Of late, the telecom industry is seeing a rise in the number of MVNOs. However, an increase in their number does not indicate a constant rise in their success rate. MVNOs, regardless of their business model, need to focus on customer acquisition, M2M connectivity to sustain subscriber interest for a long time.
MVNOs have thrived in the industry because of their ability to differentiate themselves from the competition and this has always remained their USP. But, nowadays, it has become a lot more difficult to stay unique because of the sheer number of competitors in the market.
5G and IoT Disruption: How to get Ahead with M2M Connectivity?
The launch of new tech like IoT and 5G has caused a major disruption in the industry and provides a great opportunity for ambitious MVNOs to race ahead of their competitors. It is a great time to differentiate one’s services by showing excellence in any one of the two domains.
IoT is an intriguing field with great potential for those MVNOs that are looking to supersede their competitors. It is a flourishing technology and it has shown that it can perform mundane tasks in a better manner, making life easier for humans. ET City Brain, an IoT-powered traffic monitoring system, has been used to regulate the functioning of traffic signals, which has reduced the car traffic by up to 15%. Tesla’s autopilot is driving cars better than humans ever could. China has a classroom monitoring system that is helping teachers understand the mood of their students by viewing their facial expressions on camera. Considering the success of these IoT use cases, it is only logical to anticipate high hopes amongst people.
All the IoT use cases mentioned above have one thing in common – all use state-of-the-art M2M connectivity to provide reliable results every time. There is no way one can undertake critical tasks like traffic signal switching and automated car driving without having complete confidence in the reliability of the Internet connection. Hence, an MVNO should focus on procuring high-grade internet connectivity solutions to differentiate itself from the competition and ensure growth.
M2M Connectivity: What to Look for?
M2M connectivity lays the foundation for a successful IoT venture. As IoT connectivity requirements can be very different from regular internet connectivity requirements, it is imperative for an MVNO to partner with an MVNE that has the right resources at its disposal.
An MVNE that is also a quality internet of things connectivity provider can offer high speed connectivity with low latency to ensure that all your IoT equipment and sensors work as expected. Apart from high speed, you should also look for connectivity that suits your particular business use case. For example, if you want to ensure that your sensors sustain their battery charge for a long time and there is no need for high bandwidth, you can opt for LoRa or Sigfox connectivity. This type of connectivity does not provide high speeds but has the ability to traverse through long distances and does not put too much strain on the battery. Apart from this feature, you should also look for the following capabilities:
Security
It is essential to secure the M2M connectivity with robust encryption to prevent hackers from getting their hands on vital customer data.
Unique public IP address
A unique public IP address not only makes the connection more secure, it also allows for more reliable and consistent connectivity.
OTA capabilities
Over the air firmware upgrades are needed to update the devices connected on an IoT network.
Complete reporting and tracking of transactions
An IoT connection generates vast amount of data that needs to be tracked, charged and billed. To ensure complete transparency in monetization of IoT services, it is essential to have complete reporting capabilities.
Leverage M2M Connectivity with Best IoT Monetization Solutions
Even when you have the best M2M connectivity, it is not a given that your MVNO will succeed. Your virtual operations require the best monetization of IoT in order to capture different market segments. Have a look at some essential requirements of a successful IoT billing platform for MVNO success:
Convergent billing platform with centralized charging architecture
With IoT added to the vast array of telecom services you will be offering to the subscribers, the complexity of invoices will increase manifold. It does not make sense to send different invoices or use different platforms for charging different services. A better option is to employ a centralized billing platform like OCS that can charge prepaid, postpaid, broadband, OTT and even IoT services. A convergent billing platform allows for convenience in billing, makes it completely transparent and allows MVNOs to build customer trust.
Exciting monetization plans
Larger the magnitude of service offerings, the more difficult it is to monetize it, and even tougher it is to offer exciting plans. Along with 5G, IoT is one of the biggest and most crucial services offering that has an immense scope. To package it into exciting bundles and offer interesting plans, you need a billing platform that is completely scalable and flexible.
APIs to meet unique business requirements
IoT poses huge and unforeseen challenges. One of the biggest requirements of IoT is that you have to grow in different verticals. To make this growth easy, it is required that you have APIs that can be used for fulfilling a requirement in an instant. For example, APIs allow you to partner with a shipping vendor, so you can distribute IoT SIMs to the subscribers.
IoT Value in Different Businesses
IoT has sprawled over different businesses and has provided great results. Some of the benefits of IoT dissemination in different domains are:
Agriculture
As population of the world reaches unreasonable proportions, smart solutions are required to enhance the production of food crops. IoT incorporation in agricultural tasks has improved the monitoring of crop condition via IoT drones. By providing real-time information, IoT allows farmers to fix niggling issues like rotting crops or infestation by pests. Smart irrigation techniques allow them to optimize water consumption and improve the production without any wastage of resources. It is also possible to learn the whereabouts of animals on a farm by injecting them with IoT transducers.
Retail
The retail goods, especially the ones with short shelf life can be monitored automatically without any wastage of human resources. Also, it becomes easier to track inventory items and automate inventory reordering. The overall buying experience can also be improved with IoT integration e.g. IoT apps installed into customers’ smartphones can guide them towards the products they are looking for in a shop.
Healthcare
Healthcare industry has already profited greatly from IoT integration into the daily tasks. With quality M2M connectivity, it becomes possible for doctors to monitor patients’ health without any need for hospital visits. Also, we are seeing cutting-edge medical equipment like IoT-powered pacemakers that prolong patient’s lifespan considerably.
Apart from the various industries, consistent M2M connectivity solutions can improve human life considerably. It is now possible to control household devices like microwave and thermostat from afar by using a smartphone. It is also possible to monitor one’s home with an IoT-based surveillance system that updates the owner about the status of the house. The possibilities are endless when you have the right IoT solutions along with high-speed M2M connectivity.
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