Today, Streamr is announcing a partnership with GSMA, the industry body for mobile telecom communications. Streamr and GSMA have partnered to allow three mobile network operators (MNOs) to monetise their user data ethically.
GSMA and Streamr will work together to deliver a technological accelerator programme to selected mobile network operators (MNOs). This initiative aims to fast track potential adoption of new technologies that permit users to share and monetise mobile device data in partnership with operators.
The 90-day program, billed by GSMA as an “exciting opportunity” to pilot new privacy-centric technology, seeks to support new approaches to user data monetisation and help these innovations scale. The program is designed to allow telcos and their users to jointly access billions in new revenue from the consumer insights market, in a manner that complies with regulatory environments.
The new monetisation methods are likely to receive support from Brussels in the Data Services Act next year.
“Given regulatory changes, and rapidly changing consumer attitudes to both privacy and the value of their data, the only sustainable way for MNOs to monetise mobile data, is by gaining overt consent from their users.
“We also know that the consumer insights industry is desperately underserved when it comes to data from mobiles. We are confident that Streamr’s revolutionary Data Union framework will allow them to capture and record this consent dynamically and securely,” said Shiv Malik, Head of Growth at Streamr.
Using a smartphone app, end-users will be asked outright if they want to opt in to join a Data Union to sell their data in partnership with their network operator, and they will also be asked what exact data they would like to sell in the process. No data will be actually sold as part of the pilot.
Streamr co-founder Henri Pihkala added, “It’s very exciting to consider the potential for this pilot. MNOs are ideally positioned to unlock the rich customer insights that their subscribers create on their devices each day. Privacy-focused data monetisation that works with those users, presents a significant new income stream, as the industry faces multiple pressures on existing revenues”.
Immediate use cases for the pilot’s data include consumer footfall and mobility intelligence for brands, retail operators and commercial landlords, as well as for use in events management and city planning applications.
The pilot will also include a significant research element, gathering user experiences on the ability to control how, and with whom, their data is shared — as well as how they feel about receiving a share of its value in the future. Learnings will also inform network user retention strategies.
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Listen to Shiv Malik, Streamr’s Head of Growth, talking about Data Unions in a recent interview with the BBC’s Digital Planet
