What operators can’t afford to get wrong in 2018

Brendan Gill, CEO of OpenSignal

It’s the time of year when predictions are making headlines. Predictions are a bit like weather forecasting, says Brendan Gill, CEO of OpenSignal. Everyone tunes in for the forecast, but no one expects you to get it right.

Instead of considering what the industry might get right in 2018 (5G anyone?), let’s consider what it can’t afford to get wrong. Customer satisfaction is an obvious one and a key driver of that is getting consumers’ network experience right.

Operators have historically defaulted to talking about network performance by reporting on how the network functions in an optimised test environment. This approach measures what consumers might experience as opposed to what they actually experience using the network.

Operators have also traditionally measured network coverage by population or geography and used drive testing to approximate their best guess of users’ network experience. What’s missing from these legacy approaches is the real-world experience of subscribers. A more modern approach, and one that makes a whole lot more sense, is to collect measurements from the source that matters most, actual users.

So, when UK mobile operator EE recently introduced plans to measure the proportion of time users spend connected to 4G networks, we took notice. Partly, we were surprised to see an operator embrace a metric derived from real-world measurements – which EE calls “Time on 4G” – that OpenSignal has been reporting on for more than five years (we refer to it as “4G Availability”).

More user-centric?

Mostly, though, we saw it as a sign that the industry might be ready to rethink its outdated, operator-centric approach to measuring coverage in favour of a more user-centric one.

Beyond the obvious advantages of making the customer a central focus of your business strategy in terms of improved customer retention and loyalty plus cross- and up-sell opportunities (like Amazon), measuring mobile experience based on actual subscriber measurements is hugely beneficial for operators in other ways.

For example, it can help direct network infrastructure investment to the places that matter most for subscribers. Where are the places where customers are trying to use their applications and where the latest mobile broadband services are not available? Indeed, just as device manufacturers design handsets based on consumer feedback, operators can optimise their networks based on direct input from subscribers by focusing on on-device measurements taken 24/7, in the places where their customers live, work and travel.

Consumers view network connectivity as non-negotiable in today’s mobile-powered world, and operators with broader network availability are better positioned to meet their needs. Satisfied customers stay paying customers for longer, which mitigates subscriber churn.

Operator earnings season is approaching, and subscriber churn always has a significant effect on an operator’s bottom line. Making data-driven decisions to improve network experience can go a long way to increasing customer satisfaction and reducing attrition.

Less churn, in turn, helps fund infrastructure optimisation in preparation for the anticipated “next big thing”. Operators need to simultaneously maintain high performing 4G and 3G networks while preparing for new technologies like IoT and 5G, which come with a whole new set of network availability challenges. An operator’s track record for delivering today’s wireless service will go a long way toward proving to subscribers that it will not disappoint when the time comes to choose their next-generation wireless technology provider.

Common sense approach

Beyond the potential financial implications, there’s common sense to consider. The only thing that really matters when it comes to network performance is how it’s experienced by subscribers, which is best understood from actual user data.

The power of today’s smartphone devices enables billions of on-device measurements to be recorded every day, providing a rich source of data from which to accurately understand users’ true network experience. Armed with this information, operators can finally deliver a superior network experience based on facts as opposed to guesswork.

Will 2018 be the year that the mobile operators abandon the outmoded ‘traditional’ methods of measuring network performance in favour of measuring users’ actual network experience? A mindset change is difficult to predict, but certainly those that make the shift will give themselves a significant commercial advantage in terms of superior network performance, enhanced quality of service – and greater subscriber retention and loyalty as a result.

The author of this blog is Brendan Gill, CEO of OpenSignal

Comment on this article below or via Twitter: @ VanillaPlus OR @jcvplus

RECENT ARTICLES

Connectbase expands baltic connectivity with Bitė partnership

Posted on: March 28, 2024

Connectbase has announced the addition of Bitė to its ecosystem. This partnership marks a step forward in enhancing connectivity options within the Baltic region, providing a link between local and

Read more

IOT Solutions World Congress 2024 connects semiconductor chips to industry

Posted on: March 27, 2024

Essential to manufacture computers, smartphones, cars, refrigerators or any electronic device, semiconductors are critical elements in the implementation of the Internet of Things. For this reason, IOT Solutions World Congress

Read more