Navigating the fiber landscape: A strategic view on infrastructure monetization

SPEAKERS

Paul Borowski and Sue Merrick

Sue Merrick
0:00:00
Hi, welcome to the Light Reading Spotlight Q&A. I’m Sue Merrick, and today I’m speaking with Paul Borowski. He’s the Chief Growth Officer at Comviva. Hi, Paul. Thanks for joining me today.

Paul Borowski
0:00:14
Hi, Sue. Great to be with you again.

Sue Merrick
0:00:16
So, Paul, what role does the technology stack, and I’m specifically talking about BSS, in enabling fiber companies to monetize their networks and create kind of sustainable businesses?

Paul Borowski
0:00:31
This is a great place to start our conversation, because what good is building a network if we can’t think of creative ways to monetize it? And when we think about the BSS solution, really the role that we want to empower the BSS to play is to simplify the operators, the CSPs ability to monetize that network. And we want to do that through automation, right? Automation is linked right to the simplification of how somebody would consume a service that’s available in 5G. So, for example, do I need to boost the capacity of my connection to download a movie before flight because I don’t have time to log on to the airport Wi-Fi, I’m running between gates, right? Or I’m sitting on the plane. Or do I need a small but always-on connection to track a location, right? Very different use case. In one scenario, I’m just trying to get some additional capacity so I can download a movie. In another scenario, you know, I’m just trying to get a real thin slice of 5G connectivity and only pay for what I need to connect a sensor or a geolocation device. And being able to automate how that consumer starts to take advantages of the flexibility of the services that 5G enables for CSPs to monetize their network is really the key role. That staff really needs to simplify the experience to create a sustainable business by leveraging automation.

Sue Merrick
0:02:00
Interesting. So what are some of the key areas where operators can implement BSS solutions? And what are the benefits of doing so?

Paul Borowski
0:02:10
Yeah, I think the biggest benefit, I mean, we talked about the automation and making it easier for consumers to be able to pay for the service that they value. Then it’s creating the right pricing and bundling strategies around the offer. With BlueMarble and with our BSS solution here at Comviva, we have a number of ways that we can create different pricing scenarios and bundling offers and then leverage AI and machine learning campaigns to promote those bundles in real time. So it’s not just about selling any one service. It’s about looking at the ecosystem of services that are available for people to consume and then using a billing system to bring those things together in a creative bundle that differentiate the offer and you don’t look like just every other, you know, service provider out there trying to sell a service. So, for example, if we stand up a private 5G network and we’re using the Comviva BlueMarble BSS to automate that consumer experience, well, we can create a creative pricing and bundling model by integrating a third party like Uber or Lyft to get people to the venue that you’re trying to promote where that 5G private network service is enabled. And our Blue Marble service gives us the flexibility of doing that.

Sue Merrick
0:03:35
Oh, that’s interesting, because yeah, differentiation is key. And we haven’t seen a lot of that so far. So that’s pretty interesting. Now, how can fiber companies prioritize customer experience when implementing a BSS solution?

Paul Borowski
0:03:51
Yeah, I wish there was a silver bullet to this. But the closest one I could think of is really in something we try to do here at Comviva, when we’re thinking about how to add value to our own customers, which is start by taking an outside-in perspective, right? Instead of looking at the technology for 5G and slicing capabilities and automated BSS and TM form compliant data models and APIs, right? That doesn’t get anybody really excited about consuming a service. So we first have to understand, you know, if I’m the consumer and I’m looking to purchase something, you know, what’s going to motivate me to take action? So, we want to take, you know, an outside-in perspective, you know, before launching, you know, any service, and then design a billing and purchasing system that makes it really easy for the customer to consume that. And that’s where Blue Marble really shines, is a VSS platform, because it’s got the flexibility with the catalog capabilities, with CRM capabilities, with customer 360 views, where, you know, you can really have a lot of data at your fingertips to understand what’s going to make that service valuable for that customer based on what you know about that customer. And when that value proposition starts to extend beyond the BSS and gets into our customer value management stack with Mobilityx and our mobile payment solutions with Mobiquity and Payplus, where we can actually white label payment solutions for customers. You know, it really gives fiber companies and all communication service providers the ability to have a really positive and seamless customer experience by using the BlueMarble BSS.

Sue Merrick
0:05:33
Now, you’ve talked a lot about, or we’ve talked a lot about, you know, how this can differentiate companies from each other, from their competitors. But what are some of the challenges facing fiber companies when implementing BSS solutions and how can those be overcome?

Paul Borowski
0:05:51
Well, I think, Sue, one of the biggest ones is one we talked about actually in our last discussion, right, which is just some of the existing legacy software stacks that are out there, right? Over the last several years, especially in North America, you know, people consume connectivity from their communication service providers. Where in the rest of the world, telcos and CSPs in general, you know, play a much bigger role in the day-to-day lives of their customers. It’s not just about talk, text, and data. You know, they’re using their telcos as banks, as mobile wallets, you know, to conduct commerce in the ecosystem. And so they almost serve a dual role. And that’s really where, you know, BlueMarble shines is a BSS solution, is it has the ability to support a lot of different services that telcos and communication service providers and fiber companies can offer to their customers beyond just kind of the traditional talk, text, and data. But the software stacks that were built to support those purchasing models sometimes are really limited to those three services where BlueMarble is microservices-based, right? So, we could even build around that legacy system to address that challenge versus having to rip and replace it day one. I’d say a close second in terms of limitations is around, you know, non-standard APIs and custom-built catalogs that communication service providers have had to build, you know, over the last several years, and many times with the best intent, but doing things homegrown, right? Trying to minimize costs through a really stressful COVID environment and taking development in-house sometimes can save some dollars near-term, but longer-term, you kind of miss out on industry innovation because you’re only building features that you have visibility for your customer base. And so, you kind of sometimes end up with, you know, a patch solution for a particular problem in one space and then try to figure out how to tie that back into the platform. And when you’re all said and done, you have a whole set of kind of nonstandard APIs, custom-built solutions and catalogs that make it really difficult to kind of integrate with some of the AI and ML-MARTEC tools that we were talking about before and mobile payment solutions. And so BlueMarble addresses that by having TM forum compliant data models and API gateways to make it really easy to hook into other platforms and has a microservices built architecture so that it’s not a take it all or leave it all value proposition, right? If you need to start capping the investment on legacy systems and architectures and growing with a modularized microservices-based TM form compliant standard-based API gateway platform, you can do that with BlueMarble.

Sue Merrick
0:08:39
Okay. So what I’m hearing, it sounds like BlueMarble can work with new businesses like like Greenfield and also existing, you know, operators with existing businesses and you can work with, you know, existing legacy systems, right? Is that right? So you have a lot of options for operators.

Paul Borowski
0:09:07
That’s exactly right. And when we show up and start talking to customers, especially here in North America, we’re a little bit of an unknown brand and platform because most of our success, like I say, has come up over the years in Middle East Africa, Asia-Pac, where, again, the telcos aren’t just telcos to their customers, they’re banks in many cases as well. They’re entertainment companies. And so, you know, having a microservices approach where we can fly information with the existing solution that’s been built, put a cap on spending any more money on legacy investment, and then slowly migrate those services over time, it gives us a lot of flexibility to engage. I think you said it very well.

Sue Merrick
0:09:52
And can you expand? I know you touched on this. Can you expand a little bit more about the importance of being able to leverage TM Forum frameworks on data models and open APIs and kind of how that fits in with what you’re doing?

Paul Borowski
0:10:09
Yes, it’s all about communication. I mean, you think about just as a person, right, traveling to another country. I know whenever I get on an international flight, one of the very first things I think about is, am I going to be this island of knowledge that really can’t interact with the world around me in the way that I would if I was at home, right, and everything was known and comfortable to me? You know, that’s the value and the benefit that these TM forum compliant data models for the catalogs, it helps everything have a common language so that if I need to access an asset that’s in a catalog, it’s a common name regardless of it’s a CVM tool that’s accessing that or whether it’s a payment tool that’s accessing that, it all speaks a common language. And our BSS is really the source of that information and gives them the ability to access the information through a standard API, right? So, it just, it brings a level of governance to the enterprise software stack and gives communication service providers more time to think about, you know, what is that unique offer in my market that will really differentiate my service where we started our conversation, spend more of your time, you know, looking at those opportunities and less of our time trying to figure out, well, how am I going to get, you know, this, you know, asset in the catalog to be aware of this AI and machine learning promotion, real-time promotion that I’m trying to make to somebody over a social channel to get them to engage with me. And we simplify and solve those problems. And that’s really the value of those TM form compliant data models and APIs. Just to build on that a little bit, the three models that we really see emerging around 5G businesses are, you know, direct to consumer and enterprise business, you know, basic fiber access and connectivity with value-added services on top, right? That’s kind of the tried and true model. But we also now see a lot of fiber wholesale businesses because the need for bandwidth has, you know, really exploded. There’s companies making investments, just putting the capacity in the ground that will help us serve, you know, the connectivity needs that other businesses ride on top of. And then the third model, we see a lot of governments actually taking proactive steps to separate those businesses, right? So you have an infrastructure business, which is really the net co side of things. And then you have a services business, which is a serve co side of things. Kind of takes me back to the Telecom Act of 96 when here in the U.S. we opened up a lot of last mile access to Clex and Ilex and all that fun stuff. But Blue Marble can support all three of those different kinds of operating models. And when you combine it with the full enterprise software stack from Comviva and introduce the AI machine learning, mobilytix capabilities for real time, personalized promotions, and then engage the payment piece of it, it really provides a seamless way for communication service providers to get to market.

Sue Merrick
0:13:16
Right. Well, it sounds like a real interesting business to be going into right now. Certainly important for the industry. Paul, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. I appreciate it.

Paul Borowski
0:13:30
It’s exciting times for sure, Sue, and again, I appreciate all your help in having the conversation.

Sue Merrick
0:13:35
Great. Thanks. Great. Thanks.

Paul Borowski
0:13:37
Thanks.