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Alex Leslie - Jan 11, 04:13 PM
How would you feel if you flipped a switch and had to wait for several seconds for a dim glow and gradual brightening of the light bulb over your head?
When we were discussing business models and how companies would make money out of ‘next generation’ services we made an assumption – that bandwidth would not be a problem. If bandwidth is not a problem then the value is in the transaction or the service. If bandwidth is a problem then the value is diminished, usage is diminished and the experience is diminished because access is the issue.
Just before the telecoms downturn several years ago, the telecoms industry was judged to have wasted $6 billion in ‘unnecessary’ investment in networks and infrastructure. Like computer memory, we never believed that there would not be enough capacity. However, just as Microsoft was light heartedly accused of using up all the extra memory that Intel produced, so it seems Apple and its iPhone can now be accused of using all the capacity that its network operator partners produce.
How counter intuitive is it, in this world where apparently we are completely focused on the customer, to stop them using network capacity. That sounds like the old monopoly telecoms companies that used to charge more for making phone calls in the mornings than the afternoons. The message was clear – do not make phone calls in the morning, we do not want to increase our network capacity.
The trouble is that the customer expects capacity and bandwidth even if he does not really understand what it is. He also expects roads that work, water to come out of his tap and electricity to flow instantly to the light when he flicks a switch. Now, he wants to get at all the cool applications – instantly.
Perhaps the industry was caught by surprise, perhaps we did not expect the take up of usage following the introduction of the iPhone. When we were busy asking each other what the killer application would be, and the knowing ones would say things like ‘ah well, it will probably be a killer platform’ who knew that it would be a killer device. The next problem was that device had within it the killer platform that encouraged 80,000 killer applications to be developed and therefore had within it the seeds of destruction (or at least disruption) of the networks on which the device operated.
Long term, policy control stinks and turns customers off, even the ones who are not huge users of bandwidth. Long term, bandwidth problems must be addressed. Long term, access must be as instantaneous as the real time business models we keep talking about at conferences. Only then will we be able to properly charge customers for the value they get while on our platforms (not networks). This assumes that the platforms will be ours and not someone else’s like Google.
One very interesting idea doing the rounds at the moment is the idea of ‘platform as a service’ – that network operators must now create open, accessible platforms that allow and encourage application development, easy access and easier payment for the customer.
It is a great idea – but is it too late? Does Steve Jobs actually care – the platform is ‘on’ his device, so he is happy. Will the customer actually care – he will have the billing and customer care app on his handset that takes care of everything anyway. And if it too late does this mean that, after all the debate and discussion, all the network/platform operator is responsible for is, metaphorically, turning the lights on and off?
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