Telcos Play Catch-Up with Cable Rivals on Customer Data

The resulting information led Kahn and others at the chip-maker to conclude that the mobile devices’ user interfaces need to be revamped.

“What does that take?” Kahn said. “We need more powerful devices. Devices need to become more aware of what’s around them. And they have to become more personal.”

As a semiconductor company, “we’ve been great at how to shrink stuff. But we need to carry small and live large.” The R&D guru calls that “the new definition of mobility.” This area is of particular interest to telcos that have launched, or are planning to launch, mobile TV services.

Researchers from the education sector also are focused on learning more about what customers want in content products and services.

“There are very finite ways of getting content out to people,” said David Wertheimer, executive director of the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California. He previously worked for Paramount Pictures. “A lot of companies really aren’t focused on the user experience. They should start with the consumer and work forward instead of starting with products and working backwards.”

One top phone company exec says telcos face a daunting challenge. They need to go beyond competing on traditional network and residential services platforms to fighting for content-driven use. That places operators firmly in the entertainment business.

“Customers define innovation,” said Terry Denson, vice president of content acquisition and strategy for Verizon Communications Inc. “The biggest challenge is genetically re-engineering a company with 110 years of DNA to compete with the likes of Comcast, Apple, DirecTV, Sony and increasingly others.”

One way to do that is to provide local programming. Verizon is acting on that belief – it’s providing its own channel, FiOS 1, in the greater Washington, D.C., metro area.

“When we show up at local events, people ask us where they can find the content,” said Denson. “This creates viral marketing.”

Starting a local channel is hard, he said, but competing in a market where Verizon doesn’t offer local programming and the competition does, might be even tougher.

Verizon also is preparing to launch video services in New York City.

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