LIVE FROM CONNECTED BRITAIN, LONDON: Virgin Media O2 CEO Lutz Schuler (pictured) highlighted the need for a change of mindset when it comes to technology generations as, unlike previous iterations of mobile networks, 5G does not come with an immediate blockbuster application.
The executive indicated while a new iteration had provided an immediate benefit in previous cycles of fixed and mobile technology which was easily promoted to consumers, this was not the case with 5G or the latest fibre broadband.
“In this industry, what we have broadly done is build a new network, the new network then has a nuclear application: 2G, voice for everybody; 3G, texts and data for everybody; 4G, streaming for everybody,” he said.
“There was always a killer application for customers, so what this industry did was build a new network, get it out, get the money from the customer and invest in the next generation. This is over now.”
Schuler noted the industry had not been very good at serving people in a “very customer-centric way” under this model.
Echoing comments from BT Consumer CEO Marc Allera earlier in the day, Schule played down the prospect consumers “cared only about price”, pointing to the make-up of the market and success of its O2 Priority rewards scheme, which offers customers discounts and early access to concert tickets at partner venues.
He noted if cost was the only motivator “everyone on the mobile side would be with MVNOs” and “on the fibre and broadcast side, everyone would be at the low end of the market” which was not the case.
“It’s not only about price, it has to be more than that.”
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