Operators such as MTN, Airtel, Glo, Etisalat, Orange, Vodafone are looking to expanding Africa operations by launching app stores. This is an phase for these telcos and players. They need to go into partnerships with content providers to offer services such as cloud computing, solutions for small and medium enterprises and to provide rich content in terms of music, gaming, entertainment and news. Why? The era of air time only revenue is going!
It is no longer about selling airtime, but bundling airtime with products and services. These can range from app stores and music to value-added services like m-learning and m-health. A good example of business information services extending their reach from print media to mobile is directory services. Yellow Pages search brings the ability to find products or services in consumers’ neighbourhoods by any of hundreds of categories, from attorneys to garden services to huts. Targeted businesses can then be contacted telephonically or via SMS, and also navigated to.
Users demand accurate, relevant local search results and a seamless ‘find, locate and communicate’ experience. Direct integration allows users to call, make bookings, navigate and share locations and routes via Facebook and Twitter, SMS and email.