How Much Value from Telco Data Stores?

One often hears it said that connectivity providers serving enterprises and consumers have a trove of data that can be mined using analytics to predict or help prevent some issues such as churn. Call center detail can be used to identify service issues and outages. There might also be other ways to mine data stores to reduce truck rolls and service calls, especially related to network issues. 

Beyond that, one might argue, there is not actually all that much data useful at the application layer. Mobile network operators have location data, but it never is so clear that such data can be used in a personally-identifiable way, allowing revenue streams to be created. 

Google, on the other hand, seems to know with great precision not only where users are, and also can build histories of movement in space. Google also has lots of other data to collate with movement details, which is how it builds its advertising business.

The point is the value of service provider analytics never seems as high as proponents tout, beyond network operations details. 

That is not to downplay the value of network-related analytics. But one might be skeptical about the value of much other customer account data as a way of predicting much of anything about demand for new services. Telco data stores do not inherently include much detail that is useful for psychographics or even much in the way of demographics. And then there are privacy laws which might restrict the use of such information, even if available. 

One often hears it said that there are “hundreds” of indicators an account is about to churn, for example. And, to be sure, U.S. mobile operator churn levels are quite low. 

What is not so clear is that it is the application of analytics that primarily explains the lower churn. Some might argue that competition has been so robust that switching does not yield the benefits it once dida, and the friction, such as having to buy a pricey new smartphone, also act as barriers to switching behavior. 

At least in the U.S. mobile market, multi-user plans also seem to have worked to reduce churn levels. Multi-service bundles have provided the same benefit in fixed network operations. 

The point is that some perspective on how much can be gleaned from telco data stores is prudent. Beyond network health and status, which does contribute to customer service call and chat volume, there is arguably little useful detail beyond location (and limited ability to use such personally-identifiable information) that might prove the foundation for applications and revenue streams based on that data.