Operator questions telcos' logic of constraining services behind geographical boundaries.
Operators need to think like OTT players and adopt a global approach if they are to capitalise on digital opportunities, said VimpelCom on Tuesday.
Speaking at Total Telecom Congress in London, Tommy Ljunggren, group director, architecture and security, at Vimpelcom, questioned the accepted logic of telcos offering services to customers solely in the country in which they operate.
This, he said, is in contrast to OTT providers which offer their services universally.
"I think we have to embrace that approach more," continued Ljunggren. "It is a basic fact that everyone carries their mobile and why would a customer in Saudi not want to use a service from their home country in Sweden, for example.
"In the past, it has been cumbersome for operators to provide customers with cross-border services; roaming was created early but it has always started with operators launching services in their own countries and then thinking about what happens when the user goes abroad. The OTTs have shown the potential for worldwide services and that potential is available to all of us to take."
Ljunggren went on to say that the technology to enable this is already available to operators and that utilising the data already in their networks will be key to unlocking its potential.
"We have to look at different business models," he said. "We have to…transform to create services that use data and offer these services to external partners through APIs."