The road to converged service offerings from IPTV operators leads to decreased operating expense and greater customer loyalty, according to a new report from Multimedia Research Group (MRG).
Operators traversing the converged services avenue are removing distinct elements of back office operations from so-called separate silos and unifying them to match their offerings.
The 298-page report, “IPTV, IMS and the Emergence of Multi-Service Convergence,” provides a look at how operators, such as Deutsche Telecom, PCCW, Orange and others approach converged service offerings. One real-world example laid out in the report illustrates how consumers can buy theater tickets via their home set-top box and have the “ticket” transferred to a bar code on their mobile phone, which is used for theater admittance.
The report provides numerous examples of what multi-platform services may look like on different platforms in different regions of the world by categorizing them into functional groups, including time-shifting, place-shifting, personalization and socialization.
Judicious use of Service Delivery Platforms (SDP), NGN (Next Generation Networks) and IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystems) is a key to intelligent infrastructure upgrades while keeping control of CapEx, according to MRG.
The Millennial generation expects video, personal communications and messaging services wherever they are, regardless of device or network, said MRG IPTV analyst Steve Hawley Sr.
"Operators that aren't transforming their service platforms to serve these 'digital natives' are already at a disadvantage," he said.
For more information, visit www.mrgco.com.
