Customers Want RCS VoLTE, Study Suggests

Mobile subscribers want richer, global and open IP-based messaging experiences from mobile network operators, according to GSMA. In other words, they want features provided by Rich Communications Services and voice over LTE, the GSMA implies.

The challenge, as has been the case for other service provider investments in platforms, is the lack of a compelling and clear incremental revenue driver.

The GSMA report says mobile operators are “unlikely to charge consumers directly for IP-based communications services.”

That also implies that projected financial benefits of up to US$5 billion between 2015 and 2020 for operators in developed markets will come substantially from indirect sources, such as better churn performance or account retention, especially from enterprise accounts.  That always is a tough sell, compared to investments that generate actual incremental revenue.

The research, commissioned by the GSMA and conducted by research firm Context Consulting,  surveyed 4,045 participants from China, India, Spain and the United States about their use of traditional mobile operator voice and SMS services, as well as internet-based messaging services.

It highlighted strong interest in new advanced mobile operator-led messaging services such as pre-calling, instant messaging, live video and real-time photo or file sharing, which are enabled by Rich Communications Services (RCS) and voice over LTE (VoLTE) and work natively on any device and network without the need to download an app.

Operator-led services were preferred to existing popular internet-based messaging services, with 79 per cent of people surveyed saying such a service would be relevant to them and 89 per cent regarding them as unique.

“Although internet-based messaging services are incredibly popular, they are siloed and closed, requiring users to download an app that their contacts might not be on,” said Alex Sinclair, GSMA CTO.

Skeptics might argue benefits will be hard to quantify. As with so many other major investment programs, telco next generation network platforms often provide indirect or revenue neutral benefits.

It is more “you get to keep your customer” than “you grow your revenues.”