Over the past 1-2 years, the concept of a “billion dollar”
business has often arisen in my project related discussions concerning multi-national operators.
Indeed, Matthew Key (Head of Telefónica
Digital) recently set a target of Eur.0.5-08bn (almost US$1 billion) for its
M2M revenues by 2015. A billion matters in the frame of reference for most
large operators because anything smaller often does not warrant management
attention. This is understandably the case when resources are being requested
of Group-level decision makers who have to weigh competing market opportunities.
So, what does a billion dollar business look like? How might
an MNO reach this level of revenues within a 3-5 year interval of time? And,
what are some of the business model implications for operators pursuing a “billion
dollar” goal?