AT&T and Amazon Launch Alexa-Based Calls

U.S. operator AT&T and Amazon have reached an agreement to enable the operator’s customers to make and receive phone calls via their Amazon Echo smart speakers and displays, according to a news report. Customers simply have to link their existing AT&T phone numbers to their Alexa account to receive hands-free calls directly on their Echo devices just as they would use their regular AT&T phones.

This is the first time Alexa-based direct calling has been offered in the U.S., although Amazon already introduced the feature for Vodafone OneNumber customers in the U.K. and Germany as well as for EE mobile customers in the U.K. 

All incoming calls on the Echo device come with caller ID and can be snoozed by activating Amazon’s existing Away Mode or switched off at night with Alexa Routines. 

This initiative seems promising in that it offers a level of convenience, co-branding between two very large and instantly recognizable companies and first-mover advantage in the U.S. market.

While most people have their smartphone handy most of the time, being able to simply ask Alexa to initiate a call by talking to a smart speaker is likely to be attractive to many users because it allows for an experience that is not only hands-free but also screen-free. Considering how much time users spend in front of screens, it may in fact be an attractive relief to be able to use voice only. The enhanced sound quality of an Echo speaker compared to a phone may also be perceived as a boon by customers.

The partnership between AT&T and Amazon may bear fruit over time in ways that go beyond simply Echo-enabled voice calling. Amazon may find new ways to enhance sales of products through its connection with AT&T subscribers, and AT&T may be able to extend its own marketing reach through its relationship with Amazon.

One thing that both companies should be aware of is the possibility of customers feeling some trepidation with regard to security. They may wonder whether Alexa is fully protected against eavesdropping or other invasions of privacy, if calls are going to be made from it. AT&T and Amazon will do well to address the point and reassure potential users. 

Tarifica is a global SaaS company and a market leader in the real-time collection, analysis and delivery of telecom plan and pricing data worldwide. Through a mix of AI, modeling and market expertise, Tarifica tracks hundreds of thousands of plan and pricing data points daily. No other company tracks more. Tarifica's mission is to continuously convert data into the dynamic intelligence that fuels opportunities for its clients, the world's leading operators, regulators and consultants.
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Amazon Considering Buying Boost Mobile

U.S.-based global e-commerce giant Amazon is looking into acquiring U.S. operator Sprint’s Boost Mobile MVNO brand, according to news report. The U.S. regulator FCC has told Sprint that is has to sell the unit if it wants to get its $26 billion merger with T-Mobile US approved. Sources said that Amazon is mainly interested in the fact that any deal will allow the buyer of Boost Mobile to use T-Mobile’s network for at least six years. Amazon has reportedly also expressed interest in buying any other spectrum frequencies that Sprint and T-Mobile might divest as part of the deal.

The sale of Boost could bring in US $3 billion, according to potential bidders. Other parties interested in the deal include Q Link Wireless, a private equity firm working with FreedomPop and the former owner of Boost Mobile.

The news this week that Amazon is considering acquiring mobile spectrum left analysts wondering what the purpose might be. Would Amazon really want to become a mobile operator, taking the U.S. total back up to four just as the Sprint–T-Mobile merger (if it happens) brought it down to three? It seems preposterous, given the intense regulation of the mobile telecom market, the high costs of running a network and the fact that revenue from traditional mobile services is declining, in general. What’s more, if Amazon really wanted to add mobile telecom services to the diversified slate of services it already offers, it could simply start an MVNO and run it on someone else’s network, at immense cost savings.

So we have to assume that Amazon—if indeed it is seriously contemplating such a move—wants the spectrum for some purpose other than starting its own MNO. We can imagine several. For one, having its own spectrum could be of great use to Amazon if it implements delivery services via drones and automated vehicles, which are in development. Second, even as things currently stand, Amazon’s business depends on the internet of things and automation at many levels, and having its own network could be advantageous in that respect. And third, Amazon has a longstanding policy of offering as many goods and services as possible and controlling as many stages of the sales process as possible; therefore having mobile spectrum at its disposal could be a way of extending that control, perhaps even to some extent over mobile devices, which are increasingly the point of sale for Amazon products.

Some analysts have questioned the wisdom of Amazon buying spectrum, citing the costs and risks. However, we would prefer to withhold judgment, because of the company’s history of successful diversification and vertical integration, and because of its extremely deep pockets, which make investments that would be risky for just about any other entity less risky. If Amazon really is going to go ahead with the plan to buy Boost Mobile and thereby get access to T-Mobile network assets for six years, it may well find a way to utilize that to its benefit before that time period is up. Drones and automated delivery vehicles may sound fanciful now but Amazon takes them seriously in its vision for the future. The e-commerce giant can certainly afford to play a long game.

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 If you have any questions about this article, feel free to contact our Editor-in-chief John Dorfman at jdorfman@tarifica.com

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Stand-Alone Messaging App from Amazon

U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon plans to launch its own stand-alone messaging app, called Anytime, according to a news report that cites a user who claims to have received an Amazon survey about the new messaging service. Amazon has not confirmed that it is working on this service.
 
The app would be available to end-users of smartphones, tablets, PCs and smartwatches. The survey asks users which features are most important to them, and according to one customer, the survey seemed to imply it was a ready product. Anytime is described as an all-in-one feature-rich service that includes text messages and video chat. Anytime will also include features that can be used in groups, such as games, music, and food ordering.
 
The service will keep chats private and will allow users to “encrypt important messages like bank account details.”
 
While this report is certainly far from conclusive, Amazon’s ambitions have always been big and appear to be getting bigger. The company has already launched messaging services for both businesses and consumers, including Amazon Chime, the online video-conferencing service for enterprises. Recently it launched messaging and calling features for Alexa devices.
 
So it makes sense that Amazon would launch an all-purpose OTT messaging app to compete directly with WhatsApp, Skype and others. And considering the company’s highly aggressive approach in general, its level of capitalization and its huge existing customer base, we would not be surprised to see Anytime (if that is what it will be called) pose a major threat to all existing players. Perhaps it would eventually even acquire and take over some of those services.
 
For mobile operators, Amazon’s entry into the OTT space would not have the impact it would have on the OTT players themselves, of course. The game has already been lost, in a sense, with MNOs losing messaging business to OTTs and then striking deals to zero-rate their data and even engaging in partnerships to promote them. Still, a huge, possibly market-dominating new player could shake things up in the sector. Amazon would arguably have less reason to work with the MNOs for promotional purposes, and it could also simply, by virtue of its size and scope, take even more business away from SMS/MMS and even MNOs’ voice services. At the very least, an Amazon OTT would be just one more challenge for mobile operators to contend with in the traditional services space—and maybe beyond, given the possible presence of gaming, music and other non-traditional features in the putative Anytime.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance. 

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AT&T Will Be Exclusive Carrier for Amazon’s New Smartphone

U.S.-based online retail giant Amazon.com is set to unveil its long-expected first smartphone this week, and according to reports, service for the device will be offered exclusively by AT&T. The U.S. operator is already the sole service provider for Amazon’s Kindle devices. The forthcoming phone is expected to have innovative features, including a screen that allows 3-D viewing for certain applications, and to use a version of Google’s Android operating system that does not connect to the Google Play store. Users would have to buy proprietary apps directly from Amazon.  The high-end handset business, dominated by Samsung and Apple, is a difficult one to break into, so Amazon is taking on a major challenge with this bold move. For AT&T, though, the exclusive carrier arrangement, which extends its existing relationship with Amazon, would appear to be all upside. The Amazon phone, which is likely to have capabilities that set it well apart from its competitors, should help AT&T attract new customers—even among those who already have contracts with other operators but are curious about the hologram-like effects of the 3-D screen. Since the U.S. mobile market is currently in an intensely competitive period—with T-Mobile engaged in an aggressive campaign to take business away from number-one ranked Verizon and number-two ranked AT&T and third-ranked Sprint pursuing a merger with T-Mobile—any competitive advantage should be particularly prized. As for Amazon, the company is well known for its willingness to invest money in devices in order to drive business to the products and services available through them. It has pursued this strategy with its Kindle e-readers and tablets and appears poised to do likewise with its smartphone. The apps for the phone will be created and marketed by Amazon, and the Amazon Prime music-streaming service will also likely be available through the phone. Finally, Amazon has traditionally kept its device prices low—at or near the break-even point. If it does so with the new phone, that strategy should help drive sales for the retailer while also helping AT&T attract customers who want a high-end smartphone without paying a high-end price.  The above item appeared in a recent issue of Tarifica's "The Story of The Week", a weekly report that analyzes two noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. For past issues or to learn more about The Story of The Week :  http://www.tarifica.com/storyoftheweek.aspx

Amazon’s Smartphone Likely to Come with AT&T Sponsored Data

The high-end smartphone that internet giant Amazon plans to launch later this spring will likely come with sponsored LTE data from U.S. operator AT&T, according to reports. While few details have been released, the plan, which will be called Amazon Prime Data, would allow AT&T customers to stream Amazon’s content—TV, movies and music—over their Amazon smartphones, without it counting against their LTE data allotments. While Amazon’s upcoming smartphone is rumored to have many game-changing advanced features such as a 3-D effects and gesture-based interface options, the real draw for users may well be the free data for access to Amazon’s high-data-consumption branded entertainment offerings. Amazon has followed this strategy before: It has always offered free 3G data for its Kindle readers, and in 2012 it offered 250 MB of LTE data per month for the Kindle Fire HD device for an annual fee of $50. In short, the company realizes that access to data is what the its content business hinges on, and it is willing to do a deal with a major mobile operator to get it. Providing consumers with data opens the door for Amazon—and other similar internet-based entities—to charge consumers for the actual content. From the point of view of mobile operators, this development, if it actually goes through and proves successful, would constitute yet another piece of evidence that partnering with large entities like Amazon will be an increasingly attractive option for revenue generation. And considering that the FCC, a U.S. regulatory agency, is expected to soften its net neutrality restrictions in the new rules that will be announced on 15 May, the climate is likely favorable to the proliferation of special-access data arrangements between operators and content providers.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of Tarifica's "The Story of The Week", a weekly report that analyzes two noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. For past issues or to learn more about The Story of The Week :  http://www.tarifica.com/storyoftheweek.aspx