Phone Numbers are an MNOs Unique Value

Recently I wrote a post arguing that mobile telcos had it wrong.

My view was that applications would become more important than voice and SMS, and that handset and software companies would increasingly control the customer experience.

Looking back, I think the broad direction was right.

But I also think I missed one of the most valuable things the mobile industry had, and still has.

The phone number.

Not simply the digits. The real asset is the global system of numbering, addressing, interconnection and routing behind them.

You can give your number to someone using any network, any device or living in any country. They do not need to download an application, join a platform or send you a connection request.

They can simply reach you.

That sounds boring, but only because the telecommunications industry has spent decades making it ordinary.

There are plenty of other identifiers. Email addresses, social media accounts and application usernames can all be globally unique.

But none has replicated the same combination of global reachability, interoperability, portability, native device support and connection to emergency services.

No individual operator owns this system. Telephone numbers are publicly administered resources that customers can take between providers.

The value lies in the industry’s collective ability to make those numbers reachable across networks and national borders.

My earlier analysis correctly identified the services and customer experience that mobile operators were losing to applications.

What I underestimated was the value of the global addressing and routing capability they retained.

Perhaps the phone number is not a declining legacy asset after all.