Page 19 - Mobile World Daily - Day 2

GUAVUS | FEATURED INTERVIEW
“But successful data MWD: HOW DOES NET NEUTRALITY
management is IMPACT WHAT OPERATORS CAN DO
about being able to WITH NETWORK DATA?
make correlations
between different AL: Rather than viewing net neutrality as
data groups and either good or bad, it can be seen as a question
draw conclusions of how you use analytics. With the right
that add value as metrics you can partner in meaningful ways.
the data hits the
network or to even MWD: WHAT DEMANDS WILL THE
predict what is INTERNET OF THINGS MAKE ON DATA
going to happen in MANAGEMENT?
the future.”
AL: Given that M2M ARPUs are low, the cost
Data analysis is a critical piece of enabling of supporting sensors has to be significantly
that cooperation, as both the OTT and MNOs below that of supporting subscribers. If
bring complementary sets of information operators are going to cost-effectively manage a
that, when combined, can be used to help huge number of new devices in their networks
improve customer experience. For OTTs, then they need an understanding of the
better analytics means making better use of machine's environment and enough information
network APIs. On the network side, to trigger rapid automated responses to any
information on OTT service quality of changes that affect service performance.
experience can result in proactively taking
targeted actions to improve the service and A failure to use automated systems to
manage the network load. access, analyse and act on pertinent data
from the machine's environment erodes the
M2M business case. Especially when the
operator is in an IoT partnership.
After all, if there is a problem with the
connection to the thermostat of a customer's
refrigerator then the customer is going to call
the mobile carrier -- not Google Nest,
regardless of the cause.
IoT is not just about network connectivity; data
is the real value that many carriers can bring to a
partnership, whether it is with automobile
manufacturer or a healthcare company.
MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS DAILY 2015 | www.mobileworldcongress.com
MWD: CAN YOU PROVIDE EXAMPLES
OF HOW OPERATORS HAVE
INCREASED REVENUES, REDUCED
COSTS OR IMPROVED SERVICE
THROUGH A BETTER ANALYSIS OF
DATA?
AL: There are many examples of significant
returns on investment in data analytics. One
of the world’s largest cable operators, for
example, was rolling out a lot more trucks
than it needed to address customer
complaints. One reason it was making such a
costly mistake was that call centre employees'
performance was measured by how quickly
they dealt with a customer. So when
customers rang to complain their cable
modem wasn't working it was in the call
centre's staff's interest to find the fastest
resolution possible – and usually that meant
sending out a truck to the customer's home.
Often, however, the fault was with the network
and there was nothing the repairman could do
when he reached the customer's premises.
Time and money were wasted, and
customers, who may have taken time off work
to wait for the cable company, were annoyed.
The answer was to analyse call centre data
and network data to understand why the
customer had called, and then work to fix the
fault before the operator received another
complaint. The operator managed to save $50
million in the first six months, mainly through
truck roll deflection. And that figure does not
include the gains made in customer experience.
Mobile operators face different challenges.
One wireless operator we worked with
noticed that in New York City a single
application was using 5% of its network
capacity each weekday at 9am, 12pm and
5pm. We detected the root of the anomaly
and discovered that a taxi cab company had
re-jigged its credit card connection to carry
live video broadcasts so that its customers
could sit in the back and watch breaking news
and headlines. Not only did the video app use
a lot of network capacity, the taxi cab was
running it over a very low-cost M2M
connection. Once the operator had this
information it was able to renegotiate the
contract on the basis of a video service rather
than M2M.
“A failure to use
automated
systems to access,
analyse and act on
pertinent data
from the machine's
environment
erodes the M2M
business case.”
Tuesday 3rd March PAGE 19