Owning the end user

If the traditional telecom operators in this world have anything going for them it's the end user billing relationship and knowledge about the end user. All the Internet players do not have any billing relation with their end user. This means operators are in a unique position to expand this trusted and paid-for relation with new Internet services.

One of the key aspects is that once the operator launches VoIP or CoIP services across PC, Mobile and other conncted devices, they are already arm's lenghts ahead of the others. Secondly, once you have the CoIP clients running on these devices, this means that you are on their desktops. As this is the exact same thing google and others are trying to accomplish, this is EXTREMELY improtant for telecom operators to ensure they do not own the desktop of the PC but even more Mobile devices.

The battle for the end user's desktop has already begun a long time ago, but it's in the telecom operator's own hands to own each user's device's deksopt to ensure their survival and if done well, their path to profitability.

VON Berlin 2006: does the industry need something new?

I went to VON Berlin yesterday and this was probably the smallest VON I've been to so far. That of course does not have to mean that it's not good. However, it was just boring to be honest. Nothing really "exciting" was shown and if it was something fancy, it did not have a UI and consisted of sand.

Again I ask: where is the end user experience? Is it missing, did it leave the building? OPERATORS are looking more and more towards the end user experience, so the industry and VON better change towards that area, and display some REAL end user services and what the benefits are for these users.