We're delighted to outline the Telco 2.0 research agenda for the next 12 months, below. This will drive our event agendas (EMEA - November 2009; AMERICAS - Dec 2009; WORLD - APRIL 2010; APAC - June 2010) and consulting activity. If any of our readers would like to contribute expertise or other ideas, please contact us. We'll be setting up some collaborative tools. (Our subscription research service is described here too).

Telco 2.0 Research Agenda 2009-2010:
The context, of course, is 'business model innovation' and in particular the 'two-sided' telecoms market opportunity.

Strategy & Finance 2.0: Role of Business Model Innovation in Increasing Shareholder Value
• Platform business models
• New metrics for growth
• Key untapped telco assets
• Impact on regulation

Consumer Services 2.0: Engaging with the 'digital generation'
• App stores and new retail strategies
• Adding value to new communications media (social networking, games, MMORPGs)
• Product innovation process improvement
• Customer Data/Privacy

Digital Money
• A new role for telcos in the finance sector
• How and where to collaborate
• Mobile wallet

Digital Advertising & Marketing 2.0
• Engaging with consumers
• Aggregation/Collaboration strategies
• Exploiting User Profiles

Digital Home
• Managed home network for:
1. Healthcare
2. Utilities
3. Entertainment

Media 2.0: Digital Distribution
• Video ; Music ; News

APIs 2.0: Models for monetisation
• New aggregation strategies
• Developer Communities
• Practicalities of mash-ups

As part of this, we are working on 'roadmaps' and creating 'use cases', to demonstrate in practice how new business model concepts can work in practice. We are working with some industry bodies and individual operators to define commercial pilot activities.

In the near term (to November 2009) our "Use Case" development work, which will be promoted at our Autumn events, is focused as follows:

1. Video Distribution over Broadband: 3rd Party Pays
2. Marketing/Advertising Services: a collaborative model for telcos
3. SmartGrid: beyond metering
4. Digital Wallet and Payments: mature markets
5. Voice and Messaging: Embedding in 3rd Party Applications
6. Digital Health: healthcare in the home
7. SME logistics: Customer and field force scheduling

We will be looking at how to leverage key telco assets: SIM, network, customer data, existing telco products. The aim is to describe in detail business processes, money/value flow and the implications for organization and technology for different players in the value chain, focusing on the opportunities for network operators.

If you'd like to offer assistance/expertise/ideas, please contact us.