Charging for Telco and Web 2.0 Services
This is a fundamental shift, compared with the first generation of web applications—which were essentially delivered “over the top” of best-effort IP connectivity, as if the telcos were a public road system.
Instead, Web 2.0 applications, and so-called mash-ups, are implemented “across the middle” of telco networks—directly controlled by network policies and supported by back-office functions to ensure that they work properly and deliver a quality user experience. Consider the following examples:
- iPhone—Apple’s latest is the ultimate mobile device: a phone, an amazing web browser (with zoom and orientation features) and a media player, with a range of productivity and messaging applications. But it’s useless without the mobile network.
- Software As A Service—IDC projects that the market for software as a service will surge past $11 billion by 2009. Today, CRM and sales force automation applications, such as salesforce.com, are leading the market. However, just about every software supplier has a SaaS strategy. Given that these are distributed, mission-critical applications, the SaaS model doesn’t work without fault-resistant connectivity and robust security.
- Gaming—Today’s gaming experience is unparalleled. In fact, the technology in a Playstation3 or Xbox makes a standard PC look like a calculator. The growth in the market is driven by distributed, multi-player games that integrate voice, video, and rich media. The user experience can’t be met without low-latency, low-error broadband networks.
- Video—Video is fast becoming telecom’s next killer app. Hollywood is excited, as IPTV and mobility together have unlimited potential for personalized, on-demand, interactive content. User-generated content via YouTube has opened up unforeseen markets. AT&T’s recent mobile push-to-video service allows users to capture, publish and archive video clips directly from the handset. And there are other applications like security, remote monitoring, training and more. But video is a bandwidth hog—it won’t work without quality network distribution.
- Mobile applications—These are popping up all over. On the enterprise side, custom applications for real estate, transportation, medicine, workforce management, sales and other activities are announced daily. Cisco, Microsoft and some operators are working on integrated communications technologies that are making FMC a reality. On the consumer side, navigation, friend-finder, messaging, banking, social networking and entertainment apps are gaining in momentum. None of these work well without integrated call handoff over 3/4G networks.
The emerging market reality is that new value is created only when telcos and Web innovators integrate their offerings. This point is perfectly illustrated by the recent announcement that Google has agreed to provide the portal, interface and application suite for Sprint’s WiMAX network.
