Midco, Ritter mull moves into mobile

A handful of cable operators have launched or plan to launch a mobile offering through the National Content & Technology Cooperative's agreements with AT&T and Reach. Many more are expected to join that list in the coming months as the NCTC looks to simplify that process.

Meanwhile, others are taking a closer look at the NCTC's proposal but have not yet made a commitment to move forward on mobile.

Midco, a regional operator serving parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Kansas, is reviewing the NCTC's agreements as it decides whether to take the plunge into mobile.

"This is our year of due diligence on that," Pao Lo, Midco's VP of network engineering, said during a tech session at The Independent Show in Nashville last week.

Ritter Communications, a Jonesboro, Arkansas-based operator, is also in the due diligence phase on mobile as it looks at a possible launch in 2025, according to CTO Victor Esposito. He says mobile can be a "slightly revenue positive item" for Ritter while also driving additional customer acquisition through the ability to pair mobile with broadband.

Data offload concerns

While offloading mobile traffic on the home Wi-Fi network presents an opportunity to reduce potential MVNO costs, Lo also acknowledges that Midco doesn't have the same Wi-Fi offloading opportunities outside the home that Comcast and Charter Communications have. They're part of a "CableWiFi" roaming consortium that also includes Cox Communications and Altice USA and utilizes a dual SSID.

Related:Some indie broadband operators still on the fence about mobile

For now, Midco is reluctant to go big on a metro Wi-Fi strategy.

"For a smaller operator, that's tough because we don't have a lot of foot traffic in some our home towns," Lo explained. "It may be a business decision that says it will work and we'll do it. But I'm skeptical on that one."

For now, Ritter would expect to take full advantage of data offload opportunities using in-home Wi-Fi, Esposito said.

The NCTC, which cuts programming and tech deals and develops programs for hundreds of small and midsized cable operators, is taking a look at ways to help its members with mobile data offload.

NCTC has already set up partnerships to help members deliver solid in-home Wi-Fi, but is currently looking at possibilities beyond the home, Jared Baumann, VP of technology at innovation, said on a panel focused on mobile opportunities for NCTC members.

NCTC, he said, is discussing "some big strategy changes around Wi-Fi" and checking to see if there's a way for members to take advantage of the kind of Wi-Fi sharing and roaming that Comcast and Charter enjoy today.

Related:NCTC unveils 'Broadband TV,' aims to accelerate mobile program

"Inherently, I think all of our [members] are situated in a great place for this," he said.

Deploying metro Wi-Fi hotspots currently is not a focus for Breezeline, which took advantage of the NCTC deals with Reach and AT&T to launch a mobile product with by-the-Gig and unlimited options earlier this year. Breezeline is presently focused on educating customers about in-home Wi-Fi offload, but could rethink that strategy later, according to Heather McCallion, VP of new business and business transformation at Breezeline and a member of the NCTC board.

Prior to launching the service, Breezeline had explored a possible move into mobile for about two years and, through a set of studies, determined that a sizable portion of customers would consider buying mobile service from the operator.

Breezeline bundles mobile with home broadband today to drive customer acquisition and retention, but with the goal of mobile being profitable as a standalone business, McCallion explained.

McCallion estimated that it took Breezeline about six weeks to train its entire front line for the new mobile offering, but said it's a job that's ever-evolving. "You need to constantly indoctrinate and refresh, Once is not enough," she said.

Related:TDS Telecom to launch mobile service via NCTC's MVNO

For now, most mobile sales come through the call center. The company currently has nine dedicated resources for the mobile business, and 20 shared resources.

Breezeline shares some lessons learned

As for lessons learned, McCallion said it's important for operators to alter their mobile offers frequently, noting that Breezeline has changed its mobile promotion three times since the launch. Breezeline, she said, has seen a 20% to 25% lift on volume every time it has refreshed its mobile message or launched a new promotion.

"We're still experimenting and learning … relative to mobile," she said.

Among those lessons: Direct mail promos might be a "hero" for home broadband, but they're not as effective for mobile. Breezeline, McCallion noted, is finding that promos done via SMS and email are "more topical and instantaneous" and tend to generate a better response than direct mail.

Breezeline is currently using a bring-your-own-device model for mobile and is exploring whether to add a digital device store as sales volumes rise. By comparison, TVS Cable, the first operator to launch under the NCTC deals, has stood up an online store for smartphones.

On the device front, NCTC has agreements with a pair of partners – the Associated Carrier Group (ACG) and Vertex Wireless.

ACG, Baumann said, "brings in a great deal of buying power" for devices, while Vertex provides a way for members to arrange to have devices shipped directly to the homes of customers who are buying mobile via the operator's call center or web site.

"As we've developed out more of that program, we've got a more mature ecosystem around that," he said.

Breezeline bills separately for mobile, but the Reach deal enables the operator to customize everything under the Breezeline Mobile Brand. McCallion said Breezeline has developed in in-house middleware that enables its mobile billing system to talk to the billing system from CSG used for wireline services.

While it's debatable whether it makes sense to integrate all services on one bill, McCallion said there is interest in being able to sell multiple services on a single cart, rather than requiring customers to go through one buying process for broadband and a separate one for mobile.

"It would be awesome if we could make that buying process one and the same through single cart, which is different than single bill, but it's related," McCallion said.

In addition to Breezeline and TVS Cable, operators that have launched or plan to launch mobile via the NCTC agreements include Allo Communications, TDS and Shurz Communications.

"We have a significant number that are in the queue," NCTC President and CEO Lou Borrelli said in an interview prior to The Independent Show. "Our objective is to launch a significant number of members between now and the end of the year."