New IHS Markit White Paper Offers Strategies to Improve the Home Broadband Experience

New IHS Markit White Paper Offers Strategies to Improve the Home Broadband Experience

LONDON (February 25, 2019) – Broadband is already a commodity, and these days it is often considered an essential utility, like water and electricity. As such, it has also become a necessity in most households. The “Home Broadband Experience Index,” a complimentary new white paper from IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), provides insight on how service providers can improve customer satisfaction by maximizing the broadband experience.

“By offering and achieving  a superior experience across the various levels of the broadband consumer’s journey, service providers can control churn and more efficiently grow their service revenues,” said Elias Aravantinos, principal analyst at IHS Markit. “With broadband being bought as a commodity today, service providers must listen to consumers more effectively through their customer care and marketing channels, as the feedback may open opportunities to offer tailored consumer packages.”

The development of new business models that are driven by user customization may drive the evolution of the premium broadband experience. A combination of highly reliable connectivity, customized offers and high-quality services are the key to attractive smart home packages. Service consciousness is another feature of the premium broadband experience, as service providers must offer the most positive user experience across all stages of the customer journey.

Creating a standard for premium home networking helps service providers respond to the consumer need for high-level service and effective WiFi throughout the home. “As the global data transmission increase is directly linked to the deployment of fiber-optic cable, service providers should adopt a premium network standard, a fiber-based solution, along with a premium WiFi solution to respond to the consumers’ needs,” Aravantinos said.

“A plug-and-play broadband home increases consumer satisfaction, from the beginning of their journey,” Aravantinos said. “Consumers want to complete processes quickly, without any specific knowledge. Service providers are encouraged to offer equipment that comfortably suits online needs.”

According to Aravantinos, “the best premium service offers a significant advantage to society, as it enables access to knowledge and information including healthcare, education and safety of citizens. There is a role that service providers should consider playing – not only offering premium broadband experience, but also advancing the digital society to the next level.”  

To find out more about the IHS Markit “Home Broadband Experience Index,” join analysts Elias Aravantinos and Jack Kent for a presentation at MWC 2019 on Tuesday, February 26, at 14:00 in the Media Village Press Meeting Conference Room 4. To download a free copy of the white paper, visit https://technology.ihs.com/611257.

Meet IHS Markit Analysts at MWC2019 — Elias Aravantinos and other industry experts from IHS Markit will also be available for media interviews at the upcoming MWC2019 in Barcelona, February 25-28, 2019. To schedule an interview before, during or after the show, contact Lee Graham at lee.graham@ihsmarkit.com or press@ihsmarkit.com.   

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About IHS Markit (www.ihsmarkit.com)

IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information, analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. IHS Markit has more than 50,000 business and government customers, including 80 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and the world’s leading financial institutions. Headquartered in London, IHS Markit is committed to sustainable, profitable growth.

IHS Markit is a registered trademark of IHS Markit Ltd. and/or its affiliates. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners © 2019 IHS Markit Ltd. All rights reserved.

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5G: The Efficient Engine to Virtual Infrastructure Optimization

Ahead of his participation at TM Forum Live!, ACG Research’s Elias Aravantinos looks at how 5G technology can be the engine to optimize the different parts of the network to enable new, faster and more profitable services.

Infrastructure optimization
In an effort to address the demand for capacity and average revenue per user (ARPU) pressures, service providers are looking at 5G technology as the engine to optimize the different parts of their networks and deliver faster, new and more profitable services. In many cases, they realize that upgrading their physical infrastructure has limitations because of costs and inefficient time to market constraints, and they are looking for solutions, specifically virtualization, that scale their networks to meet the capacity demand while simultaneously delivering business value – savings.

Click to read the TM Forum article.

Nokia-ALU merger, can the new European force race to wireless top?

Following a trend I predicted in March 2015 (Intense market transformation and consolidation will be among the key 2015 wireless market features) Nokia recently announced it bought the French
networking supplier Alcatel-Lucent in a deal valued at $17bn (€15.6bn). The combined company will be called Nokia Corporation, headquartered in Finland, with Rajeev Suri, continuing to serve as CEO.

The company’s goal is to “create the foundation of seamless connectivity for people and things.”

Nokia plans to establish a €100m fund to invest in Internet of things startups in France following the
closure of the deal, which is expected toward the end of the 2015, that is if there are no serious delays.

ALU’s Value Proposition

Alcatel-Lucent propelled by its successful growth in core networking and routing, was ranked No. 2
in edge routers in 2014 behind Cisco. The new Nokia will definitely take advantage of that position as this core networking unit will add a large percentage to the company’s total revenue. In addition,

Alcatel-Lucent has managed to put together a serious wireless partner “ecosystem”, especially for
metro and small cell requirements.

Alcatel-Lucent is also poised to capitalize and lead on new technologies such as 5G as the company is exploring a new air interface on the Filtered OFDM, and its Qualcomm’s strategic small cell
partnership could be possibly expanded to enhance its future radio access portfolio.

Complementing this ecosystem is Nokia’s Flexizone and Flexi Radio, which covers macro and small
cell layer in addition to virtualization, as the company has virtualized most of its core, RAN, as well
as delving into NFV alternatives. Nokia also brings strategic partnerships with Dragonwave (mobile
backhaul) and Juniper Networks (IP/routing) to the table.

However, the companies do face obstacles common in all mergers. The difficult points in this deal
will be staff and product harmonization, especially related to existing customers. The company will
have to deal with issues such as orchestration of product overlaps, multiple business partners (internal and external), LTE customers’ relations, and common management across USA, Europe and China.
All of which could shake up the global market for quite some time.

Competitors, naturally, are digesting the impact of this gigantic deal but also realize that to stay
competitive they will need to adjust their strategies as well as introduce new products as more intensive competition is anticipated across all sectors. Historically, Ericsson is used to that pressure, but this case is definitely unique and more challenging; NokAlu  is expected to become a global leader in ultra-broadband, IP networking and cloud applications, has raised this competitive bar.

Investors should closely follow the new company’s milestones and stock as undoubtedly there will be many upturns and downturns before the company stabilizes. The core networking segment is a high-
margin, strong performing one that should add and increase the value of NokAlu’s stock. Today, if we benchmark Nokia and Ericsson’s stock, there has not been much volatility during the past year, but there is a respectful gap in the value per share. But this merger could be a game changer.

Once the merger and its accompanying issues have been address and processes, policies staff, etc., are integrated, Nokia will be strongly positioned with a highly efficient and complete end-to end portfolio across all sectors to capture 5G global contracts. With 5G expected to be multidimensional very few vendors with innovative product portfolios will be able to comply and implement providers’ demands but with this merge Nokia will.

Source: ACG Research

ACG Research Announces New Principal Mobility Analyst

GILBERT, ARIZONA, USA, March 31, 2015 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Elias Aravantinos, a respected consultant in the ICT consulting and telecom industry has recently joined ACG Research, analyst and consulting firm, provides market shares and forecasts in the service provider equipment space, business modeling and TCO/ROI consulting services, service creation, strategic messaging and go-to-market strategies in managed all aspects of the networking industry.

Elias Aravantinos will extend ACG Research’s strong presence in the service provider space by bringing his extensive multidisciplinary background and experience in technology marketing and management consulting for large vendors and Wall Street firms in wireless infrastructure and mainly into the service mobility and WiFi segments for both ACG’s Europe and North America operations.

Mr. Aravantinos will be responsible for ACG’s service provider mobility division, delivering consulting and analysis for end-to-end mobility infrastructure, services and emerging business models. His professional experience includes working for KPMG where he lead an Identity Management Applications and Services, securing the company’s extranet; Lucent Technologies Lab where he designed a dynamic allocation spectrum model for the next-generation wireless networks, applying computational economics and optimization models; Columbia Institute for Tele-Information leading a strategic consortium of operators to understand the ultra-broadband network and the technology requirements to develop a set of wireless and wireline solutions. During the last five years, he has developed extended expertise into wireless technology projects, as well as microwave and mobile backhaul.

Elias is a pioneer in technology and business-related indexes and helps service providers and technology managers to understand the present and future trends. “Operators and SPs are challenged today, as there is a tremendous need for in-depth research and strategic analysis across various wireless technologies that form a very demanding and dynamic ecosystem,” says Elias Aravantinos. “I look forward to helping them address these issues and am really excited to be part of a strong team of thought leaders that will complement my passion, vision and expertise across different technologies.”

“As capex shifts more toward wireless, operators are looking for the best services and innovative architecture to not only reduce churn but also to increase profitability, says Dr. Ray Mota. Having Mr. Elias Aravantinos who has expertise in the technology and business side of mobile and wireless technologies, will help ACG Research provide comprehensive services to MNOs and vendors as well as complement their requirements as they look to state-of-the-art service creation and business case analysis in areas of 5G, VoWiFi, VoLTE, backhaul and other wireless areas.” 

For more information about ACG’s mobility and WiFi services or to schedule a briefing with Elias Aravantinos, contact lleone@acgcc.com.

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Linkedin to surpass Facebook's value as professional networks are more useful

A few days ago Facebook Inc announced that the professional version of its social network aimed at businesses will launch in the next few months. I wouldn’t disagree that Facebook is No.1 Internet social network with 1.35 billion monthly users. But we also shouldn’t forget Branchout back in 2010, a Facebook application for professional networking that raised $49 million over three rounds. Today that is the failed startup that attempted to create a “LinkedIn within Facebook” network, but the company’s assets have been acquired by 1-Page, an HR software company based out of San Francisco, listed on the Australian stock exchange. That deal was closed pretty much the same time with Facebook’s official announcement about the new professional network that could be considered as a switch into something new.

However the professional community today, is totally different to Facebook’s approach and envision. For most professionals and executives, Facebook is meaningless or even dangerous and they wont ever connect their Facebook profile with the upcoming professional one. When you meet other professionals all over the world, the first thing you do to keep in touch is to connect via Linkedin and network rather than a Facebook connection that will come later or even never. Linkedin today is where professionals meet globally, joining forums online, finding jobs, acquiring knowledge and create partnerships.

All this value is translated into a 40% share growth in the past 6 months, what investors care about, 20% more than Facebook Inc’s. Linkedin has created its own path, partly based on a typical social network’s principles, gaining full approval from its members that join at a rate of more than two new members per second. Perhaps that was the reason that made Facebook realize that it has to be there and gain market share, even if Linkedin is more robust and sustainable and will be hard to beat.

Based on Linkedin stats, more than 4 million companies have LinkedIn Company Pages and in Q32014 total revenues advanced 45% on a Y-o-Y basis.

Concluding, if Facebook Inc plans to offer the professional network, closely attached to Facebook’s platform, it will most likely have limited success as most professionals are already settled with profiles and contacts in Linkedin. I don’t really see how Facebook will motivate this community to give up Linkedin or even add the new platform and a personal profile as we all have limited time to network, to build profiles/reputation and are interested into serious discussions and opinions. Finally Linkedin continuously offers new leading social features, as “Like Post”, “Write Post” that increase engagement and the high value content.