How Yahoo Could Help Verizon or AT&T Monetize Their Data
Yahoo is up for grabs and two of the largest telcos in the U.S. have shown keen interest in buying the long-beleaguered web giant. There are several reasons why mobile carriers Verizon Communications and AT&T have bid to acquire Yahoo, but underlining those reasons are their data monetization goals. Telcos across the globe are investing in ways to turn their data exhaust the information generated when enabling things like phone calls and location services for things like mapping apps into dollars.
Even though revenue from mobile data for streaming video and other purposes is up, telco industry revenues are flat or falling, according to analyst firm 451 Research. The firm reports that over the past few years revenue is down 40% across 40 of the largest global mobile operators. As the growth of new mobile subscribers dwindles, telcos have investigated a variety of new revenue streams generated from the information they have about current customers, including data on home addresses, demographics and the physical locations of subscribers’ phones and devices.
Their earliest attempts at packaging and selling data have catered to marketers. Some telcos have already partnered behind-the-scenes with companies including SAP and lesser-known German data firm Zeotap to help them deploy aggregated customer data for ad targeting, measurement and broader consumer insights.
