Telcos Are Doing Their Own OTT Services. An Important Strategy Shift?

This presentation examines the quiet growth of "access-independent" services offered by various fixed and mobile telecom operators. Ranging from VoIP to IPTV to cloud services to WiFi access, these are offerings provided by telcos without the need for one of their own access-network subscriptions. They involve delivery of applications or content via the public Internet, from a website or via a smartphone app. They have appeared slowly over the past few years, and if executed well, are now set for huge growth, driven by a set of important market catalysts. 

Essentially, these are telcos' own OTT (over-the-top) services, which rely on generic data or voice access provided by any operator. 

But can traditional, bureaucratic telecom operators really compete head-to-head with Facebook or Google or Skype? Do they have the right organisation and culture, and if not - can they change it? Should other "independent" developers be worried, or view this as an opportunity for partnership or white-labelling of their products? And for the operators, is this *really* a strategic area, or just another distraction from their main businesses?