MPT, Facebook Launch Free Data App in Myanmar

Facebook and Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) have launched a trial of Discover, a new mobile web and Android app that can be used to browse the internet using a daily balance of free data from MPT. Discover is being provided during the coronavirus pandemic.

Discover supports only low-bandwidth traffic when using free data, so that video, audio, and certain other types of data-intensive traffic are not supported.

MPT subscribers can now access Discover by visiting 0.discoverapp.com on any mobile web browser on any type of mobile device, including basic feature phones, as well as by downloading the Discover app in the Google Play Store.

MPT, Myanmar’s biggest mobile operator, is part of a state-run company that also encompasses the postal service and dates back to the late 19th century, when the British ran Burma, as it was then called. With its dominant position in the country’s marketplace, MPT is able to reach a large preponderance of citizens and to help them get through the pandemic period, during which job losses and general economic damage from shutdowns have made it difficult for many to afford mobile services, even as use of mobile connectivity becomes more important than ever due to the need to work from home.

MPT’s way of doing this is interesting, in that rather than simply providing discounted or free data, it has partnered with Facebook to create an app that essentially creates a parallel internet universe, bypassing standard browsers, that has such low bandwidth that it does not support high-data functionalities including video and audio.

Doing it this way certainly saves the operator money while providing users with the absolute bare minimum necessary to get on the mobile internet. However, given that most consumers—even lower-end ones—in today’s world consider video and audio to be essentials, not to mention other features that require large amounts of data (and that goes as well for business use), we wonder whether this joint venture of Facebook and MPT will satisfy subscribers fully, or at all. At least it will allow them to access Facebook, presumably the less feature-rich versions of it. Ultimately, MPT may be so secure in the marketplace that it may not care very much if this offer displeases some, and it can credibly claim that during the pandemic, it offered a solution for those who need mobile data and have trouble affording standard tariffs.

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. 

Learn more about Tarifica at www.tarifica.com.

MTN Nigeria Launches Music Streaming Platform in Partnership with Simfy

MTN Nigeria has announced the launch of a music-streaming platform called MusicTime!, offering a choice of millions of songs. It was developed in partnership with Simfy Africa and provides access to Nigerian and African music across the world. MusicTime! is available on the Google Play Store. Customers can download the app and enjoy 60 minutes of streaming free of charge.

With MusicTime!, customers can stream music even if they have no data on their phone. There is no subscription cost, and the customer only pays for the time spent listening to music on the platform. The interface is easy to use, and with it customers can search playlists and trending music, share a personal playlist with friends and pause the music to return to it later. 

Music streaming is becoming more and more popular in a diversity of markets, and doing everything possible to get users involved is good for mobile operators, which have been partnering with content providers in this regard. In developing economies, users are likely to have more difficulty affording value-added services like streaming, so making it available on the most advantageous basis possible help maximize the number of subscribers, retain them and upsell them in the long run.

MTN Nigeria’s streaming package, provided in partnership with Simfy, looks like a good one, in that it is completely pay-as-you-go, and therefore plan-agnostic and easily available to those who do not want postpaid service. Especially appealing and interesting is the fact that if a user runs out of prepaid data, the streaming music will not be interrupted and can be paid for later. Since continuity in listening is key to the user experience, this feature will keep customers from becoming disenchanted with the service. 

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.   To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com

Google to Launch Special Version of Google Play for China

Google plans to launch the China version of its Google Play smartphone app store in 2016, according to a Reuters report that cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter. According to the source, the Chinese Google Play would be set up specifically for China and not connected to overseas versions of Google Play. The U.S. internet giant plans to comply with Chinese laws on filtering content that might be viewed as sensitive by the ruling Communist Party, as well as with laws requiring the company to store its app store’s data within China. Google will use the app store to place other products and services in China, said two people familiar with Google’s plans. Google has scheduled its Google Play launch in China some time after Chinese New Year in February 2016 and before early summer, the same sources added. Google hopes that Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat platform will be among the payment options for the Chinese Google Play, according to a person familiar with company strategy. China is the world’s largest mobile market, with nearly 1.3 billion phones in use. As such it represents a massive opportunity for app sales that Google clearly does not intend to pass up. While explicit approval from the Chinese government is not required for Google to launch Google Play, compliance with pertinent regulations is necessary if the enterprise is to go forward. By agreeing to filter content, store all relevant data within China and disconnect Chinese Google Play from the Google Play available in the rest of the world, Google is ensuring its access to the Chinese market. However, it may also, in effect, be making a deal with the devil. Aside from the moral and political issues arising from a de facto endorsement of anti-democratic policies, Google’s willingness to abide by Chinese restrictions on freedom of expression—at least as far as apps are concerned—may end up by tarnishing its image in other countries where Google does business. For a company with a deep dependence on the general public and whose slogan is “don’t be evil,” this decision could conceivably be quite damaging. Whether any such damage would outweigh the revenue gains in China, of course, remains to be seen.  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. To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com

Report: Google to Launch MVNO in U.S.

U.S.-based global internet giant Google is preparing to sell mobile services directly to customers and manage their calls and mobile data over a mobile network, according to a news report based on information from several persons with knowledge of the plans. The new service is expected to run on the networks of Sprint and T-Mobile USA, two people said. Google is expected to buy wholesale access to the networks and operate as an MVNO. The project, code-named Nova, is reportedly being led by Google executive Nick Fox, and a launch is expected this year.

It seemed inevitable that sooner or later, Google would become a player in the mobile telecommunications market. And now it appears that it will happen—sooner rather than later. Google has already entered deeply into the mobile universe, by way of its mobile operating system Android, the apps sold through Google Play, its email and other web-based services available on mobile devices, and via Google Talk, which is available on mobile devices as well as on PCs. Google Talk enabled voice calls, but on a VoIP basis only. If its MVNO venture goes ahead, Google will be offering genuine cellular connectivity. And considering its size and scope, and in particular the size of its user base, Google will be mounting a big challenge to the traditional MNO players, not to mention the MVNOs in the U.S. market. The fact that the company has apparently negotiated itself a dual-carrier deal for its MVNO services is highly relevant; by running on the networks of both Sprint and T-Mobile, it is making sure not to allow itself to be beholden to any one company, and thereby to have as much autonomy as possible. And of course it makes sense that Google will be working with the third- and fourth-ranked MNOs rather than with market leaders Verizon and AT&T; Sprint and T-Mobile have more to gain and less to lose by the partnership.

 

“Google’s full-fledged involvement in the telecom sector is something operators have long feared. Though for now Google will only be an MVNO, albeit most likely a very large one, a day may come—sooner rather than later—when it uses its huge capital resources to buy up network outright and become an MNO.”

Melissa Mascarenhas, Research Analyst at Tarifica

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues or to speak with the research team: http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

2degrees Partners with Google

Subscribers of New Zealand’s mobile operator 2degrees who have Android devices are now able to purchase Android apps from the Google Play store and pay for them via the operator. The cost of the app is deducted from prepaid customers’ credit balances or is added, on an itemized list, to the monthly phone bill for Pay Monthly customers. Pay Monthly subscribers are also able to use 2degrees’ Spend Control service to set limits on the amount of their Google Play purchases.

We have written many times about mobile money services provided by operators. However, perhaps due to the lack of high tech processing, such as NFC mobile payments, direct carrier billing is just beginning to be adopted by operators. Nonetheless, according to a report from research firm Analysys Mason, direct carrier billing will provide telecoms around the world with more than US $12 billion in revenue in 2022.

Through direct carrier billing, operators are offering a convenience factor to their subscribers for various types of purchases. In its partnership with Google, 2degrees stands to encourage app purchases. Considering that mobile phone users are purchasing fewer apps for their phones in general, we are not surprised that since April 2014 Google has chosen to partner with many mobile operators worldwide for direct carrier billing services. Currently, direct carrier billing is being used for app purchases such as those from Google or other digital content such as games, music or movies, but it is predicted that it will go beyond that into real-world uses such as parking or event tickets. Since it appears to be a legitimate way to drive revenue, mobile operators would be wise to partner with any type of business for which they can provide this service as the “charge it to my phone” mentality is just beginning to take off for consumers.

The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx