Building a B2B2X marketplace to drive new revenue streams from 5G

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, communication service providers (CSP) have been integral to the way we work, learn, play, and connect with the world around us. Demand for ultrafast connectivity has surged worldwide, accelerating investments in 5G infrastructure — the fastest growing segment in wireless technology.

Gartner forecasts that worldwide revenues for 5G network infrastructure willgrow by 39%in 2021. This prediction opens up a critical question: how will CSPs strategically monetise 5G infrastructure and gain new market share?

That’s the question the Catalyst project, Supercharge 5G monetization with a B2B2X marketplace, aims to answer. In order to drive innovation and improve network monetisation, CSPs need to partner with third parties to build digital ecosystems that will facilitate joint innovation and unlock opportunities to bring added value to new and existing customers.

Enabling new use cases

This Catalyst aims to develop a commercial B2B2X marketplace where CSPs deliver network and APIs as a service, so that partners/third parties can readily incorporate the advance communications and IT services that 5G enables into the next wave of innovation in their products, applications and services.

The Catalyst is championed by two leading CSPs: Singapore-based M1 and US-based Verizon.

Alex Khorram, Head of 5G Partnerships at Verizon, said the advent of 5G “will usher in a significant opportunity for CSPs to enable new use cases across a wide range of industries. A B2B2X marketplace that offers a digital engagement service model for product partners, and a venue for them to assist in the marketing of their 5G-enabled products, will be critical for CSP growth.”

Anshul Bhatnagar, Head of Software Engineering and Architecture at M1, is also highly supportive of the project.

As we accelerate our digital transformation journey and expand our 5G network, it has become increasingly important for us to expand our capabilities and provide better value for our customers. An Open API-based platform and a marketplace will deliver frictionless partner onboarding as well as accelerate innovation for M1 and our partners, and we are excited to embark on this journey,” Bhatnagar said.

Gaining wallet share

Also involved in this Catalyst are Gotransverse, MATRIXX, Mirakl, and Salesforce. The solution is built with Mirakl’s marketplace module that streamlines the partner contracting and offer creation and bundle process.

It also makes use of Salesforce’s Commerce Cloud and Communications Cloud solutions that facilitate selling, ordering and fulfilment of offers with 5G services at their core, MATRIXX’s convergent charging system delivering real-time charging based on value metrics of significance to the user, and GoTransverse’s billing engine that efficiently manages the revenue sharing process among all parties.

Abhi Sur, Senior Director at Salesforce, said CSPs have long faced the challenge of losing wallet share and mindshare to competition, particularly to the over-the-top players.

“In parallel, CSPs are also making massive investments in 5G, ushering in a broad range of new services and the ability to provide guaranteed levels of service beyond what was possible in previous network generations. Guaranteed service levels will spawn a wave of innovation in every sector, from consumer goods to enterprise software to industrial solutions and beyond. CSPs are looking not only to recoup their investment, but maintain and grow trust, mindshare, and wallet share for the customers – consumers and enterprises alike.”

In concrete terms, what is the challenge that this Catalyst is addressing?

“As CSPs seek new business opportunities in the 5G world, they face a challenge on how to leverage existing and new 5G core assets and capabilities to generate additional revenue streams through a multi-party or a B2B2X marketplace. Our solution will demonstrate how a CSP’s digital marketplace can be deployed as a monetisation platform for 5G-enabled products and services, in collaboration with ecosystem partners,” Sur said.

The Catalyst project will also leverage TM Forum work and standards such as open APIs and recommend new industry guides and specifications to TM Forum whenever applicable.

Sur outlined three key benefits from the solution:

1. The solution will fuel innovation by enabling partners to create new services that leverage 5G network capabilities.
2. It will make it easier for partners to do business with the CSP through automation, AI, self-service functions, discovery, registration and a service portal.
3. It will create greater value for customers. With a full 360 degree view of all stakeholders in the ecosystem, the CSP and partners can work together as a trusted team to provide value-added products, services, and customer service to consumers and enterprise customers alike.

Visit the Catalyst space for more information from the team.