Finding ARPU at World's Biggest Fixed-Network Event

Whether they're interested in the impact of cloud, the role of big data in automation, virtualization's growing importance to ultra-broadband or the introduction of new content-basedservices, Broadband World Forum aims to send delegates home with solutions, contacts and insights.

Monetization is, for example, a focus of Optimising Service Delivery For Better Revenues (Oct. 26, 15.20), presented by Barna Kutvolgyi, managing director of JT Global, the on-island division of the Channel Island Jersey's triple-play telco.

"In Jersey, we are in the final phase of connecting all broadband homes to a point-to-point FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) network," Kutvolgyi told UBB2020. "When we complete this project we will be the first jurisdiction in the world to have done so."

That puts JT Global in position to advise well-established service providers about the benefits of shifting from copper to fiber, he said.

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"There are serious limitations on the capacity of copper networks -- somewhere in the 20 Mbp/s to 50 Mbp/s range. In our market, consumers view 100 Mbp/s for £25 ($34) a month as an absolute entitlement. It's like McDonalds 'go large' offer – with fiber you give consumers a lot more broadband speed for a small increase in price," Kutvolgyi added.

Fiber networks are cheaper and easier to maintain and open up the opportunity to create value-added services leveraging their higher broadband speeds, he said.

"In the session I'll be able to share examples of the [things] we tried that didn't work -- but one area that has shown a good return on time and investment is community advertising and homecare services," he said. "We [also] have learned a lot about rollout, about how to market to consumers and negotiate with regulators."

Jersey is a fairly small market; legacy service providers in larger areas may be nervous about the heavy investment involved in rolling out fiber, Kutvolgyi acknowledged. However, there is no choice but to follow JT's lead, he said.

"Doing nothing is not an option unless you are planning to close down your business," Kutvolgyi said. "Competing technologies like LTE and 5G mean new competitors will come into your markets and win your most valuable customers. Eventually, all you get left with -- if you don't upgrade -- are the lower-value higher cost-to-serve customers."

BT Group's Director of TV Architecture and Security, Jerome Tassel, will talk monetization at the event. In his presentation, Techniques for Improving ARPU from Big Video and OTT Services (Oct. 26, 16.30), he will explore ways operators can improve financial performances.

The session focuses on three main areas. First, how to improve customer experience through better interaction with customers, via better service and troubleshooting, for example. Secondly, Tassel will discuss how service providers can raise average revenue per customer (ARPU) by honing in on customer sweet spots and trends that support compelling yet differentiated services. Finally, he plans to address the importance of staying on top of price, availability, reliability and usability across a provider's entire services portfolio.

Evolving in the face of changing technology and consumer expectations is a key theme in the BBWF panel discussion Reimagining the role of the Telco Service Provider (Oct. 25, 16.50). Experts from different geographies will discuss how telcos can reinvent themselves as intelligent service providers and new ways to increase subscriber revenue.

Mila Milenkovic, head of autonomous department for business development at Belgrade-based Telekom Srbija, will share her insight from experiences gleaned through the provider's presence in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro and discussions held at TV Connect earlier this year.

"Convergence was the key word... convergence of thinking, convergence of different entities in the value chain and a convergent offer for the user. The event pointed to the development of new business models, changes in the value chain, and that there must be partnership to promote innovative services and business models. The user is in focus, not only for monetization, but also for better segmentation and creation of a personalized offer," she said in an interview.

It's therefore apparent that service providers must innovate and evolve -- both in their technology and content, said Milenkovic. That will shake up the pay-TV world, she warned.