Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016 1

COORDINATES

Cartesian Newsletter Spring 2016

Hyper-Personalization: What can MNOs do with subscriber data?

Also featuring:

• Analytics strategy: How to get more

out of your big data analytics

• Insights from CES and MWC

2 Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016

EXPERT INTERVIEW: Andy Weston, Vice President, Solution Sales Analytics Strategy - How to get more out of your big data analyticsOpening

remarks

In this Spring edition of Coordinates, we feature the developments in consumer market and analytics opportunities.

We started the year at CES, where our team looked at exciting developments in IoT, Smart Cities, and Ultra-HD content – innovations which are going to shape the future of consumer electronics. At Mobile World Congress last month, we were offered a glimpse at the gateway from the small screen to a non-screen-like experience as Virtual Reality demonstrations took center stage. In our review of MWC we also consider the future of mobile connectivity, led by developments in 5G, mobile video, and network virtualization.

At both of these global industry-wide events, we noted an increased focus on advanced analytics. Our feature article presents a range of hyper-personalization opportunities and use cases for mobile network operators to use real-time subscriber data to enable services and improve product offerings.

Although our industry is becoming savvier with big data analytics, there are still major organizational hurdles to be cleared. In our expert interview, Andy Weston discusses these challenges and what can be done to build an achievable and sustainable holistic analytics strategy.

Finally, we give an update on some of our 2016 industry predictions including Pay-TV, Wi-Fi and the sharing economy. We hope you enjoy this edition of Coordinates and welcome your feedback.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Coordinates and welcome your feedback.

Peter Woodward CEO, Cartesian

Andy, thank you taking the time to speak to us today. Could you tell us a little bit about your role at Cartesian?

I look after analytics business development for the EMEA region. My role is to help customers understand analytics challenges and identify areas where Cartesian can help with those challenges.

What are some of the challenges service providers currently face in terms of analytics?

Carriers’ objectives are fairly standard business challenges: growth, transformation, handling digital disruption, organizational effectiveness. Analytics is a way of quantifying those challenges and the options for meeting them. Cartesian has seen most of the interesting analytics around customer experience, project lifecycle management, as well as network expansion and technical disciplines like switch decommissioning.

What is the difference between what clients look for now as opposed to in the past?

Now, we have the technology and processing power to look at all the data a business creates. Financial reports used to look at only accounting data; now, you can combine that with customer data and network performance analytics to pull together a bigger set of data to answer the questions the business is asking. It is all faster and much, much easier. Analytics no longer has to be a white lab coat approach, but can become part of everyday business decision-making.

Why aren’t more companies doing advanced analytics?

Organizationally it is still challenging: data tends to sit in silos in different parts of the company; an organization’s functional areas are not always aligned in terms of sharing of data; and, the levels of quality and granularity of data varies across functions. There has recently been a move to centralize the handling of big data and the analytics around it. The creation of the role of CDO (Chief Data Officer) is one example. The aim is to ensure the right level of process and rigor is being used for all analytical capability within the company rather than having it being done piecemeal in separate parts of the organization.

We always hear about the opportunities with big data analytics. Where do people go wrong?

Big data isn’t good at understanding context. For example, the data might tell you that your enterprise business is more profitable and so you should turn off consumers entirely because they aren’t as profitable. Analytics must take the whole picture into account and build a narrative. With big data, you can describe aspects of a story, but you also need the human and social elements. For our clients, we combine big data analysis with industry expertise and our client’s business context to create a narrative

Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter -Spring 2016 3 www.cartesian.com facebook/cartesian twitter/cartesiantweets linkedin.com/company/cartesian

that management can present to shareholders and stakeholders. The story delivers as much as the analytics. At Cartesian, we understand what big data can and can’t do, as well the context within which it sits.

You went to Mobile World Congress, was there anything that stood out from analytics standpoint?

At MWC, there were plenty of experts that knew how to use big data analytics to solve individual problems. However, applying 5-6 of these use cases across a firm will lead to analytics silos. Most of the major players put forward big platforms for strategic analytics, but were marketing them as solutions to individual problems as opposed to holistic solutions. Not many articulated the value of using analytics across the board.

You’ll be attending MVNOs World Congress. How can analytics apply to smaller players?

There are elements in common regardless of carrier type, whether you have 500K customers as an MVNO or an MNO with 20M customers. Understanding your customer is still of utmost importance. An up-to-date, real-time view of customers and every interaction with them can inform decision making for churn propensity, retention action, upsell & cross sell, service excellence, network and operational developments. Open source technologies mean that you don’t need a multimillion dollar platform to leverage analytics – you can do it cheaply based only around the costs of storage and the skills that you need in your organization to handle the analytics requirements of the business. For smaller carriers and MVNOs, it’s not unobtainable to start using big data to make decisions.

For an approach to analytics strategy, where should a company begin? What do they need for success?

1) Review your current status: Assess your current situation, what’s being done and the state of data sources

2) Assess business and technical needs: Look at your organizational area and prioritize needs

3) Analyze your gaps: What do we need and how do we get there?

4) Create a roadmap: You can’t click your figures and have a company-wide analytics program. You can’t always put existing analytics on hold either. Things like financial reporting need to continue to happen whilst you’re going through a transition.

With this four-step approach, we can get a client to the point from having the desire to do analytics to having a concrete plan where they know the transition they have to go through and what it will look like in 2-3 years and beyond. <>

Andy will next be at the MVNOs World Congress in Amsterdam from 11-14 April.

Want an assessment of your approach to analytics? Contact us to discuss your analytics strategy.

Contents

Opening Remarks

Insights • Featured: Hyper-Personalization with

MNO subscriber data

• Industry Analysis:

2016 Predictions Update

• Insights from CES & MWC

Expert Interview

• Andy Weston and Analytics Strategy:

How to get more out of your big data

analytics

Company News

• Cartesian and G-Cloud 7

Client Challenges

• Client Challenge: Using predictive

analytics to reduce customer churn

• Client Case Study: IPTV platform

deployment for a telecommunications

operator

Conferences & Events

2

5

4

11

3

10

10

10

11

4 Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016 Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016 5

The Emergence of Hyper-Personalized Offers

The combination of growing data availability and improved

analytic capabilities has made it possible for private and public-

sector organizations to better understand their customers’

and constituents’ needs and, in turn, target their offerings. This

hyper-personalization is leading to levels of customization

never seen before, driving increased customer loyalty and

improving companies’ bottom lines. As marketing personalization

platform NectarOM notes, businesses that personalize their

communications experience a 2 to 5% increase in margins.

Mobile Subscriber Data as a Driver of Hyper-Personalized Offers

Mobile subscriber data has been a key enabler of hyper-

personalization. Due to the vast number of mobile subscriptions

and large number of people using mobile phones as their most

frequent computing device, mobile has been identified as a key

by Michael Tomasini

Featured: Hyper-Personalization with MNO Subscriber Data

medium through which to interact with consumers. Whereas

traditional advertising relies on the behavior of large groups of

indistinguishable customers to create loosely targeted offers,

mobile’s ability to track individuals’ real-time context and

personal, usage, and demographic information offers a unique

platform for precise targeting in advertising and other forms of

communication. Figure 1 depicts mobile subscriber data points

that can be valuable for hyper-personalization. Data from each

of these categories is available both on smartphones and feature

phones.

The Role of Location Data

Customer location data is both a key enabler of hyper-

personalization and a key reason mobile subscriber data is so

valuable for hyper-personalization. By making use of data that

is tied to the places customers go (location-based services) and

their behavior over time (location-insight services), it is possible

to build highly detailed customer profiles and target offers in light

of the customers’ immediate context. Mobile subscriber data is

integral to making this possible, as mobile subscribers spend most

of their time near their mobile phones. Mobile subscriber data

has allowed for the development of novel targeting approaches

such as geo-aware campaigns, which use a consumer’s real-time

location to advertise specific nearby promotions, and geo-

fencing, a technique that restricts advertisements to consumers

within a relevant geographic area.(Continues on page 6...)

In our Winter 2015 edition of Coordinates, we made predictions on the ten events and themes that will shape the communications industry over the next 12 months. Here we give an

Industry Analysis: 2016 Predictions Update

Private and public-sector organizations are increasingly seeking out ways to use big data to better target customers and constituents. MNOs are well-positioned to cater to these groups by building hyper-personalized solutions. Despite an increasingly competitive ecosystem, MNOs can build differentiated solutions by leveraging their vast amounts of valuable, real-time subscriber data and analytics capabilities.

Written by:

Approaches and recent trends regarding the use of MNO data for Hyper-Personalization

update on some of these predictions that have experienced interesting new developments in the first quarter of 2016.

Prediction: Pay-TV providers follow Comcast’s lead with their ‘Stream’ product and offer slim content packages over the top

In March, AT&T announced an OTT service called DirecTV Now, to

be launched in late 2016. No pricing or content information has

been revealed so far, but AT&T’s stated intent is to differentiate

themselves from “slim” bundles offered by competitors by

offering a large portion of the content currently available on

DirecTV. Playstation Vue also expanded nationwide in March,

offering a wide slate of channels at the competitive price point

of $29.99 per month. Expect to see increased competition from

Pay-TV providers as this market continues to develop further into

the year.

Prediction: As OTT and TVE services mature, Pay-TV providers begin to crack down on password sharing

There has not been any revelatory news from traditional

providers on cracking down on suspicious accounts. Meanwhile,

OTT providers continue to tolerate and even appreciate the

practice. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said that he “loves” password

sharing during his CES 2016 keynote: “A lot of the time”, he

said, “household sharing leads to new customers because kids

subscribe on their own as they start to earn income”.

Prediction: Traditional broadcasters continue to resist the urge to embrace third-party OTT TV platforms

It has been widely reported that Apple was close to licensing

deals with major broadcast networks, but that they were unable

to come to an agreement for offering an internet TV subscription

along with the new model of the Apple TV. Agreements with

the commercial networks are seen by many as the final hurdle

for OTT providers to climb for offering service competitive

to incumbent Pay-TV providers. Also, early this year the FCC

announced a proposal for new set top box regulations that will

likely begin to break up the rigidity of the current Pay-TV format.

This proposal was met with staunch resistance from incumbents,

who stand to lose the significant portion of their revenue that

comes with STB leases.

Prediction: In the mobile sector, Wi-Fi first business models grow in popularity

In early March, Google opened up the doors of its Wi-Fi +

Sprint/T-Mobile MVNO called Project Fi to all US customers. The

service is competitively priced and introduces a truly flat-rate

$10/GB data plan. Unfortunately, the service is only available on

Google’s Nexus smartphone line. Time will tell how much visibility

the low-cost service will be able to achieve.

Prediction: More partnerships will be formed between sharing economy companies and traditional businesses

Ride-sharing partnerships have dominated headlines in Q1: Lyft

announced a $500M partnership with GM to develop self-driving

cars, while Uber partnered up with technology firm TransLoc to

facilitate synergies for ride-hailing and public transportation.

Google is continuing to make a push for ride-sharing, giving it

its own tab within their Maps app alongside traditional forms

of transportation like walking and driving. Alongside long-time

Google partner Uber, different ride sharing companies in the UK,

Germany, Spain, India and Brazil will have the ability to offer their

services within the app.

> Read our full list of industry predictions for 2016 in our Winter Coordinates

Zach Cohen Carly Christian

6 Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016 Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016 7

Hyper-Personalization with MNO Subscriber DataHyper-Personalization with MNO Subscriber Data

MNO Subscriber Data for Hyper-Personalized Services

MNOs are well-positioned to offer hyper-personalized services.

The subscriber data MNOs capture can be particularly valuable for

hyper-personalization as it contains a variety of rich information

and is continually collected in real-time. In addition, as operators

have recently focused on building analytics capabilities, many

are well positioned to offer not only raw data, but also business

intelligence services. MNOs in some countries have established

practices that allow them to share the mobile subscriber data

with third parties unless a user makes a conscious effort to opt

out. As a result, the data and insights that MNOs are able to share

typically cover a substantial portion of their subscriber base.

Many MNOs are already pursuing strategies to monetize their

subscriber data. Global MNO revenue from subscriber data sales

is poised to reach $9.6B in 2016, substantially higher than its $5.5B

level in 2015. A larger opportunity to leverage their subscriber

data within the ~$40B global mobile internet advertising space

exists for MNOs ambitious enough to create advertising solutions.

Despite MNOs’ strong positioning, two key issues threaten

to inhibit MNOs’ potential to monetize subscriber data:

evolving consumer privacy requirements and competition from

smartphone application developers.

• Evolving consumer privacy requirements: Consumers have

increasingly expressed the desire for transparency and control

around how their personal information is used. Regulatory

approaches to protecting consumer data have varied by country.

The regulatory approaches addressing these needs have

constrained the extent to which MNOs can monetize their mobile

subscriber data. To deliver services within these bounds, MNOs

have incorporated practices that better protect their subscribers,

such as only supplying data which has been highly anonymized.

However, as technology evolves, so too does the conversation

about protecting consumer privacy. MNOs may be required to

continue adapting their services over time to meet evolving

regulatory requirements.

• Smartphone application developer competition: While

MNOs traditionally had nearly exclusive access to their

subscribers’ device, user and network data, a growing ecosystem

of smartphone application developers has established new

approaches to collecting mobile subscriber data. Mobile apps

may ask users to opt in to sharing their data. If a user accepts,

the application developer may collect many of the same valuable

subscriber data points MNOs have collected for years. Many

users are willing to opt in to gain access to the unique functions

offered by popular applications. This creates new competition for

MNOs, as anyone seeking to offer hyper-personalized services

can now contract with third-party application vendors or build a

proprietary application in-house.

Figure 1: Mobile Subscriber Data Relevant to Hyper-Personalization

USE CASE

AirSage collects raw, real-time signaling data from Sprint and

Verizon and triangulates the approximate location of mobile

subscribers using analytics. They then resell this data to digital

advertising firms such as Vistar Media. This advertising firm has

developed technology that allows marketers to analyze where

consumers live, work and shop in order to provide hyper-

personalized location-based mobile advertising opportunities.

AirSage and Vistar are able to capture the most substantial

benefit because they are the ones serving enterprises with the

high value location-based data insights.

A UK food retailer received from O2 (Telefonica) insights

derived from mobile network data pertinent to its shoppers to

support its efforts to target direct marketing efforts. The retailer

was advised to target 400,000 households out of 11 million

households. Telefonica provided heat maps of geographies

that were particularly well suited for promotions. Telefonica’s

customer insights led to a 150% increase in the amount of new

or reactivated customers who visited the food retailer.

Basic: Several MNOs such as AT&T, Telefonica, and Rogers offer

location-based advertising to its pool of subscribers via SMS.

For example, using geofencing, the Rogers Alerts service helps

retailers target subscribers with automated offers based on

their proximity to a retailer’s location.

Mature: In 2015, Verizon acquired AOL and Millennial Media,

demonstrating its intention to compete in the broader digital

advertising industry. As a result of these acquisitions, Verizon

has become a mobile advertising enabler with advertising

capabilities across multiple platforms and devices. These

acquisitions substantially increase Verizon’s ability to offer

not only deeper data and insights services, but also a platform

through which it can offer enterprises hyper-personalized

advertising enablement services. Other MNOs have also been

building out their digital advertising capabilities, including

Singtel with its purchase of both Adconion and Kontera, as well

as Telstra with its acquisition of Videoplaza.

(Continues on page 8...)

USE CASE

USE CASE

How MNO Subscriber Data Enables Hyper-Personalized Services

MNOs have made subscriber data available through three key

approaches, described below:

1. MNO Data Sales

The most simplistic way in which MNOs have made their

subscriber data available is by selling it through third-party

analytics firms. These firms in turn leverage their analytic

capabilities to transform the data and provide enterprise

customers with real-time access to consumer-level insights

including where their customers are, their demographics and how

their behaviors are evolving. Many of these analytics firms provide

their customers with value added services such as web-based

tools and portals where they can access both reports and charts.

2. Analytics Based Solutions

Another way MNOs have supported hyper-personalization efforts

is by building and leveraging analytic expertise to provide data

insights directly to enterprises, agencies and other organizations.

These offerings generally involve the aggregation of subscriber

3. Hyper-Personalized Solutions

Finally, MNOs have built hyper-personalized solutions that

leverage not only their subscriber data and analytics capabilities,

but also their ability to directly reach customers with targeted

offers and alerts. At a basic level, MNOs are able to leverage

their network-based location data to provide proximity based

alerts including advertising offers or emergency notifications.

More mature and ambitious MNOs have evolved into vertically-

integrated mobile advertising enablers offering a variety of

mobile advertising services to enterprises, agencies and other

organizations. MNOs’ real-time and location-based data are a key

differentiator that will help them to compete against advertising

giants such as Google and Facebook.

data along with third-party demographic profile data. From there,

MNOs (e.g., Verizon with Precision Market Insights, Telefonica

with Smart Steps) work to derive insights that help enterprises

make more informed decisions and better target their offerings

to meet customers’ needs. In these cases, enterprises need to

work with another firm, potentially a partner of the MNO, to

create hyper-personalized communications for their customers.

8 Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016 Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016 9

Hyper-Personalization with MNO Subscriber Data

Figure 2. MNO Data Monetization Value Chain

* Key competency shown; many of these vendors have or may be expanding along the value chain

** The global mobile advertising opportunity is $90B, of which hyper-personalized solutions are a fundamental subset

How MNOs Can Monetize Their Data for Hyper-Personalization Purposes

MNOs have the opportunity to begin offering hyper-personalized services or expand upon their current offerings, but must navigate

the complexity of developing a hyper-personalized solution and address the challenges associated with consumer privacy and growing

competition. In a 2014 industry survey, 60% of MNOs said they “believe that it is more important for telcos to harness the power of

big data to drive new revenue streams externally than it is to turn it to the advantage their own internal operations.” However, only

10% of respondents stated that they are focusing on external monetization programs for their subscriber big data. Whether MNOs

are beginning to explore subscriber data monetization strategies for the first time or are deep into the process of building out holistic

hyper-personalized solutions, several best-practices can help them ensure greater success.

To build hyper-personalized oriented offerings, MNOs should begin by understanding the unique capabilities and elements of their

data that will lend themselves to hyper-personalization offerings. They should then ensure they have integrated the necessary analytic

capabilities to draw insights from that data that are required to provide tailored high-value services directly to the public and private

sector (note these analytic abilities can also be leveraged for internal purposes such as improving subscriber experience). Finally, they

should build out strategies to offer full hyper-personalized services.

Cartesian offers MNOs several forms of assistance in developing and refining their hyper-personalization strategies:

1. Identify and integrate key data, analytics and other technology requirements

2. Develop necessary internal capabilities and organizational buy-in

3. Identify and prioritize high value personalized service offers based on key capabilities

4. Determine capability/data gaps and identify strategies to fill gaps (build, buy, partner)

5. Identify potential customer segments and competition

6. Refine offer, develop go-to-market strategy, test, and execute

<>

1 “Hyperpersonalize” (Direct Marketing News, Feb 2014)

2 Intelligence Industry Survey (Telecoms.com, 2014)

Cartesian Accepted as a Supplier for the United Kingdom Government Procurement Framework, G-Cloud 7

COMPANY NEWS:

Cartesian has been accepted as a supplier for the UK’s latest government procurement framework, G-Cloud 7.

G-Cloud 7 is the seventh instalment of the procurement framework, which allows suppliers to receive government contracts related to cloud-based services, without the need for participating in a full tender or competition procurement process. Suppliers define the services they offer on G-Cloud’s online store, the “Digital Marketplace,” which are then reviewed by the government’s agencies and departments for selection.

The framework is part of the UK’s broader initiatives to accelerate and simplify the process of cloud-based IT procurement, while making it easier for suppliers to sell their services to the public sector.

Cartesian joins a pre-approved list of providers under the ‘Specialist Cloud Services’ group, which is comprised of companies providing consulting solutions in the cloud domain. Cartesian will offer a range of cloud strategic planning services, including data analytics and cloud adoption studies. In particular, we will help governmental organizations identify key opportunities for cloud implementation, as well as the development of a strategic roadmap toward full migration.

“For more than 25 years, we have successfully delivered strategy consulting services to some of the world’s largest companies and organizations,” said Peter Woodward, CEO of Cartesian. “By joining the G-Cloud 7 framework, we are expanding our reach in the UK public sector market, where we see a number of new large-scale opportunities to pursue. We are excited to extend our expertise toward helping the UK government develop robust cloud adoption strategies, while addressing the challenges and risks inherent in a full transition to the cloud.”<>

> For more information about Cartesian’s services and presence in G-Cloud 7, Contact Us or visit the Digital Marketplace.

CLIENT CASE STUDY: IPTV Platform Deployment for a Telecommunications OperatorOur client’s situation

A telecommunications operator had made earlier attempts to develop an IPTV service but none of these had resulted in a successful launch. The operator recognised that it needed external support to design, build and deploy an end-to-end IPTV platform.

How we approached the issue

After failed attempts to launch an IPTV service, the Head of Strategic Programmes engaged Cartesian to create a TV proposition and support the platform launch. Understanding the cost impact of key service options as well as the options for offering OTT Catch-up and Multi-screen services was vital. This was achieved through segmentation analysis, qualitative and quantitative assessments and an evaluation of the synergies/implications for other related services.

What we did to help

Cartesian supported the client decision making process with key service definition choices before moving to operational design and implementation. We managed the detailed product definition phase and requirements capture that led to the selection of key vendors for the end-to-end system for full business case evaluation. The implementation phase then included programme management, end-to-end architecture, operational readiness, content agreements, trials management and security management to enable a smooth and successful platform launch.

The end result

Cartesian provided the TV-specific expertise required by the Head of Strategic Programmes so that TV could be added to the client’s portfolio of services. Following the approval of the business case, Cartesian was retained to support the successful launch of the TV service. <>

> See more case studies on Cartesian.com under ‘Where We Help’

CLIENT CHALLENGE: Using Predictive Analytics to Reduce Customer Churn

The importance of data-driven proactive customer retention

Effective customer retention is critical to maintaining a strong and growing business, as retaining existing customers is much cheaper than acquiring new ones. Cartesian’s Strategic Analytics practice takes an end-to-end approach to churn reduction, first helping our clients understand why customers are churning, and then we use these insights to develop and implement strategies that proactively increase customer retention.

We start by blending data using our proprietary churn model to build a comprehensive fact base. Combining information on customers, product usage, service issues, billing, pricing, and competition, we correlate different patterns with churn risk, and then identify the most relevant churn drivers.

Through this process, our churn analytics solution helps our clients quickly focus attention on the biggest opportunities, answering a number of critical questions. Examples include:

• Are sales, marketing, or other acquisition practices driving early customer churn?

• Do some services result in poor customer experiences and below-average retention?

• Which customer segments are most likely to churn after promotional pricing expires?

• How much do service outages or poor customer service experiences increase churn risk?

• Are there regional retention issues that can be targeted for quick resolution?

• Which competitors are most effectively stealing customers?

Once the most actionable opportunities are identified and quantified, we then work closely with key stakeholders to prioritize and implement initiatives to increase retention and reduce churn. These can span the customer lifecycle, and can include a combination of technology-based churn analytics solutions as well as strategic support.

Examples of our work include:

• Developing predictive churn propensity models to proactively identify customers who are most “at-risk” of churning

• Deploying web-based churn dashboards that provide up-to-date analytics on churn trends and drivers to key stakeholders

• Optimizing sales and marketing processes to increase

retention though better alignment of products and services with customer needs

• Building and implementing customer retention and loyalty programs

Cartesian supports communications and media firms to understand why customers are churning and then use these insights to develop and implement strategies that proactively increase customer retention.<>

> Go to ‘Insights’ on Cartesian.com for our series on churn starting in April

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Conferences & Events

Risk & Assurance Group (RAG)

In March, our London office hosted the RAG’s first meeting of the year with Rob Chapman, Principal, chairing the event. André Roy, Head of Security, presented on how to protect revenues generated by streaming video. Rishi Modha, Strategy Senior Business Analyst, also presented a client case study on revenue leakage from user password sharing. The next RAG event will take place 7-8 July 2016 in London. Topics include: revenue and business assurance, fraud management, ERM, risk management and security.

RECENT EVENTS

SPEAKER FOR YOUR EVENTWe are regularly invited to present at industry events. Contact us if you would like us to speak at yours.

We attended GSMA’s Mobile World Congress 2016 and got a first-hand look at exciting new developments in the mobile sphere. Handhelds took center stage as flagship smartphone reveals were complimented by innovative competitors seeking to differentiate themselves. Although many announcements were device-centric, our biggest takeaways from MWC were the broader themes that teased exciting possibilities for the future of mobile connectivity.

5G will bring disruption

A 5G world is imminent and will bring a broadly felt impact, according to reports from MWC. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile have announced or begun 5G testing, with Verizon claiming to be commercially ready by 2017 (though industry experts believe this is unrealistic). Nokia, Intel and Samsung demonstrated leading technological developments like beamforming and massive MIMO. 5G’s near-zero latency and lightning-fast speeds will bring new opportunities for entrepreneurs across many industries. However, wireline incumbents must keep in mind the risks presented by 5G – it could tip the scales for many considering abandoning broadband in favor of an entirely wireless connectivity solution.

Virtual Reality is still in its infancy

Samsung and HTC took center stage, demonstrating VR competitors to the industry-leading Oculus Rift. It is clear from technical demos and current software on the market that the technology and its use cases are still nascent. Nonetheless, given the significant monetary investment in the industry, we expect

this technology will continue to grow rapidly in coming years; Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg stated that VR will become one of the next generation’s killer apps. Service providers should look for opportunities for partnerships that may prove lucrative in a 5G world.

Mobile Video continues to grow

Netflix made headlines when they announced the introduction of adaptive-bit-rate streaming on mobile to help consumers better manage their data. Netflix also revealed more than half of subscribers watch video on their smartphones, but that mobile accounts for just 10% of total viewing – indicating that while interest in mobile video is strong, users prefer watching television on a traditional medium. OTT providers should thus continue to integrate their services into traditional television models to reach more customers.

Network Virtualization becoming a focus of service providers

Cisco partnered with Intel, Ericsson, and Verizon to focus on network virtualization and digitization. AT&T announced that 5.7% of their network is currently virtualized, with a goal of 30% by 2017 and 75% by 2020. An increased emphasis on virtualization will help reduce costs and improve reliability for service providers, while also increasing the amount of customers able to be served. Firms emphasizing rapid virtualization will be better positioned for the long term. <>

In January, we travelled to Las Vegas to attend the Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s largest annual gathering of the consumer technology sector where ground-breaking products such as the VCR and HDTV were introduced. While there were no new products of such a magnitude announced this year, we noted an increased focus on analytics demonstrated across the board. Building out the capabilities to track, measure and leverage data to better understand consumers is a vital step towards efficient strategic decision-making. Firms are beginning to recognize the untapped value of this data. Here are our other major takeaways from CES:

Everything that can be connected is becoming connected

Sensors, cameras, trackers, and remote/touch/voice control are all increasingly being integrated into clothes, appliances, home furnishings, medical/fitness devices, jewelry, and entertainment devices. As IoT connectivity continues to become mainstream, security remains a concern for consumers and vendors alike. With more and more people linking their cars, homes and accessories, service providers should ensure that they are not left out of the opportunity by offering consumers a convenient opportunity to build a contiguous connected ecosystem with their devices.

Smart Cities are a data-centric opportunity for network operators

Private firms are not the only ones realizing the capabilities of connectivity to improve efficiencies and drive growth. The US Department of Transportation announced their Smart City Challenge, in which the DOT will provide up to $40M to the city that can integrate connectivity to their transportation network. Operators are uniquely positioned to assist in this development due to their extensive connectivity infrastructure as well as their inherent ability to monitor data and deliver insights. They should look to build public/private partnerships to integrate themselves with the development of the smart city.

Ultra-HD content will drive OTT growth

Manufacturers unveiled several slick new ultra-HD television sets priced lower than previous iterations. Netflix, who had recently announced that all their content will be produced in 4K, also revealed expansion to more than 130 countries. These developments point to a continued increase in demand for bandwidth in coming years, given that 4K requires an order of magnitude greater bandwidth compared to current resolutions. If OTT providers develop compelling high-resolution content, it may provide a significant driver for future cord cutters. Pay-TV providers would do well to take this into account considering the current lack of broadcast ultra-HD content. <>

Insights from CES and MWC By Sam Kornstein, Sooln Yoon and Michael Tomasini

@CES: Looking at the future of consumer electronics

@MWC: Changing the mobile landscape

Connected TV World Summit

Also in March, Tom Thomas, Senior Security Consultant, was a judge for the Videonet Connected TV Awards event in London. Sky Media were the big winners of the evening with five awards including winning ‘The Data-Driven TV Award’ for its Sky AdVance platform. Other winners include Harmonic for ‘Video Technology Hero’, TVPlayer for ‘Best TV/Video Service Update or Launch’, Netgem for ‘Contribution to User Experience’ and Ericsson for ‘The Big Immersive TV Prize’.

UPCOMING EVENTS

INTX Boston, 16-18 May

Cartesian will be exhibiting at The Internet and Television Expo, presenting our services in networks, customer experience and TV. Bill Hill, President, will join our team at the conference. More details will be announced soon on Cartesian.com.

Cable Congress Warsaw, 28-30 June

Cartesian is proud to be a sponsor at this year’s conference. Paul Rusby, Executive Director, will attend along with other members of our team in EMEA. We will present our suite of services for cable including networks, video, quad-play and OTT.

MVNOs World Congress Amsterdam, 11-14 April

Our team will deliver a pre-conference workshop covering strategic analytics for MVNOs. During the conference, Hoong Kwan, Principal, will chair the Customer Experience Management stream, while Michael Dargue, Principal, will chair the stream on Global Connectivity & Remote SIM Provisioning. Andy Harper, VP Sales, and Andy Weston, VP Solutions Sales, will also participate at the conference. Our team will also run mindshare sessions on quad-play and service bundling.

Where to find us in Q2:

• INCOMPAS Washington DC, 10-13 April

• MVNOs World Congress Amsterdam, 11-14 April

• NAB Show Las Vegas, 16-21 April

• TV Connect London, 26-28 April

• INTX Show Boston, 16-17 May

• AngaCom Cologne, 7-9 June

• Cable Congress Warsaw, 28-30 June

Planning to go too? Let’s meet. Book your meeting today.

12 Cartesian Coordinates Newsletter - Spring 2016

Cartesian(R) is a specialist provider of consulting services and managed solutions to leaders in the global

communications, technology and digital media industries. For 25 years, we have advised clients worldwide in strategy development and assisted them in execution

against their goals. Our unique portfolio of consulting services and managed solutions are tailored to the specific challenges faced by executives in these fast-

moving industries. Combining strategic thinking, robust analytics, and practical experience, Cartesian delivers superior results.

Copyright 2016

www.cartesian.com facebook/cartesian twitter/cartesiantweets linkedin.com/company/cartesian

Our world is transforming. Every day, communications technology creates new opportunities to connect. Always on the move, this world is as complex as it is exciting - just keeping up is a full-time job. To truly succeed, you need to go further. By making this world simpler and smarter, Cartesian can make this happen.

We are passionate about problem solving, figuring things out, seeing things from a different angle and cutting through the complexities of the industry. We not only provide the right solutions, but also the answers that push our clients forward. And by doing this we help organizations transform - themselves, the industry and the wider world.

Ours is a world of opportunity. Combining analytics, technology and industry experience, we can help you succeed in it - faster.

Cartesian. Transformation. Accelerated.