Harnessing opportunities in mobile can only be to a reseller’s gain, according to Rob Kittler, Head of the Connectivity Practice at Gamma.
No matter how much effort and resource a reseller puts into developing a long-term mobile strategy it can be wholly justified, says Kittler. For Gamma’s part, a big priority has been the relaunch of its mobile proposition based on full network parity as an MVNO, new price points on tariffs and its Optimiser bolt-on (more on this ‘differentiator’ later). “Mobile will encroach further on the traditional connectivity market as the speeds rise and coverage is enhanced, especially with projects like The Shared Rural Network,” stated Kittler. “It is an exciting time to be a reseller in mobile as we see more opportunity from 5G and software and hardware solutions beginning to appear.”
Kittler also believes that as price begins to become similar in a commoditised market, resellers may find themselves competing on service more. “Their ability to adapt and show real value with specialist knowledge, and a product portfolio linked to software and hardware with both indexed to SaaS and UCaaS products should be a focus area,” he added.
“Software has always been a big part of the end user experience with apps and MDM in mobile, but the faster speeds that we will experience will bring an extra set of demands from the market, especially as we service and cater for more SaaS and UCaaS products across more mobile estates.”
Another trend that Gamma is keeping a close eye on is the growing interest in unlimited data tariff sets, both for smartphone and mobile broadband, often purchased to control costs, bill shock and data use fluctuation. “Although they bring value to the business, mid-tier tariffs are too often overlooked, while lower bundled tariffs are still relevant as long as robust management controls are present,” said Kittler. “These entry level bundles are still in high demand within B2B and wholesale.”
These trends have all been significant to the development of Gamma’s mobile product and tariff mechanics. Its entry level smartphone tariff, called Business Extra, offers 4GB and has been developed based on the need for a higher GB tariff entry point. “We have also distilled the mid-tier selection to make it less confusing and bring value in a wholesale environment,” he added. “And we are offering an unlimited bundle at the top end of the tariff ladder.”
We see more opportunity from 5G, software and hardware solutions
Gamma also introduced a Tariff Optimiser bolt-on for all smartphone and mobile broadband tariffs. It operates dynamically throughout the whole tariff suite, from the smallest bundle up to unlimited tariffs and all in between, allowing partners to add and show value to end users, accommodating any inevitable fluctuation. “When users incur higher costs or experience bill shock and data fluctuations, it means they chose or were sold a particular tariff that may not be the best value in any given month,” commented Kittler. “We developed and launched Optimiser to solve this issue.”
Gamma works with Three UK to offer a wholesale model, using its network with the Gamma Portal to provision and control management features. Gamma can buy data in bulk and, if required, bypass tariff stacks. It handles all mobile estate types and the proposition is also becoming popular with data resellers. “Over the past 18 months we have seen an influx of more IT specialist partners coming to Gamma,” stated Kittler. “As we have attracted partners that previously did not vend mobile, our go-to-market information and collateral have also been bolstered. The challenges have been linked to creating new opportunities as we onboard more partners that have varied mobile expertise, but with a clear view on how they want to go to market and exploit their immediate potential. Fortunately, this is the kind of challenge that Gamma has plenty of experience with.
“To date, we have focused on offering as much value as possible to our partners, minimising barriers to sale and making the connection journey simple and commercially rewarding. More recently our strategy has been to simplify the tariff set and launch Optimiser to allow partners to offer extra value and service, while at the same time making 5G more widely available.”
Gamma is working with Three UK on its 5G proposition which Kittler says represents the greatest opportunity to partners. “Three UK holds the most spectrum and has an ambition to bring this technology to the fore,” added Kittler. “It is paramount that our partners have access to this feature from our network, coupled with our front end portal and tariffs to enhance the proposition. We are upbeat about the 5G bandwidth that Three UK gives us access to. We believe it will be a game changer in the market.”