Pokémon Go maybe a global phenomenon; in India, however it started with a bang and ended with a whimper.
The global release happened in July 2016 and of course, we all jumped on the bandwagon. By December 2016 when they ‘officially’ launched in India — it was already too late. The excitement was dying and honestly running around Indian streets chasing virtual monsters can’t be any ones idea of fun. The fact is that simple things infrastructure & weather affect the user experience for games like this.
Pokémon Go has been widely praised for its ability to make people more active in the real world. Have we become such fabulous desk jockeys that it takes an App to get us to move around?
Guess who they partnered with when they finally launched in India?
Reliance Jio of course. To this extent — Jio’s strategy to enter and disrupt the telecom space has been extremely sophisticated. Unlike other operators — Jio realized that data and call rates will fall with every year. The battle in telecom has moved from data to services.
Incumbents too saw this coming but they have thus far failed to capitalize on the trend. Airtel is trying to do so with its suite of Apps (that cater to everything from Movies & Music to Gaming & Communication) but it has so far failed to capture consumer imagination. Considering the amount of customer information and distribution they are sitting on — this a problem they need not solve on their own.
Imagine the targeting ability of a network that understands what you consume, when you consume it and how much you are willing to spend in terms of time, data and money to consume it. Platforms and Products from every walk of life should want to partner with ISPs and Telecom Operators.
These are only the first salvos in what will be a long and painful telecom war.
Reliance can cross subsidize Jio’s operations through revenues from other businesses. Be that as it may it doesn’t mean that all incumbents can do is sit back and complain. Data is an equally powerful tool.
Thanks for your time,
Ashish
- Team KG
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You can reach me on ashish@kalagato.com
