. could set up shop and sell their wares directly to
UI for Internet services, device operating systems end users, giving a share of their takings to the
and applications, across all screens. Best-of-breed We will produce case studies demonstrating what 'store' owner.
examples will be highlighted, and a cross-sector impact low-cost smartphones will have on mobile
analysis will determine if any one screen is lagging data uptake and also Internet penetration in key This coming year, we will be looking at the
behind its peers.” markets. We will also analyze each operating ecosystem strategies of the various players
system detailing how it can reach the $50 out there and at how operators’ content and
threshold we expect from the handset vendors and application strategies are evolving in a desperate
mobile operators.” bid to retain relevance.”
> We organise 100+ market leading annual events
including LTE World Series, Com World Series and IPTV
World Forum. Our core services include exclusive access
to the PowerPoint presentations delivered at all of these
events. These papers provide unique insight into the > Our five-year smartphone forecasts include smartphone
sales volume, distribution penetration by region and
strategies, positioning and plans of your competitors operating system. Our robust methodologies and
and customers. models are informed by deep qualitative understanding.
> In 2012, our content and applications team will cover
topics including mobile content and service value chains
and ecosystems, video monetisation and the impact
of HTML 5. Our analysis is designed to support your
decision-making and offer points for action.
21

22. 2012 ReseARch AgendA
Seizing new revenue
opportunities

23. seIZIng neW Revenue oppoRTunITIes
R obust year-on-year revenue growth
has become a fading memory for an
industry which took double-digit growth
for granted during the 1990s and the
first half of the last decade.
Consumers and businesses may be reaping the Connected Verticals and data. In sectors such as healthcare, utilities
benefits of high-speed, widely-available broad- and automotive, operators are looking to provide
band connectivity and new devices, but, for solutions and services that help to increase effi-
telecoms operators, saturated markets, stiff com- ciencies and drive new revenue growth.
petition and tough regulation are the day-to-day Emerging markets present clearer opportuni-
realities that shape their business environment. ties than developed ones in both consumer and
Innovation is proving elusive. Operators and business markets (although low ARPU levels
TV companies are now competing in an over- and the high cost and low availability of broad-
the-top world where smaller, nimbler, risk-taking band access means that new pricing and business
companies are prepared to offer services to the models will need to be adopted).
end user for free in the hope that they will either
uncover a business model or a buyer before their
funding runs out.
The biggest single growth opportunity for
operators today is selling data plans with smart- … a bigger opportunity lies in using
phones. Postpaid markets already have high new technologies and platforms such
smartphone penetration and the next wave will as cloud computing, Ethernet and
see the adoption of $100-$200 smartphones in M2M to serve specific needs within
both developed and emerging markets. Mobile Rural broadband connectivity has become an different small, medium and large
broadband (dongles) is still a growing market but important policy initiative for many governments enterprises.
a less attractive option than smartphones because and a new revenue stream for network operators
of the heavy demands on the network placed by rolling out LTE in lower-frequency bands.
many users. Beyond broadband connectivity, many of the In the consumer market, the falling cost of
new revenue opportunities today sit in the busi- smartphones and the rollout of 3G networks
ness and enterprise sector. Enterprise mobility is means that the Internet will reach hundreds of
starting to gain momentum, driven by mobile millions of people for the first time over the next
operators facing saturation in the consumer two to three years. The rollout of mobile and
The biggest single growth opportunity market. But Informa Telecoms & Media believes fixed broadband services will also create tremen-
for operators today is selling data that a bigger opportunity lies in using new tech- dous new opportunities in the business market
plans with smartphones. nologies and platforms, such as cloud computing, and in the public sector where the mobile phone
Ethernet and M2M, to serve specific needs within can provide a low-cost platform for the dissemi-
different small, medium and large enterprises. nation of a range of services including education,
The rollout of LTE is allowing operators to In the past, operators have tended to segment healthcare and payments. 
offer higher speeds and a better quality of service. business users by number of employees. But a
Many are also bundling in content such as music new approach is emerging that allows product
or video with high-end price plans. Operators are and service differentiation based on industry
eyeing connected devices as a potential new rev- type. Operators are now (slowly) starting to
enue stream and the embedding of LTE in tablet develop vertical solutions using a combination of
computers should help to increase the share of fixed and mobile technologies and platforms that
devices that are sold with cellular price plans. go beyond the provision of traditional telephony
23

24. 2012 ReseARch AgendA / ReseARch hIghlIghTs
Cloud Vertical markets Putting the “B” in the middle of B2C
“Cloud computing “Telecom technology “Many of the windows
offers unprecedented is enabling of opportunity for
potential to touch radical business operators to develop
ICT wallet share once transformation in consumer value-added
unobtainable for the world’s largest services are closing as
telecom firms. That’s industries. By OTT players with global
Camille Mendler Sheridan Nye Mark Newman
Principal Analyst because the cloud’s Senior Analyst connecting and Chief Research Officer reach and free-to-
commercial model of managing formerly the-end-user business
renting versus buying computing power, storage, isolated endpoints, technology suppliers are models exploit the potential of smartphones and
software development tools and applications optimizing operations and creating whole new the mobile Internet.
disrupts the traditional ICT supply chain.” business models in these sectors. “
There has long been talk of the so-called two-
sided business model and operators are slowly
but surely starting to realize the opportunity to
provide mobile channel and network capabilities
to commercial and public organizations.
Examples include pharmaceutical companies
that are looking to use the mobile channel to
help them transition into health providers and
applications developers that are talking to
operators about using their billing capabilities to
monetize their services.
> Telecom Cloud Monitor is an analytical tool tracking
the cloud-related activities of more than 90 operators > Our five-year subscriber, device, content & services and
network traffic forecasts set the industry standard for
and 150 vendors worldwide. The service is available as their consistency, accuracy and ease of use. They are Informa Telecoms & Media will produce case
part of our Enterprise Verticals research offering which produced collaboratively via our five-strong forecast
is supplemented with best-practice case studies and team and 65 country and topic-facing analysts. studies of successful (and unsuccessful) B2B2C
business model analysis. business models and identify those sectors which
provide most short- and medium-term potential.”
> In 2012, our operator strategy team will cover topics
including the economics of carrier Wi-Fi, best practice
in customer experience management and partnership
strategies with OTT providers. Our analysis is designed to
support your decision making and offer points for action.
24