I Pay, You Pay, Somebody Else Pays are the Only 3 Fundamental Business Models

In terms of business models, there really are only three of top interest for communications service providers: “I pay, you pay or somebody else pays.”

The traditional model is “you pay,” reflecting the salience of subscription-based revenue models.

Advertising and promotion represent the potential new “someone else pays” models.

Sponsored data and zero rating represent perhaps the newest models, where the service provider itself underwrites consumption of services by end users.

In fact, among the chief objections some might have about applying “network neutrality” principles to sponsored data or zero rating of app use is precisely that doing so forecloses one new innovation in terms of business models.

By barring zero rating or sponsored apps, regulatory bodies prevent exploration of new business models that provide direct end user and citizen benefit while p