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The purpose of this study is to analyse the ways in which mobile operators in the USA that previously presented themselves as providers of essentially a single service have had to adapt to the requirements of a multi-play world that includes mobile and fixed-wire voice, broadband internet and Pay-TV.

The approach is empirical in its entirety and based upon a historical review of the actions of (primarily) the nationwide mobile operators in the USA. Account is taken of the actions of companies in what were historically separate spheres of business such as cable and satellite.

It can be seen that there has been a great deal of restructuring activity in the US mobile sector during the past decade driven by a number of factors such as the need to achieve scale and to provide high-date-rate transmission. However, in very recent times, the main driving force has been the need to gear up for the provision of multi-play services.

The next few years will see an acceleration of restructuring activity as previously independent companies link up voluntarily or via takeovers.

It can be argued that it is the evolving use of smartphones, especially among those aged under 30, that is a key reason why mobile operators are having to change their business models, rather than the reverse.

Regulators, in particular, appear to be stuck in a world in which different segments of the world of telecommunications continue to plough independent furrows. However, multi-play is the future of the sector and there has not so far been much attention paid to this phenomenon.

This paper aims to examine the extent to which the largest international mobile operators are restructuring their network assets to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.

A number of original databases have been constructed that identify the relevant operators, both current and over an eight-year period, where they operate on a regional basis, their purchases and sales of network assets during those eight years and their unfulfilled aspirations to buy and sell network assets.

It is reasonably evident that operators have clear strategic objectives when deciding where and when to expand their empires, and that they have a clear preference for regional clustering of assets. However, the paucity of desirable networks for sale means that asset buying has to be opportunistic and that operators come up against problems such as an unwelcoming government or a corrupt regime which makes operators come to regret their initial enthusiasm. In recent years, the emphasis has switched from building empires consisting solely of mobile networks towards the development of multi-play capabilities within a limited number of countries.

Databases are compiled by many organisations for their own purposes. They are usually difficult to interpret because of a lack of explanatory footnotes and often contain mistakes. The authors compile their own unique databases and, therefore, have a better understanding of the reasons why strategic decisions are made that affect the buying and selling of international assets.

The existence of these databases mean that the authors’ work is highly original, even though it is, of necessity, based upon public domain sources.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of demand side economies of scope in relation to multiplay services. The basic question raised in the paper is the extent to which demand side economies of scope in the area of multiplay is based on an externality founded in a positive feedback mechanism as in the case of demand side economies of scale in interactive communication networks.

In order to elucidate this, the paper first presents and explores the concept of economies of scope, and more specifically demand side economies of scope. Second, an analysis of the bundling strategies of operators in the field is presented, including an examination of the forms of bundling with respect to how open or close the business models implemented are. After this analysis, the paper concludes with a discussion of the demand side economies of scope concept aiming to contribute to a qualification of the concept and its applicability.

The paper concludes that the value proposition of multiplay services is more related to the intrinsic value of the service than its extrinsic value. This constitutes a major difference between demand side economies of scale and demand side economies of scope.

The findings of the paper have practical implications for operators offering multiplay services with respect to the drivers of this market.

The value of the paper lies in its discussion of the concept of demand side economies of scope.

Aims to determine how multiple play styles and use of “outside” materials can be successfully taken into account when designing user experiences in educational digital games.

This research draws on over two dozen qualitative interviews and an open‐ended survey of an additional 50 game players with a wide range of gameplay experience.

Findings suggest that players have different skill sets, and different beliefs about what constitutes acceptable and unacceptable help in a variety of games. These findings are analyzed to argue for different ways to enhance the educational gaming experience for players.

As with all qualitative research, the relatively small sample size makes it difficult to draw broad generalizations from the data. However, the research does suggest that there are many ways to play games, that players use many items and information “outside” the game to help them play or enhance their experience, and such things can be fruitfully used to improve educational games.

Designers of educational games should take into account the materials surrounding games, such as walkthroughs and codes, as ways to enhance the game and educational experience, rather than detract from them.

Very little research has been done examining how players perceive items and information related to game play, as well as how they use such things. This research investigates that area and relates the knowledge to ways to improve educational games, and education.

This paper aims to underscore how the digitization of content and the convergence in the telecommunications sector has prompted a wave of consolidation between telecom and content players.

Using interdisciplinary insights from competition policy and business strategy, the paper draws attention to the interplay between business model innovation and merger control in the converged telecoms sector.

Technological innovation and business model innovation led to the emergence of over-the-top (OTT) services. This innovation in turn led to two key effects, first, successful commercialization of content and the emergence of the “smart pipes” that in turn has led to the second effect, which is increased mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the converged telecommunications sector. Emergence of OTT with big data as a key advantage challenged the strategy and business models of the more established players, such as the AT&T, Time Warner, Liberty Global and Fox, which in turn led to the current trend of M&As in the sector.

This paper makes the following key contributions to the literature on M&As between the fixed/mobile and content players. First, it elucidates how the existing market players can benefit from competition policy, such as merger remedies to enter new and related markets. Second, it advocates that the US and the European competition authorities while assessing these M&As, take due account of innovation in business models, as business model innovation not only promotes innovation in the market but also enhances consumer welfare, considering that it offers the merged firm economies of scale and scope to offer better-quality goods and services at subsidized prices.