Taking a closer look at the economic crises of the past century, it turns out that many large corporations came into existence very much during these periods. Companies that have successfully stood the test of time, as these examples show: Procter & Gamble and General Electric (incorporated after the 1873 crisis), Hewlett Packard (after the 1929 crisis) and Microsoft (after the oil crisis). In spite of the difficult times they had to brave, they have been able to innovate and survive in the long term. This capacity for innovation is also one of the strong suits of the telecom industry, Benoit Scheen believes. "First of all, the telecom market has suffered less for now. Moreover I am confident that our innovative drive will help us."
Innovation in times of crisis
“Innovation is key to our future; and when I say ‘our’, I do not just mean Mobistar, I am also referring to the various users, customers and partners. And no matter how difficult the times may be, we certainly will not cutting on innovation. We want to develop new products, services and solutions for our customers on a permanent basis. Both for mobile applications, landline telephony and ‘Machine-To-Machine’ services.”
Innovation at the customer’s service
“In the past, companies have proved often enough that you can become, and stay big, through innovation. And that is exactly what we want to do at Mobistar: introduce new products to the market as frequently as possible to serve the customer.”
The 3-screen strategy
“One of the innovations involves sharing content between 3 screens (handset, PC and TV). Nowadays, more and more people want to be able to view content via one technology and subsequently continue watching via another. They want this content to remain transparent on the various media they are using. This innovation will have a great impact. We call it the ‘3-screen-strategy’. We want to see to it that content is increasingly personalised and shared between the various supports and media. Before, families had one PC, now everyone has their own PC. PC's have become very personal things. The same applies to handsets, while TV will also follow. Next up, the idea is for people to share the same personal content on all of these media, and for this content to be shared as well as personalised. This is where our mother company France Telecom is heading to. We want to drive forward the evolution of user needs.”
Machine-To-Machine
“Machine-To-Machine, in which we have been investing for many years, is also important to us. Mobistar is clearly at the forefront in Belgium; we are acting as an international competence centre for the France Telecom group, for whom we manage large Machine-To-Machine projects. All of this is handled from Brussels. Mobistar is convinced that Machine-To-Machine is a market with potential. All analyses point to the same conclusion: in due course, there will be three times as many ‘sets’ connected than there are currently SIM cards. They will be used everywhere in everyday life."
Track & tracing
“One current application is Track and Tracing, the ability to see and follow moving objects. One example is a box equipped with SIM cards in trucks, through enabling you to send information (loading, route, management, …) in real time to a central server or the other way round. Another example might be a SIM card for all cars starting from a certain price category, with which they can be permanently monitored. SNCB (Belgian National Railway Company) locomotives are followed in the same manner. Atlas Copco, a manufacturer of compressors, equips its sets with SIM cards for remote localisation and management. The applications are infinite!”
Ever more SIM cards in sets
“We are not only increasingly using SIM cards for moving objects, we are also using them for fixed objects, such as Bingo slot machines in cafés (around 8,000 in Belgium). There are currently even hospitals that have equipped their beds with SIM cards. The sensors in the mattress provide them with a variety of information about the patient: temperature, blood pressure, blood or urine loss, a fall, … This information is transmitted to a central monitoring point. This enables hospitals to lose less time and take immediate action to save lives, even when fewer staff is present."
Innovation with the right partners
“Mobistar is developing new ideas in cooperation with outside partners: they develop the solution and Mobistar handles the connection and integration with the telecom world. We help these partners - often young and innovative businesses – to position themselves in a market with large companies and to sell their solutions. Mobistar handles the integration, the promotion and the support."
After objects, it is time for animals and people
“A third use, after mobile and fixed objects, is animals and people. Just think of SIM card-equipped collars for cats and dogs, so they are easily retrieved; or bracelets for patients. The entire Machine-To-Machine sector is getting into full swing. This sector will become universally relevant in the future as it involves applications and services that will be available to all. Mobistar is fully focused on this."
New sectors
“The development of the Machine-To-Machine industry will enable the development of new sectors. In turn, these sectors will create new opportunities. Innovation is a permanent process; one that also continues in difficult times. One example is E-health in the health sector, where patients are monitored at home (by remote blood tests, blood pressure readings, …). Or the ‘mobile payment’ sector: payment by mobile phone, an electronic wallet for use in taxis, on board buses, home deliveries, … Two years ago, Mobistar chose to work with an open ‘Mobile Payment’ solution that can be used by all operators. This solution was devised by a number of operators, in collaboration with ATOS Worldline (formerly Banksys), and is akin to Bancontact in terms of safety. The amount is immediately debited from one account and transferred to another account via an exchange of secured SMS messages. It is time people discovered the existence and safety of this solution!"
