LATAM Telecom

Voice Mail and SMS have been in a mature stage for several years now; growth in most markets has slowed down and until recently, they kept the same form and functionality they had since they were first introduced years ago. Both services, however, remain the bread and butter of VAS services. In most markets (the USA being a notable exception) Voice Mail is the largest VAS contributor to revenue for mobile operators; SMS in some cases accounts for up to 90% of data revenue. This alone justifies paying attention to recent developments that are breathing new life into these two services by dramatically improving the user experience with visual interfaces. The best example of this is the iPhone, which introduced to the market visual applications for both services. Visual Voice Mail had been around for several years, but it was not until the iPhone was introduced that it got the attention of mobile operators. While it can be argued that the iPhone reflects a shift in users’ expectations as ...

This is a follow up to my last post about the relevance of Voice to Text for Voice Mail vendors. One of the main challenges operators face when introducing new value added services to their offering is defining the target segment and making sure these services will attract a large enough group of subscribers. A compelling business case is not the only factor that operators will use to determine whether or not to launch a new service. However, VAS managers are under increased pressure to raise ARPU and the effort required to launch new services will hardly be worth their time if they cannot show a significant contribution to the bottom line. At first glance, the business case for voice to text delivery of voice mail messages may seem difficult, in particular for Tier 2 and Tier X operators. The cost of transfering messages -mainly because of costs associated to ensuring the quality of transcription- makes it seem that this is a service that can only be offered to specific segments, such...

We have discussed previously (see here and here ) the huge potential and appeal Voice to Text has and the fast penetration it has seen worldwide, including the recent launch in Latin America by Movistar Chile (see Spinvox press release here ). Ther key element that seems to be missing, however, is the lack of enthusiasm Voice Mail vendors have shown for this service. Voice to text delivers voice mail messages via SMS in text format, so integration to the Voice Mail platform is a key component. We have seen strong marketing efforts by Spinvox and Nuance, and operators worldwide are responding. Voice mail vendors, on the other hand, seem to be in a responsive mode, collaborating with integration efforts but not really pushing the service. Perhaps the single notable exception to this might be the agreement Nuance signed with Comverse, who is the leading Voice Mail vendor wolrdwide with >50% market share, but even that was an initiative led by Nuance, not Comverse. Given the fact that v...

Following an earlier post (see here ) about the potential VISUAL VOICE MAIL for iPhone has to impact subscriber data usage, I will be posting excerpts of an article I wrote for Convergencia Latina to expand on this topic. After more than one year of its launch, the iPhone has shown that traditional services such as voicemail and text messaging can greatly benefit from the use of visual interfaces that improve the user experience [1] . Acording to M:Metrics, the iPhone is already the most popular device for accessing news and information on the mobile Web [2] : 85 percent of iPhone users browse the mobile Web 30.9 percent of iPhone owners watched mobile TV or video, versus a 4.6 market average, and more than double the rate for all smartphone users. Usage of social networking is also popular among iPhone users: 49.7 percent accessed a social networking site in January, nearly twelve times the market average. Improving the user experience can increase voicemail usage, which should reflec...

This is an article I published recently, related to an important topic which is CALL COMPLETION in Latin America. I have written about this topic before, as a reference please see the links below: VoiceMail 2.0: Coming soon to Latin America? Call Completion: Movistar Argentina launches "Quieren Hablarte" service Article summary: In Latin America, average MOU and Voice ARPU continue to decline due to increased penetration in lower income segments. At the same time, average mobile penetration for the region is near 50%. As the Latin American mobile market enters a more mature stage, operators will have to find new ways of generating revenue.Increasing call completion is an option that allows improved network efficiency and can generate significant revenues from voice.

This is a follow up to my post from October regarding the iPhone launch in Latin America (see here ). The battle between America Movil and Telefonica Movistar was settled after Apple signed with Movistar; we expected this to happen since the official announcement from America Movil did not mention exclusivity. As we know now, Mexico will be the only country where only one operator will have exclusivity, at least until 2009. In its rush to launch the iPhone, Telefonica Movistar did not launch Visual Voice Mail, unlike Claro / America Movil, who did include Visual Voice Mail, except for Comcel Colombia. How relevant can this be to the end user and to the overall strategy for both America Movil and Telefonica Movistar? As we have pointed out here before, the big risk for the iPhone in Latin America is to be just passing fad. Operators have the opportunity to make a significant impact with this device in terms of data usage, which so far has not been significant in the region (except maybe...

Interestingly, I found a blog with the same topic I just wrote about (Voice to Text VS Visual Voice Mail) posted yesterday so I thought I'd provide the link. Interesting stuff and it seems we agree on the challenge Voice to Text poses to Visual Voice Mail. Link to blog post at here .... iPhone SpinVox Users: Visual vs Visible? Recently, me and a couple of the guys here at SV HQ started thinking about Visual Voicemail on the iPhone.Y’all know what Visual Voicemail is right? That funky little feature that everyone raved about when it was first announced etc?Yeah, that.

Several operators in the Americas region are launching voice to text services. We have heard from Movistar Chile (see press release here ) as well as other operators both in Latin America and North America who are getting ready to launch. Visual voice mail (as commented here before) has gained a lot of traction with the launch of Apple's iPhone, however, I believe that voice to text has the potential to challenge VVM and become a key application in what is now known as Next Generation Voice Mail. The main vendors for this service are rushing to claim territory, 2007 and 2008 seem to be the big year for companies like Nuance and Spinvox launching the service with major operators A year or so ago when I looked at this service for the first time, I found skepticisim with analysts and industry leaders regarding whether this service had the potential to make a significant impact with operators as it was thought to be too expensive and the target market too small. After listening to oper...