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RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

7 connected user trends to watch out for

As consumers are purchasing more and more ‘smart’  Monitor Everything: As connectivity via the Inter-
devices; smartphones, tablets, wearables and home net of Things (IoT) rapidly increases, users will
devices, there is a greater expectation that full function- want to monitor and control everything from their
ality must be achievable anywhere on the planet. Ac- home lighting to their personal health status. Ener-
cording to GSMA’s The Mobile Economy Report, almost gy and utility companies will need to be able to
half of the population of the earth now uses mobile com- monitor every connection on the grid irrelevant of
munications. Over the past four years, a billion mobile location. A device that enables satellite connectivity
subscribers were added. The total now stands at 3.4 will prove to be increasingly important for such ma-
billion, where subscribers are growing four times faster chine-to-machine operations.
than global population. Data will be the driving force of  Staying Safe: With online privacy concerns driving
growth with a CAGR of 50% to 2020.
more security consciousness, satellite connectivity
will become more appealing especially when roam-
But consider some key geographies and the workability ing into networks that are unknown, for example,
of these ‘smart devices’. For example Australia has a when travelling or connecting into the Wi-Fi cloud in
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remote land area of 7,700 km , where only 1% of the a connected city. A satellite provider with ubiqui-
land is populated. Also consider China, where less than tous coverage will be an entity that is trusted by
45% of the land is populated. Remote land areas indi- users. A device with a satellite-only mode will be
cate limited connectivity. Extending mobile networks able to connect to a trusted satellite network, giving
into remote or rural areas such as these present both peace of mind to the user.
physical and business challenges in connecting people.
The satellite industry witnessed true innovation with the
Does this mean that telcos should ignore the need for Thuraya SatSleeve, an adaptor that transforms an iPh-
connectivity in such areas? Surely not. Connecting us- one or Android into a satellite phone. It marked the first
ers in such remote geographies is where satellite con- time that a satellite operator launched a product with
nectivity will become increasingly crucial to ‘smart’ com- mass consumer appeal and extended its reach beyond
panies. Operators need to consider the following trends traditional vertical sectors. Although the SatSleeve rep-
to fulfill connectivity for users today: resented a significant breakthrough in the world of
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), industry players are
 Satellite Integration: As users become more glob- now scrambling to follow suit launching ‘innovative’
alized, smart device manufacturers will be expected products that essentially have similar functionality to
to provide not only cellular but also satellite connec- existing products. Concentration is being focused on
tivity options in their devices. aesthetics without much attention to what consumers
 Connect Everywhere: Whilst manufacturers are actually want.
mulling over the feasibility of the satellite option,
consumers will look for a device that facilitates the But the connected consumers have spoken, highlight-
synergy between cellular and satellite connectivity. ing their needs clearly. To innovate, the satellite indus-
 Device Intelligence: Consumers will want a device try needs to look at fresher ways of appealing to this
new user - only then can we say that we are truly con-
that is intelligent enough to make decisions based nected to their needs.◊
on coverage, speed of connection and affordability.
So in the home, the smart device may interoperate By Asher Faredi, Product Manager, Land IP
with the wired internet connection or cellular net-
work, while outside it may interact with the wireless
cloud or the satellite network. The bottom line is that
the user will expect the best service available
 Connect Everything: Consumers will look for a About the Author:
device that acts as a central hub of connectivity that Asher Faredi is Thuraya’s Product Manager for Land
is interoperable with multiple standards, such as Wi-
Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee etc., and will need to be trans- IP. He is responsible for developing Thuraya’s satellite
parent to the user, requiring minimal user interac- broadband portfolio and providing specialist counsel to
tion. business development and management projects within
 Any application: Consumers will expect to main- the sector. He has a wealth of experience crossing
tain their existing usage pattern of applications. E.g. many technologies and platforms, with more than 5
Internet browsing, social media, making voice calls years’ experience in the mobile satellite industry.
and will not want to know the reasons why they can-
not, based on their geographic location.

14 Asian eMarketing July 2014 - Marketing Analytics