Around the World…

Telesperience…
Separating the Caterpillars from the Butterflies – What are the Core Telecoms USPs?
Analyst, Teresa Cottam looks at the metamorphosis of the telecoms industry in a recent blog post, and asks what the unique selling proposition (USPs) are telecoms service providers. She believes that much of the industry has been slow to change, is still stuck on outdated models, or is desperately seeking new ones. Teresa continues to frame her post with an interesting analogy—“we can view the transformation of telecoms as a metamorphosis from a network- and technology-centric business into a customer- and service-centric business. The emphasis shifts from network operation to telecoms retailing”. This analogy explains how the telco industry will need deliver against customer expectations, as it’s no longer about promising QoS or producing capacity.

Wireless Week…
FCC Offers Calling Tips to World Travelers
Summer officially kicked off 21 June, and with that the United States’ Federal Communication Commission (FCC) launched a program— Wireless World Travel (WWT)—to help nearly 60 million Americans who travel abroad each year save money on their international wireless use. The program will include helpful tips on international calling, videos from the FCC Chief, a tip sheet for mobile users and a blog and twitter account where all WWT information can be found. This is a great initiative by the FCC, as many subscribers encounter ‘bill shock’ during summer holidays. Before you leave the country, check with your service provider regarding roaming costs, and if they offer services, such as temporarily disabling mobile browsing or roaming notification once certain limits have been exceed.

CommsMEA…
Gulf Set to Lead with LTE
According to a report from Pyramid Research, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE will lead LTE adoption in the Middle East and gain a head start over countries in Western Europe. The LTE penetration rate for these countries is expected to reach 11.8%, compared to the projected 7.7% for Western European. Kerem Arsal, an analyst with the Pyramid, believes that this strong growth is due to the demand for data services, reliance on mobile rather than fixed access technologies and the increasingly competitive approaches of telecom regulators. He also attributes this projected growth to the absence of strong fixed broadband infrastructure and fixed competition, which gives “favourable signals” to network operators who are considering LTE deployments in the region.