Mobile internet connectivity company Tweakker has launched an Over the Air (OTA) API connectivity service for content providers, MVNOs and service providers. Tweakker says the API will enable the industry to better serve its mobile customers, become more profitable, and generate new revenues from early pick-up of new mobile internet applications and services.
Tweakkers API gives the mobile customers users access to its configuration engine, which supports more than 10,000 phone model variations and 2,200 OTA-enabled phone models and provides mobile guides in more than 30 languages. Coverage spans 94 countries and more than 300 mobile operators.
Tweakker says that the mobile industry loses an estimated $10bn (£6.6bn) each year in lost revenues and increasing customer care costs. Every time a mobile customer calls for support, it chops up to $10 off ARPU, and with the increasing complexity that smartphones bring to the market, the company says, customer care costs can only rise further. As a direct result, mobile operators are switching customer care from call centres to web-based self-care solutions.
“The current financial crisis is forcing MVNOs and service providers to find ways of improving ROI by reducing OPEX and trying to boost data ARPU figures,” says Lars Vestergaard, managing director of Mobilethink Analytics. “Considering the pain that up to 65 per cent of all mobile users experience in getting mobile internet or email to work, it is imperative that the mobile industry now introduces more self-care services like OTA configuration of mobile phones. OTA connectivity investment is low, customer relevance is high, and configuration is simple.” 
For content providers, says Tweakker, the benefits are straightforward. Until now they have seen customers leaving their mobile services before even getting started and never coming back because of the lack of an effective mobile internet connectivity service. Tweakker says that, using its API, they can now offer customers contextual and easy configuration of their phones, thereby closing sales. The cost of using the API service cost is fixed at the $0.50 per customer.
The savings for MVNOs giving their mobile customers access to Tweakkers API are also significant, the company notes. For a service provider with 1m customers, if 10 per cent need OTA customer care each year, the provider could save up to $1m each year, increasing margins by $1 per customer.
“Special market conditions calls for new business models and fitted services,” says Tue Harder Schandorff, Tweakker’s CEO. “We see a demand for our core OTA configuration engine that is priced low and easy to access. With Tweakkers API, customers get the best out of our OTA connectivity services, without making high investments or paying fees for services they might use.”
