LIVE FROM COMMUNICASIA 2013: Operators are facing a challenge in responding to changing user behaviour and need to “harness” this in order to develop new services and design networks that meet evolving customer needs, according to Suresh Sidhu, Chief Corporate & Operations Officer for Celcom Axiata.

Noting the threat posed by so-called “over-the-top” (OTT) players, Sidhu said: “The question is very much how you deal with this new competition, which comes from a number of people you don’t really know, with product cycles that are so different from a traditional competitor.”

“We think it’s probably time, and inevitible, that operators need to partner with OTT companies. Never mind the endless discussions around net neutrality, I think that’s a bigger-picture regulatory question that will eventually get answered, but customers have an affinity to these brands,” he said

In addition to the challenges of working with online service providers, the executive also said that there is something “fundementally different” about the way people pay for data services when compared to voice.

“The behaviour that tends to be common is ‘I’ll buy the best I need, without going overboard.’ We’ve got to face the challenge that the traditional revenue stream of “one communication, one cent” if you will, is gone, and if you don’t find ways to bundle some services or provide some innovation, then you aren’t going to be anything more than a bit pipe,” Sidhu cautioned.

“Which, by the way, is a perfectly fine strategy. You just need to understand that it’s your strategy,” he continued.

Sidhu also said that while LTE will be an important technology in serving the most demanding customers, “it’s not always easy to have the same technology everywhere, the same technology cannot always deliver what people want.”

“What we are probably going to see is blended delivery, whether that is served by one operator or multiple operators, around occasions and locations where people do things,” he noted.

The question this poses for operators is whether they want to position themselves as the primary provider of all connectivy, whether they opt to partner for certain aspects, or “do we just ignore certain things” – for example with WiFi provided by third party retailers.

And Sidhu also said that operators should not neglect the existing voice business in their efforts to address the evolving communications landscape.

“If you don’t have a focus on voice, you’re also going to find that unfortunately you are unable to fund yourself in some of these transformational things you do,” he warned.