Telecommunications

The growth in mobile money

As the telecommunications sector turns to a new growth agenda, mobile money services are becoming more important than ever.

The acceleration of mobile remittance services alongside new mobile payments highlights the opportunities for the mobile phone to redefine the movement of money by:

• Lowering costs
• Increasing convenience
• Reducing fraud

Interestingly, many of the most successful services worldwide have originated in developed Asia — where mobile contactless services are well established — alongside money transfer services in emerging markets such as the Philippines and Kenya.

However, opportunities have yet to be uncovered in many developed markets, where financial inclusion is higher and where there is a greater diversity of existing payments channels.

Ultimately, flexibility — in terms of policy approach, customer proposition and stakeholder management — should be top of mind for all players as the handset catalyses a more efficient customer payments experience, and one that brings with it greater advantages in terms of information richness and location sensitivity.

Discover how we can help you lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s mobile money solutions (link to about our Telecommunications services).

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The need for data privacy and security is growing

Privacy remains a significant issue for many telecommunications operators and poses ever-increasing challenges. This should come as no surprise; operators capture and hold enormous amounts of data on their customers.

Factors such as new services, the continued digitization of information, as well as more accessible and ever cheaper digital storage, have only increased (and will continue to increase) the amount — and level of sensitivity — of the personal data operators accumulate.

More generally, as operators invest in building deeper two-way customer relationships, their growing dependency on customer data will increase the associated risks. Efforts to limit illegal file sharing are under way in many countries, yet the range of stakeholders involved means that debate often continues at the expense of policy consensus.

Operators should work closely with governments to clarify their responsibilities in areas such as anti-terrorism and content for children, and collaborate with suppliers and partners to tackle privacy and security issues in new service areas such as cloud security and mobile apps.

Our approach — grounded in industry-specific experience and committed to delivering measurable, sustainable results — can help you adapt and succeed.

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• Privacy trends 2012: the case for growing accountability

An industry in transformation

The telecom industry is transforming before our very eyes. And in many instances, there are no hard set rules for the new digital platforms, tools and lifecycle in which they live.

In this industry more than any other, therefore, embracing a strategic, forward-looking business model is critical to survival — and success. The transformation that has gripped the landscape presents you with challenges, risks and opportunities as never before.

With continued pressure from new players entering the market, operators must continually find ways to stay ahead of the game. Strategies include investment in next-generation technologies and alternative network sourcing arrangements.

We can help you compete in a changing landscape.

Managing risks and seizing the opportunities

Despite — or, in some cases, because of — the continuing uncertainty and volatility in the global economy, there are major opportunities for telecom operators. Each company’s ability to identify and seize these opportunities depends critically on its ability to understand and manage risk. Unless your growth strategy has a solid underpinning of risk management, it will never be truly sustainable.

There are new opportunities emerging, provided companies are willing to take those risks and make the bold strategic choices that are required.

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