A leading U.S. wireline telecom operator had launched an innovative triple-play bundle a few years earlier, but was looking on the horizon and was concerned with its growth prospects. The company wanted to identify new growth opportunities before the triple play ran out of steam.
Altman Solon used both top-down and bottom-up approaches to identify emerging growth opportunities, and in parallel identified company assets and capabilities that could be leveraged. The top-down approach used consumer and household spending habits to identify large or growing categories that were household-oriented and might offer some relation or fit with the telecom operator. Similarly, the bottom-up approach examined consumer and household primary research to identify emerging demand categories. These approaches generated ideas, which were then filtered for fit and attractiveness, and were then researched further to identify appropriate business models. The most significant challenge was to find opportunities that really depended on the wireline network and could withstand the trend of over-the-top solutions.
Altman Solon worked with the client to identify a half-dozen growth opportunities and develop business models for each. Some of these have moved on to the next phase for product development, while others have become objects of M&A exploration.