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Mobile operators: what's so hard about keeping business happy?

by Manek Dubash | posted on 19 July 2007

Boy, have the mobile operators got a lot to do! They've been lambasted this week by yet another analyst report which reckons that they need to get on the ball with respect to their business customers -- not for the first time either.

What does this mean? As the report points out, the mobile operators need to boost their revenues because the opportunities to do so in the fervid consumer market are becoming fewer. Users aren't loyal to the network, they like their phones and, if the network can't deliver exactly what they want, consumers will go elsewhere.

Businesses are much the same -- except that it's much harder to switch networks once you've invested in the expertise and a relationship with a particular operator.

Keeping business happy isn't rocket science. They want high quality services that allow them to communicate both internally, and with their customers and suppliers. They also want costs that are reasonable and, perhaps more importantly, predictable. This is just one area where the operators fall down.

What's more they're doing themselves no favours when it comes to helping reduce costs. Femto-cells and pico-cells, for example, if provided by the operator, could provide a useful revenue stream while keeping customers on board by routing calls at a nominal cost across the enterprises' existing network infrastructure, where possible.

Yet I spent a day this week talking to operators and their suppliers at a meeting for members of the leading plugfest organiser for next-generation telco networks. All are gearing up for more rich data that will demand fatter pipes and greater quality of service, which is all well and good -- but it's mostly a consumer issue.

So who is going to cater for the needs of the business that just needs mobile data and voice services at a controllable, predictable cost? It seems that this is barely a priority as the operators chase after the needs of fickle consumers.

When will they get business needs -- if ever?