The value proposition for micro MSPPs is about as straightforward as it gets: Create a simpler, smaller, and above all cheaper version of the multiservice provisioning platforms that network operators are already using to deliver new services, and then watch those new products fly off the shelf.

More than two dozen equipment makers found that logic compelling enough to come out with their own micro MSPPs over the past 18 months or so. So far, however, they're still waiting for this new market sector to get off the ground.

The latest edition of Light Reading Insider, Micro MSPPs: Carrier Deployment Plans, explains why the micro MSPP market remains only ready for takeoff, and what has to happen for carriers to start deploying products in a meaningful way. We surveyed dozens of service provider professionals to pinpoint what they saw as the main attractions – and biggest potential drawbacks – of bringing micro MSPPs into their network. We also asked them when their company would start deploying micro MSPPs, and how much money they were likely to spend on them.

Survey results corroborate the main point that equipment vendors are making about micro MSPPs: The main attraction of deploying these relatively new devices is the potential for cost savings. Micro MSPPs are priced to sell, with some models now under the $10,000 mark. Those low prices are getting carriers to at least move to the RFP phase in the equipment-evaluation dance.

So if low cost is the main attraction for micro MSPPs, and vendors are already delivering on that count, why are sales still lagging? Part of the reason, of course, is the standard sales cycle in the carrier world. Vendors say RFPs are circulating, and carriers tell us more are on the way. Both sides expect these RFPs to translate into actual equipment buys starting later this year and in 2006.

Whether those contracts live up to initial expectations is another question. Carriers are clearly attracted by the low price points of micro MSPPs, but they also say they need to see more than a cut-rate price to make a meaningful commitment. Our survey results offer clear insight into exactly what carriers want from micro MSPPs beyond price. The equipment suppliers that address those other issues stand a better chance of seeing their micro MSPP revenues begin to soar.

— Dennis Mendyk, Managing Director, Heavy Reading

Micro MSPPs: Carrier Deployment Plans, a 15-page report in PDF format, is available as part of an annual subscription (12 monthly issues) to Light Reading Insider, priced at $1,350. Individual reports are available for $900.