Research Notes

If knowledge is important, does it give a telecom operator an advantage? What matter is pairing the right knowledge with the ability to execute

The mobile telecom industry evolves quickly and faces many strategic challenges from competition, technological change, and regulation. I remember when the industry had stability. Telecom operators built networks, offered services, and innovated. Many telecom operators had large research & development departments in which they patented technologies, developed their own phones and so on. Lucent Technologies was a spinoff from AT&T. France Telecom led the development of Minitel, an early version of the Internet. In the early 1980s, Minitel offered rail passes, train tickets, betting stakes, and other services – all over a landline phone with a small screen.

Today over the top players Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Netflix have driven major changes to the industry and upended the classic telecom business models. Revenue shifted away from telecom and content providers to Silicon Valley. If in 2009 you told KPN that a messaging company with 50 employees called WhatsApp would cause the unwitting Dutch telco to lose €100 million in a single (2011/2012) year on SMS revenue, no one would have believed you.

The key to success is knowledge paired with the ability to make the right decisions. For 24 years, Strand Consult has studied the telecom industry. We describe the world and how it develops. We are not afraid to state its opinion, even if its unpleasant or unpopular. Sometimes the truth hurts, but we don’t help our customers by sugarcoating the hard facts.  Our goal is to use our knowledge and experience from the global market to help our customers get success. In the past, telecom operators had more time to study data and make decisions. Today they have less time to evaluate options, but they are still expected to make winning decisions. This has forced firms to recruit new, adaptive leaders who can learn on the go.  Strand Consult has evolved its business to help companies maximize shareholder returns in the face of technological development, competition, regulation, and other challenges.

It shouldn’t be hard to get smart.
One of the ways a team of employees can upgrade their knowledge is through tailor-made workshops in which they meet people with valuable global insight. Strand Consult has extensive experience in the industry, and our team of experts has developed a wide range of workshops for different leaders in the organization. Here is a list of our most popular workshops:

How to deploy 5G: Best practices for infrastructure, regulation and business models. Operators around the world are building the next and 5th generation of mobile networks. 5G is clearly an evolution, and commercial products are combinations of 4G, 5G, IOT-LTE and other technologies. While 5G promises a new technological revolution, there are major regulatory challenges to deploy networks and new business models. Request more information.

Executive workshops for Top Management and Board Members in the mobile industry Top Management and Boards: Through the years Strand Consult has held numerous strategic workshops about the mobile world and how it is developing for members or whole boards of directors from companies in the mobile industry. Many workshops are focused on specific subjects and have predefined goals that have been set together with the board of directors and that are reached during the workshop. Request more information.

Next gen telecom policy and regulation – Workshop for leaders in the telecommunications industry: The telecom world is heavily regulated and closely monitored by politicians and governments. Strand Consult observes that companies can improve their business case with better management of the policy process as well as help and inspiration to coordinate stakeholders inside the enterprise. In addition policy leaders can also benefit by learning the state of the art academic research as well as the experience of operators in other countries. In practice the composition of a board of directors will often mirror the owners of the company and which people they believe best represent the interests of the company’s shareholders within a number of areas. Request more information.

The toolbox that will give you success on the MVNO market – a unique toolbox of knowledge: Strand Consult is one of the world’s leading knowledge centers on MVNOs. In the last 18 years Strand Consult has worked with the world’s most successful MNVOs and has delivered its reports and workshops to over 170 mobile operators. Now that knowledge is assembled into The toolbox that will give you success on the MVNO market. Requst more information.

Next Generation Prepaid: One of our teams has spent years examining the prepaid market and has developed a number of concepts that can help turn the negative trends that many operators are experiencing today. We know that knowledge is the road to success and the operator with the most knowledge and a structured approach to their prepaid strategy, will find it far easier to be successful on this market. Request more information.

Why invest in a workshop?
When we hold workshops for our customers, it is important to us that they receive the optimal benefit from the days. Our workshops are customized to the client, its challenges, and goals.  Not only do our workshops lift your level of knowledge, they increase the likelihood of success by being able to make the right decisions.

Strand Consult’s workshops are for leaders across the organization whether in strategy, public affairs/regulation, product development, sales and marketing, and other areas. While the staff functions may differ, the goals are the same: using knowledge to make the right decisions and increase shareholder value.

Why invest in a workshop? It is a question of knowledge management. Many of our clients ask us to help them embed the knowledge and information in Strand Consult’s reports into their organization. This is the primary focus of the workshops – getting everyone up to speed on the latest developments, how trends will affect the telecom market, and how to be prepared for the challenges of the future.
Strand Consult is an independent, privately owned consultancy company. Our focus is the telecom sector, what it looks like, how it develops, and how it influences other sectors. Through our research, reports, workshops and consulting, we help create and expand our customers’ revenue streams by maximizing the use of knowledge with new technologies and business strategies.

Our primary customers are national and international telecom operators and MVNOs. Our list of customers includes over 170 operators and MVNOs around the world. We also help companies in the technology and media industries that want to learn more about how the telecom industry impacts them.

To learn more about Strand Consult´s Workshops, please contact us.


Best Regards


John Strand

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