With AI/IoT driving connectivity and automation globally, the telco industry could soon embody the same principles: API-driven shared infrastructures and collaborations
Being at the leading edge of communications technologies, telecommunications firms can package versatile solutions to fit every sector of society.
However, in order to remain profitable in the highly competitive industry, telcos have had to venture beyond offering just technology, but also creating content and personalized solutions to retain customer loyalty and grow new revenue streams.
What are the opportunities and challenges facing telcos today? To find out, DigiconAsia.net interviewed Atul Purohit, Head of Technology, Cloud and Network Services Global Business Center, Nokia.
DigiconAsia: What current trends are influencing business and technology strategies in the telecom industry?
Atul Purohit (AP): The traditional aim of growing Average Revenue Per User has flattened, and does not represent a viable plan forward. The emerging global trend towards a Network Application Programming Interface (API) economy is seen as an important growth path whereby network operators will enable capabilities from within their networks to be exposed to external application developers to access via APIs.
Also, in the era of 5G, while network operators will offer such applications directly to consumers, the long-term opportunity will come from offering them to support Industry 4.0, Immersive Ecosystems, Transportation and Logistics, etc… as value-added connectivity services.
Offering both access to third party networks and control of network performance capabilities directly using APIs is an overall pathway to telco growth.
DigiconAsia: How do telcos cater to the complex industry landscape in the Asia Pacific region?
AP: APAC is a dynamic region for telco operators due to high population densities combined with rapid digitalization. One key driver for telco business strategies is the acceleration of Industry 4.0 adoption across sectors like manufacturing, education, healthcare, and transportation, which requires robust, scalable, and low-latency network infrastructure.
In countries like Singapore, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, telco operators are leveraging 5G and IoT to provide mission-critical solutions to contribute and build robust digitalized economies, guided by active participation in the Network API economy organizations like the GSMA Open Gateway Initiative and the Linux Foundation CAMARA program.
Moreover, smart city initiatives in the region require regional governments and regulators to foster innovation; AI inclusion in education; digital healthcare; and green energy solutions across multiple industries, enabling telcos to assist in transforming the region into a robust digital hub.
DigiconAsia: What are some of the key regulatory challenges telecom companies face in riding the Industry 4.0 and post-COVID rapid digitalization?
AP: Telcos find regulatory compliance and data privacy and security challenging as there are various data protection regulations across the different regions, countries or states.
To navigate these challenges, operators have had to engage proactively with regulators and industry standards bodies to ensure that their services comply with regional and global regulations, are interoperable and secure. Additionally, in working closely with regulators, operators can help shape their business policies to balance innovation with security and privacy concerns.
DigiconAsia: What industry trends are being shaped by technological progress and the impact of tough telco competition?
AP: With specific alignment to the emerging Network API economy, AI and IoT are extremely important in the industry.
- The presence of AI is very evident in this emerging Network API economy, with some of the early impact being automated software development coding, testing, CI/CD processing in the Network API economy.
- The existing IoT paradigm is a precursor to this emerging Network API economy whereby “things” across the globe connect via the internet for various purposes. The IoT paradigm operates via APIs at various levels, and that is the same construct as the new emerging Network API economy. The difference is that we now see more complex applications interfacing to the networks at more interactive ways than the IoT devices do. Often-times, existing IoT use-cases are evolving and expanding into the emerging Network API space — and in so doing, the networks become more embedded within the value chain that the IoT applications deliver.
Another telco strategy necessitated by technological progress is making better use of customer data and predictive analytics to gain deep insights into user behavior, anticipate future demand, preferences, and service consumption patterns. This enable industry players to carve out target customer segments, offer more personalized and tailored services, and in turn, optimize network management.
Within the realm of the Network API economy, data insights are also being used to drive the development of better and more valuable applications. For example, network data insights can guide automated mitigation of network congestion or outages in real-time. However, when it comes to customer data and analytics — including consumer as well as business customers — the issues of confidentiality and security must always be prioritized.
Finally, since a Network API economy is built upon an ecosystem concept whereby multiple parties join to contribute to and benefit from, strategic partnerships have become even more crucial.
As this mesh economy develops, many partnership alliances will be created using loosely coupled technical structures to allow for quick adaptations among participants throughout the ecosystem. Facilitating such fast and loose couplings among the ecosystem players will be a Network as Code (based on Infrastructure as Code principles) platform to make telco assets more versatile, programmable, accessible and manageable within an ecosystem.
DigiconAsia thanks Atul for sharing his industry insights with readers.
