High-speed data services such as LTE are transforming how operators design, deliver and market services. Carriers are now rolling out more offerings, bringing them to market faster, and targeting increasingly segmented customer groups. New business models continually emerge as operators seek to monetize growing mobile data consumption.
Forward-looking operators are seizing this opportunity by introducing Dynamic Services that give subscribers more choice and flexibility.
Dynamic Services is a platform that enables operators to create, present and monetize mobile offerings in real time. A central capability is rapid service and pricing plan creation, enabling innovative pricing structures and tailored bundles that align with customer needs.
By enabling subscribers to supplement a base plan with selected value-added services, operators can deliver a wide array of value-based offers across diverse customer segments. Operators that adopt a Dynamic Services strategy typically see higher ARPU, improved profit margins and better customer satisfaction. Representative examples include:
- A Canadian operator introduced fixed-volume, fixed-duration data passes (for example, 60 MB for one week for a fixed fee) to reduce customer uncertainty about data costs and encourage adoption. Within 60 days of launch, 15% of data-pass users converted to recurring post-paid data plans, billing credits fell by 98%, and customer care received 120,000 fewer calls annually. These results were driven by clearer pricing and simpler customer understanding of data usage.
- An operator in the Middle East addressed lost roaming revenue caused by customers switching off data while abroad by offering data roaming passes—fixed data volumes for a set duration. This approach led to a 35% increase in data roaming revenue.
- Multi-device shared bundles are now common. For example, Verizon shifted its focus from ARPU to ARPA (average revenue per account) to reflect multiple devices per account. Since launching shared plans in June 2012, 23% of Verizon’s post-paid base adopted shared device plans within six months. AT&T also reported significant growth in multi-device data share plans in late 2012.
- A European operator offers “add-ons” that extend speed, data volume and services such as music, TV and cloud storage above a base plan. The operator reported a 25% year-over-year increase in data ARPU (2010–2011), a 25% lower churn rate among cloud-service subscribers compared with the average, and 10% of customers subscribing to additional data options. These initiatives contributed 5–10% additional EBITDA and helped the operator capture a larger share of data revenue than competitors.
Dynamic services continue to proliferate across the market. A consistent requirement for these offerings is real-time charging and monetization. Policy control is now being leveraged not only to manage network resources and costs, but also to shape products that drive revenue growth.
Real-time charging combined with policy control provides the essential foundation for modern data offers. Operators are advancing this capability by exposing engagement features of policy and charging systems directly to subscribers—letting customers view, manage and purchase services—and to content providers, enabling controlled access to policy and charging functions.
Policy and Charging Control (PCC) integrated with real-time engagement tools is central to delivering an effective Dynamic Services strategy. This integrated approach gives customers the transparent choices they need and encourages them to spend on the services that best meet their needs.
Interested in hearing industry leaders discuss these topics and share real-world use cases? Attend co-located industry events that bring together practitioners and vendors to explore the future of enterprise technology, including IoT, blockchain, AI & big data, and cybersecurity and cloud innovations. These conferences take place in major hubs such as Silicon Valley, London and Amsterdam and showcase practical case studies and strategic insights from operators and solution providers.