Using Multi Criteria Decision Making for Selection the Telecom Operators'Strategy for OTT Services : A Case Study of Mobile Communications Company of Iran

Abstract

While mobile operators are competing closely, new players of OTT (Over-The-Top) services such as Skype, WhatsApp, Instagram providing communication and media services in the context of mobile communications have created a new space in the ecosystem of mobile services. These companies make use of the internet capacity of mobile operators instead of creating a dedicated network. However, on the one hand, mobile operators are in need of huge investment in order to take advantage of extensive telecommunication networks, and their income, on the other hand, has been significantly reduced. Therefore the success of mobile operators need to adopt a right strategy against OTT services. In this paper, strategies using Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis were developed by evaluating the external and internal environment factors of Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran(MCI) as well as using library and field studies into company experts. Then, the strategies were prioritized using Analytical Network Process (ANP) as an efficient techniques of Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) which deals with dependencies between criteria. MCI should be focus on the strategy of “cooperation and partnership with OTT companies” and then toward the strategy of “creation of innovative service and penetration into new markets.”