Telecoms had a good 2019 and expects a better 2020 – survey

Our latest industry survey reveals a an optimistic outlook, largely bolstered by the launch of 5G commercial service, but also helped by innovations and progress in other quarters of the industry.

The newly published Telecoms.com 2019 Annual Industry Survey Report, produced based on the responses to the eponymous survey, took an overview of the industry landscape over the last 12 months and projects to 2020 and beyond. There is a perceptible optimism among the respondents. 57% of them think 2019 has either been good or excellent. Meanwhile, more than three quarters of the respondents are looking forward to a positive or very positive 2020.

“The waiting for the commercial launch of 5G finally came to an end this year,” said Scott Bicheno, Editorial Director of Telecoms.com. “Hardly a day would pass without us reporting some kind of 5G news, either new technology breakthrough or new business initiatives. Improved performance of many telecom companies including operators has also helped improve the mood of the industry, so have the exciting continuous innovations both on the technology and business fronts.”

The report also digs deep into the most pertinent topics of the industry, including 5G rollout and its next step prospect, opportunities and challenges of digital transformation, IoT and communication service providers’ role, and the modernisation of operating and business support systems (OSS/BSS).

The single biggest change in the industry landscape over the past year was apparently the launch of commercial 5G service in different parts of the world. Although so far, the most marketed service is high speed internet access, including on mobile and fixed mobile access, B2B services, including 5G serving other vertical industries, will clearly feature much stronger in the near future.

“The success of 5G, including end-to-end network slicing, mandates a unified view across layers and domains, built upon understanding network and service topology and relevance to customers and devices,” commented Dr. Konstantinos Stavropoulos, Solution Marketing Lead, EXFO. “5G mandates actionable insights and intelligent automation to detect and resolve or to predict and prevent customer- and device-impacting issues in real time.”

Meanwhile, there is a strong consensus among the respondents that telecom companies need to undergo big transformation to unleash the full potential of new technologies, primarily because the old business model, centred on connectivity provision, is losing values.

“The telecoms.com survey has been for several years the annual health check for the industry. It provides the real insight into what the industry really thinks and cuts through any hype and hyperbole. The results show the good, the bad and sometimes the ugly prospects,” said Martin Morgan, VP Marketing, Openet. “Thankfully this year there’s been more good than bad and the outlook is refreshingly positive. As the results showed the industry has turned a corner: digital transformation is well on track, new revenue streams are opening up and 5G is being rolled out.”

IoT is one of those industries that connectivity is only a small piece on the whole value chain, and telecom operators expect, and are expected, to play a much stronger role in the ecosystem.

“The 2019 survey highlights that IoT investments are well advanced today with the majority of respondents having already started to introduce services, and smart cities, utilities and industrial/manufacturing topping the list of prospective verticals,” said Ann Hatchell, CMO of Incognito Software. “Achieving excellent IoT service quality coupled with operational efficiency is clearly top of mind for CSPs and IoT providers. The research reinforced the importance of remote device management in delivering extensive automation in zero-touch provisioning, automated device discovery, and access to data telemetry to improve business intelligence and monetization opportunities,” added Hatchell.

New opportunities, presented by 5G and other new technologies and new business models, require both the network-facing and the customer-facing support networks to catch up with the change. It is encouraging to see that an overwhelming majority of the respondents recognise the demands for modernisation.

“In recent years, B2B enterprise monetisation was overshadowed by the focus on consumer monetisation which demanded digitalisation in a highly price-sensitive and data-focussed market. B2B enterprise monetisation has been allowed to fall behind in terms of service experience, efficiency and personalisation,” commented Gary Bunney, CEO of MDS Global.

“With the advent of 5G, a growing SME market and the exploding IoT market, this has to change. There are increasing requirements for ‘designed-for’ B2B BSS platforms, delivered as a cloud service, which enable cost-efficiencies and dedicated service delivery. Business demands new digital engagement tools designed for efficient and personalised interaction with enterprise markets, resellers and partners,” added Bunney.