Arun Sarin (Vodafone CEO ) has said any content providers wishing to launch D2C (direct to consumer) services will always have to work with Vodafone.
Apparently, speaking to the Financial Times, Sarin stated that the ‘unique gift’ of billing secures it and other operators against becoming “dumb pipe” for data – for examples from those such as Google, Nokia, and Apple.
He said: “The simple fact that we have the customer and billing relationship is a hugely powerful thing that nobody can take away from us. Whoever comes into the marketplace is going to have to work through us.”
The original FT article also noted that Vodafone holds valuable CRM data about their customers, plus info for location-based services – which is a fair comment.
What do IntoMobile readers make of this? It’s easy to see both sides of the argument for Content/Service providers working with, or “ignoring” the Operators – but which will win out? Will it be context-dependent? Your thoughts are most welcome in our comments section!
[Via: Mobile-Ent.biz]