Orange CEO Warns Against Carriers Becoming 'Content Pipes'
ORLANDO, Fla. -(Dow Jones)- Orange Group Chief Executive Sanjiv Ahuja warned that carriers will need to improve their customer experience to avoid becoming "content pipes."
Mobile content is becoming an increasingly important business for the wireless carriers as revenue from voice services shrinks. But the industry runs the risk of being relegated to pipes carrying the content. It's something the carriers will need to be mindful as they serve their customers, Ahuja said.
"It's the experience that differentiates our brand," he said during a keynote address at the CTIA Wireless industry trade show. "We as an industry must not lose sight of what our brands can offer to customers.
As part of its experience, Ahuja said Orange will begin to offer Bebo's social networking Web site to customers in the UK. "Bebo mobile turns social networking into an anytime, anywhere experience," he said.
Orange, a unit of France Telecom, is also differentiating itself with work in healthcare. It is testing a service that allows French doctors to remotely monitor their patients' blood pressure via the cellphone. Another trial uses text messages to help people kick their smoking habits.
-By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2020; roger.cheng@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires"
Posted to the site on 28th March 2007
