Smart pipe, related to a

mobile network operator A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a wireless service provider, wireless carrier, cellular company, or mobile network carrier, is a provider of wireless communications services that owns or controls all the elements necessary to sell ...

(MNO or ''operator''), refers to an operator’s network which leverages existing or unique service abilities, and the operator’s customer relationships, to provide value beyond that of data connectivity only. The use of the term “smart” refers to the operator’s ability to add value for added, and often unique, types of services and content beyond bandwidth and network speed only. Among the commonly understood operational models for a MNO are smart pipes,

walled gardens A walled garden is a garden enclosed by high walls, especially when this is done for horticultural rather than security purposes, although originally all gardens may have been enclosed for protection from animal or human intruders. In temperate c ...

, and

dumb pipe With regard to a mobile network operator (MNO, or ''operator''), the term dumb pipe, or dumb network, refers to a simple network that, with a high enough bandwidth to transfer bytes between the customer's device and the Internet without the need to ...

Examples

While there is no real

industry standard ''Industry Standard'' is the sixth studio album by the Dixie Dregs, released in 1982. This was the second of two albums released under the moniker The Dregs, and is their only album featuring vocals (by Alex Ligertwood of Santana and Patrick Si ...

definition of a smart pipe, there are several operators, bloggers, and researchers who have described aspects of a smart pipe which are generally accepted. Network operator 3 led the way with the release of its X-Series line of devices in 2006. The X-Series platform bundles a set of services, several of which are unique to 3, and provides unlimited data access in exchange for a fixed monthly premium. While not necessarily a full realization of a smart pipe, 3 is one of the first operators to offer such a combination of bandwidth and value-added services for flat-rate pricing. In addition to pricing, there is a set of services commonly viewed as parts of a smart pipe,The Operators vs. the Media Brands
/ref> such as: *

Location-based service A location-based service (LBS) is a general term denoting software services which use geographic data and information to provide services or information to users. LBS can be used in a variety of contexts, such as health, indoor object search, ent ...

s * Presence information *

Customer analytics In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a good, service, product or an idea - obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier via a financial transaction or exchange for ...

Computing platform A computing platform or digital platform is an environment in which a piece of software is executed. It may be the hardware or the operating system (OS), even a web browser and associated application programming interfaces, or other underlying s ...

s, mobile or application **

Mobile operating system A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on ...

s *

User interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...

s *

Personalization Personalization (broadly known as customization) consists of tailoring a service or a product to accommodate specific individuals, sometimes tied to groups or segments of individuals. A wide variety of organizations use personalization to improv ...

Application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how t ...

s (APIs), for devices or networks *

Payment A payment is the voluntary tender of money or its equivalent or of things of value by one party (such as a person or company) to another in exchange for goods, or services provided by them, or to fulfill a legal obligation. The party making the p ...

, Billing *

Directory assistance In telecommunications, directory assistance or directory inquiries is a phone service used to find out a specific telephone number and/or address of a residence, business, or government entity. Technology Directory assistance systems incorporate ...

, directory services *

Quality of service Quality of service (QoS) is the description or measurement of the overall performance of a service, such as a telephony or computer network, or a cloud computing service, particularly the performance seen by the users of the network. To quantitat ...

By exposing these types of services to the mobile ecosystem, network operators can maintain the value of their pipes while enabling entrepreneurs to create new business models and generate entirely new revenue streams. The need for operators to innovate around a smart pipe is rising as they face rising pressure from media companies and new technologies, such as Apple’s iPhone,

Nokia Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...

’s consumer portal Ovi, and even the open-access policies of the U.S.

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) introduced around its upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction. Recently,

Arun Sarin Arun Sarin (born 21 October 1954) is an Indian-American telecommunications executive. Sarin was the former CEO of the telecom giant Vodafone, serving from 2003 until 2008. He drove the integration of Vodafone, Airtouch and Mannesman. He was al ...

, CEO of

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public limited company, plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Telephone company, telecommunications company. Its registered office and Headquarters, global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It ...

, was criticized for some statements he made about how

will always have a unique relationship with its subscribers through its billing relationship.Vodafone CEO sticks head in sand, goes 'La la la'
/ref> Although Sarin’s point has been true traditionally, as the article points out there are several new threats to that exclusivity such as traditional credit card, Obopay, PayPal Mobile, and existing media companies like

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

via the Android platform,

Yahoo Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...

via Go, and

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

via iPhone.

References

{{Reflist Mobile technology

Examples

See also

References