CSMG provides strategic advisory services ranging from growth and business transformation to ecosystem and business model evolution. Our peerless industry depth and experience, signature strategy and quantitative methodologies enable our clients to make sound business decisions in a complex and ever-changing market.
All Insights
Apr 25, 2012
The emergence of MVNO in the Middle East & North Africa has been slow in comparison to Western Europe and other global markets. However, recent regulatory developments in key markets are creating new openings. Significant opportunity now exists for mobile operators and other businesses to gain first mover advantage while the MVNO market is nascent.
Feb 01, 2012
In December 2010, CSMG made 10 predictions for 2011. See how we did. For 2012, no single theme encapsulates our predictions, though many of our views center on applications and mobile devices.
Jan 11, 2012
Now more than ever, operators are placing an increasing emphasis on MVNO as new MVNOs are rapidly rolling out and existing MVNOs are expanding their services to include billing, marketing support, competitive analysis and more. As a result, market share and growth trends are dynamically evolving throughout the world.
Nov 30, 2011
The current trend of consumer technology entering the workplace presents major challenges for mobile operators as well as their business customers. How can operators maintain lucrative business accounts without cannibalizing business and consumer revenue? What is the opportunity to ride this trend and how should operators protect market share and revenue?
Oct 07, 2011
Mobile commerce (mCommerce), also referred to as Mobile Money, is an umbrella term for a broad set of technologies and functionalities that are enabled through the mobile phone1 and have the potential to revolutionize digital commerce and banking, retailing, and personal finance. The applications are wide ranging and run the gamut from low to high value, but fundamentally most focus on the mobile device as the centerpiece for four categories of activity:
Oct 03, 2011
Google’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility in August was the biggest—and perhaps the most surprising—purchase the company has made in its short history. Motorola’s large portfolio of patents offers Google protection against future litigation, but does Google see something more in the company? In this viewpoint, we explore whether Google’s history of experimentation has something to tell us about its latest high-profile move.
Oct 01, 2011
Voice over LTE services are entering the wireless market, bringing expectations of better voice service and more efficient use of spectrum. Will successful deployments relieve looming spectrum shortages? What are the implications of VoLTE for players in the wireless space?
Aug 31, 2011
Over the past several years we have seen accelerating growth in use of the mobile web, though primarily for static content. However, with standards coalescing and browser capabilities increasing, content and services delivered in the mobile browser will become increasingly robust.
Aug 31, 2011
In his 2010 book, “Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation,” Steven Johnson argues that those most interested in developing something new should emulate something very old: evolutionary biology.
Apr 28, 2011
RCR Wireless discusses challenges and opportunities for rural carriers with Greg Hull at the Rural Cellular Association conference
Apr 25, 2011
As mobile operators juggle network expansion requirements with cost control, network sharing has emerged as a potential solution in both developed and emerging markets. How do the benefits match up to the complexities, in what situations is network sharing the right answer for operators and what is next in the evolution of network sharing?
Mar 03, 2011
Body area networks (BANs) are small wearable or implanted sensors that monitor body vital signals or movements and then transmit the resulting data wirelessly to external devices such as smartphones, diagnostic systems, and medical data servers. These BANs will be major growth drivers in mHealth, as they will enable new functionalities that will significantly expand the overall ecosystem. This paper outlines some of the key ongoing innovation efforts and use cases, and how BANs will impact the health care system as a whole.
Mar 01, 2011
The immense complexity involved with inter-connected services, the diverse entities in the value chain, the rapid introduction of new products and the deployment of disruptive technologies combined with attacks by aggressive competitors place your revenue, cash flows, margins, cost containment, service assurance and customer satisfaction at high risk. To succeed and prosper you must identify a structured and disciplined
approach to assure that your business fully embraces and understands the intricacies of network infrastructures, operating and business systems, multiple sales channels and interdependent
processes and systems. The solution is business assurance.
Mar 01, 2011
As operators continue to transform their businesses, c-level executives are increasingly turning to
business assurance as a means to gain a holistic view of their businesses’ performance.
Feb 17, 2011
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) is a major component of the overall cloud service opportunity, but faces significant risk of commoditization. While a rising tide may float all boats for now, IaaS service providers need to meaningfully differentiate their services to maximize long-term value capture.
Dec 20, 2010
Service providers and technology vendors are frequently evaluating how they can better address vertical segments. Insurance is a vertical that has traditionally been slow to adopt new technologies, but stands to benefit from a number of mobile and wireless solutions. To unlock this potential, it is critical to understand which insurance segments and business processes receive the greatest benefit from wireless capabilities and applications.
Dec 10, 2010
Advertising ringback tones represent a substantial opportunity in the increasingly competitive market for price sensitive customers. With the right business model, wireless and VoIP carriers/service providers can benefit from additional incremental revenues and churn reduction.
May 05, 2010
The benefits of 4G networks will enable a greater range of services and use-cases. However, the business models and eco-systems required to drive adoption from a customer and service provider perspective have not yet been established. Next generation networks will lead to the emergence of a diverse range of eco-systems that better support the various players via new business models servicing a wide range of segments, customers and uses.
Jan 15, 2010
Internet video will transform the traditional linear TV experience through a dramatic expansion in the quantity and type of content available on TVs. As a result, service providers need to focus on providing a superior user experience to capture and engage viewers. By doing so, the opportunities for network operators should far exceed the revenue risk posed by Internet video.
Dec 15, 2009
The Consumer M2M (machine-to-machine) market is poised for growth. While the traditional M2M market consists of 20M devices in business sectors such as automotive telematics, utilities metering, fleet tracking, and remote healthcare, the consumer market for M2M is just beginning to emerge. New devices, new business models, and a renewed commitment by carriers to open their data networks have laid the groundwork for a Consumer M2M coming-of-age.
Dec 15, 2009
As 2009 draws to an end, we look back on the last 12 months and consider what awaits in the coming year. The year began with financial turmoil and economic gloom across all sectors. Within the telecoms and media markets there was uncertainty around the resilience of both consumer and enterprise spending.
Jul 15, 2009
Consumers are increasingly using mobile devices to access the internet and use data services both on the go and at home. New devices, coupled with improvements in network performance and falling prices, have contributed to drive mobile broadband growth ahead of fixed. This growth differential has led some industry commentators to suggest mobile broadband is a suitable and likely substitute for fixed broadband. They point to the faster speeds offered by LTE and the increasing proportion of mobile devices as evidence of this shift. However, mobile data capacity remains significantly more expensive than fixed, whilst the performance gap shows no signs of narrowing.
Apr 15, 2009
As the digital music industry continues to evolve, we see a significant shift towards the remote online storage and management of consumer’s digital music libraries. Users would host their complete digital music library “in the cloud” rather than locally, and then stream their music over the internet or wireless network directly to their computer or personal media player. This development offers several library storage and user experience benefits, as well as benefits for industry players. In addition, it would facilitate the proliferation of applications and services integrated into users’ online music libraries. Companies offering Online Library Management services are likely to be startups and peripheral players initially, followed by major digital music retailers. A key barrier to the emergence of this model, currently pursued by small players, is the required buy-in and willingness to experiment from artists, record labels, publishers, and other key content owners.
Apr 15, 2009
The deployment of Next Generation Access (NGA) networks is seen as a vital next step by European governments and regulators, and is already happening in many markets. However, while competition in the current generation broadband is characterized by widespread deployment of Local Loop Unbundling, NGA economics are far less amenable to infrastructure-based competition. In this environment, is there space for a competitive NGA operator, and what conditions are required for success?
Feb 12, 2009
When a Tier 1 carrier assessed the challenges posed by its opportunity to provide wholesale local exchange termination services to a leading cable MSO it quickly concluded it could benefit from outside assistance, assuming a reliable source of such assistance could be found.
Jan 15, 2009
Next Generation Access (NGA) will dramatically increase broadband speeds for European consumers and business over the coming years. However, it also threatens to disrupt established modes of competition and raises complex issues for telecommunications regulation according to Bob House and Michael Dargue.
Jan 01, 2009
Holistic Approach Engages Organization Stakeholders in Dynamic Process with Measurable ResultsStrategic planning is as common to doing business as buying and selling, but too often companies fail to realize just how much the process can contribute to organizational strength and success beyond merely setting goals and mapping ways to attain them.
Dec 15, 2008
As 2008 draws to an end, we look back on the last 12 months and consider what awaits in the coming year. 2008 turned into a year of almost unprecedented financial turmoil and economic gloom. Markets saw successive falls as investors took flight with stocks in all sectors bearing heavy losses. Of the selected telecoms and media firms below, the valuations fared worst of those carrying significant debt or with revenues dependent on advertising or retail sales.
Oct 15, 2008
Over the next five years, the major engine of change in wireless communications will be collaboration across companies involved in service delivery. Innovation driven by individual companies acting alone will recede in importance relative to collaborative efforts spanning multiple entities. We are already seeing signs of the disruptive impact of such collaborations in wireless: Nokia’s Ovi service, Apple’s iPhone, and others. Although collaborations are difficult to execute – finding the right partners and terms for collaboration will require careful planning – we believe that the rewards will be significant. Collaborative go-to-market models will fuel tremendous innovation, threaten established business models, and create real value for end users.
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