Therefore, there is a huge opportunity for operators to work with the Big Four in providing a direct-to-mobile payment service for a broad range of digital goods, whether these are provided directly by those organizations, or via their third-party developer and content partners. As well as the payment processing capability itself, operators can also provide authentication, authorization, consent management, spend controls and post-sales care, ensuring consumers are protected and brand integrity is maintained.

3. Premium Delivery

Another good example where operators can leverage their unique network assets is in the area of video services. Because they own the network and the customer billing relationship, operators have the opportunity to influence not only the quality of experience associated with video content, but how the delivery of the content is paid for, and by whom. This provides greater choice and flexibility across the entire value chain, from the consumer through to the content owner. 

For example, a consumer may choose to pay a premium for high-definition streamed video to the content provider (i.e. one of the Big Four), who in turn shares a proportion of that premium with the operator in return for providing a higher quality of service. This process can happen on-the-fly using network APIs (as opposed to requiring manual pre-provisioning), with the revenue management and settlement processes also being automated.

4. Communications

Communications infrastructure is another area that operators can exploit with the Big Four, especially with the advent of the all-IP network, driven largely by LTE, and the rich multimedia communications capabilities that this brings. Although Over-the-Top communication services have grown rapidly over the past five years, operators still have the advantage of near-ubiquitous access, device/terminal-agnostic communications services, global interoperability and robust, reliable networks resulting from decades of investment and more than a century of expertize.

The Big Four can tap into the operator’s networks in order to enrich their own services, and those of their developer partners, with rich communications capabilities. For example, operators could provide a set of Multimedia Call Control APIs that would allow Facebook or Google + users to set up instant audio or video chat sessions that work across any device on any network. This could also be extended towards B2C services, for example areas such as Customer Relationship Management.

Conclusion

It is inevitable that Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google are going to dominate the technology landscape for the foreseeable future, and whilst this means that the Big Four will generate significant revenues from digital services delivered on top of the operators’ networks, it does not mean that the operators will have lost relevance – provided that they re-evaluate their role and make the right investments, both in people and in platforms, that allow them to become the arms merchant in the tech war.

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Michael Crossey joined Aepona in June 2006 and is responsible for directing all of the company's marketing activities, including Corporate Marketing, Product Marketing, and Business Development. He has worked extensively with mobile operators, service providers and industry groups in the realization of new business models around Open Network APIs and Network as a Service, as well as with engaging with ISVs and app developers on the development of next-generation services that leverage mobile network and billing capabilities.

Michael has 23 years experience in the communications industry, having previously served as VP Marketing and Business Development with Transmode, a Swedish pioneer of Optical Networking technology, and as Director of Market Development with Nortel. He is a regular speaker at communications industry events and frequently contributes written articles for trade publications. He holds BEng and MSc degrees from Queen's University, Belfast.