DMR: At the end of last year the FMCA initiated the Thought Leadership Programme. Why?

S. Andrews: For our members, the breakdown of the market boundaries including converged data and broadband services, software and Internet services, media and entertainment, content and advertising as well as device manufacturing is significant. There is a breakthrough in 2008.  

With the help of Detecon Consulting, we engaged the members of our Alliance into a series of workshops, and working groups, interviews …in order to find answers we started in­vestigating the following three questions: Where we are, what are the ­lessons from our collective FMC experience; the directions for convergence and where the opportunities lie; the strategies for realising these opportunities. For all of us the best way to succeed is to collaborate and seek new horizons from insights and learning from each other. No one has all the answers.

DMR: What is Convergence from a customer point of view and where is the problem?  

S. Andrews: The primary customer requirement is to bring together their communication, information, media, and trans­action needs on any of their devices with a consistent service ­experience and ease of use, anywhere. We believe that the ­customer is the focal point for strategic directions. Despite some good ­examples, in many cases the customer still has to integrate devices, networks and services – this “do it yourself convergence” is far too common. Most FMC providers are still in a supply-driven world. Competition has concentrated on ­access technologies and basic service capabilities. As convergence intensifies, customers are increasingly faced with insufficiently compatible service offerings. Another standard – yet another incompatibility! Private and business customers are involuntarily placed in the role of an ‘integrator’. Simplicity is key!

DMR: Where do you see the opportunities and challenges for the industry?