Using real-time insights to understand the digital life of telco subscribers
This program explores innovations and advances in the mobile connected economy across Africa, including digital transformation successes, operational improvements and infrastructure modernization priorities. Mobile wireless network operators (MNOs) have a big opportunity to unearth device user insights and deliver much-needed applications and services that can advance socio-economic value in a vast population of one billion consumers in the region. For many telcos with effective customer data utilization strategies, the ability to offer affordable, revenue-producing content, commerce, community, collaboration, education, payments, health, safety, public service, and entertainment offerings will fend off category disruptors and competitive threats from over-the-top services.
According to the GSMA, the mobile ecosystem is contributing significantly to economic and social development in Sub-Saharan Africa. There are over 450 million mobile subscribers in the region and some 750 SIM connections. This is expected to rise to 634 million subscribers by 2025 and over one billion SIM connections, driven by the advent of cellular IoT. Mobile broadband connectivity is presently around 40 percent, but expected to reach 87 percent by 2025 when there will be some 690 million smartphones in use in the region.
Regional telcos have the ability to leverage a wealth of mobile consumer data to deliver relevant and needed services. Since African population groups are some of the heaviest mobile users in the world, mobile subscriber data can be the source of actionable intelligence on best ways to acquire, retain and monetize subscribers.
To better understand the diverse and complex African market landscape, the CMO Council surveyed marketing and business leaders at communication service providers, mobile network operators and digital media companies in the region. It also conducted in-depth interviews with executives from MTN, TelkomSA, Vodafone, Cell C, Accenture and AT Kearney. Through this engagement, the CMO Council has produced a report on ways to increase customer-centricity, responsive omni-channel engagement, and more valued, revenue-producing services using live data and analytics.
Possessing a vast abundance of ever-multiplying customer data, Africa’s leading wireless network operators and communications service providers are now hardwired to turn this under-performing asset base into a new form of “data currency” that can create customer value, generate new revenue streams, and be used for competitive advantage. More
