Introduction & Background
This session will focus on presenting a report that ITU commissioned regarding the study of new business models emerging in the telecom sector. Three case studies from different geographies that used diverse business approaches to be successful in the respective market will be presented. The insights gained are useful to service providers - to prepare themselves for emerging situations and face constructive disruption happening in the sector, and network equipment providers – to understand how digital platform providers with micro-service architecture are ready to disrupt the equipment market.
The study looks at the change agents of the telecom business and changing dynamics in telecommunication sector. To explain such changes through specific case studies, the telecom landscape in three diverse markets i.e., the US, India, and Japan are chosen. Historically, these three markets followed different strategies as well as technologies to deliver telecommunication services. Within these countries specific cases, which aligns with the objectives of the study were identified. The companies chosen are RJio from India, Comcast from USA and Rakuten, Japan. These three cases represent three different routes to the same destination – provision of converged ICT services. They all came from three different directions. Interestingly they also represent three completely different kinds of markets in three different geographies of the world. The regulatory regimes in these countries are also quite different.
Going forward, regulatory regimes are also required to align with the changing business dynamics of the sector. Across the world, more and more Telcos are offering bundles of converged products and diversifying into adjacent areas. In such as hybrid environment, while regulating the ICT services, regulators should endeavour to provide a level playing field between facility-based Telcos offering telecommunication services and digital platform operators offering digital services over the Internet. This would require close coordination and collaboration amongst the ICT sector regulators, and functional regulators regulating different services like financial, education, healthcare and commerce being delivered using the ICT systems and networks.
Objective
- To provide an overview of the new business model based on data services in the Telecom sector
- To share success stories and the challenges faced by telecom and converged operators
- To illustrate the challenges and requirements of converged regulatory environment