Five key trends shaping the telecommunications environment
In the year ahead, telcos will focus on delivering advanced connectivity and higher performance to customers while enhancing value and competitiveness. Our Outlook to 2023 review five factors determining telecom industry growth and business framework, from 5G monetization to edge computing to a growing emphasis on sustainability.
Getting Ready for a Resilient and Robust Future
The expansion of telecommunications industry keeps driven by the constant significance of connectivity, which offers equally vital challenges and opportunities for communications service providers (CSPs). This year’s Telecom Outlook reviews how ISPs are servicing value to consumers and commercial end-customers through bundled services and connectivity preferences such as 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) and fiber, as well as their role in meeting the expanding demand for edge computing.
We’ll also keep in mind how ISPs may plan to change pricing decisions with the necessity to hasten the placement of infrastructure such as fiber networks while focusing devotion to the growing importance to lessen resources, ruin and emissions from network operations, improvements and deployments. As connectivity approaches more of the world, it may be higher need of urgency than ever to create equilibrium costs with the demands of households, businesses, communities and other commercial environment.
Some of the specific themes we see playing a key role in 2023 and beyond include the following:
1.Bundle Battle: Increase value for cost-conscious consumers. Connectivity is important for individuals and families alike. However, consumers often have cost constraints that can limit their options or force them to seek the best service at the lowest price. To provide higher value to customer, many ISPs are merging mobile and home Internet access, providing connectivity choices such as fiber and 5G FWA, and making partnership with entertainment facilities to include sponsored or free of cost subscriptions.
2.Fixed surge in wireless access, but does it last? As part of this “package battle”, 5G FWA has seen significant growth. This type of connectivity can provide high reliability, but some questions remain about how much it can scale. As more people use 5G services, and if more bandwidth-hungry “killer apps” emerge, the limits of the 5G FWA may be exposed. However, market dynamics and next-generation technological solutions could overcome these challenges.
3.What businesses want from 5G edge. For enterprise customers, there is a need to reduce costs, automate capabilities and drive innovation to drive interest and adoption of edge computing. CSPs will likely need partners to develop and deploy cutting-edge solutions, which requires greater collaboration with earlier competitors.
4.Joint ventures accelerate deployment of optical networks. Many of the connectivity solutions we provide depend on fiber optic networks. With high demand, strong competition and the need to optimize costs and risks, more ISPs are partnering with private investors to accelerate the deployment of fiber networks.
5.Increase focus on sustainability. In this way, these partnerships can support existing customers while expanding further into under-served communities, helping to reduce the digital divide – the gap between those who have access to advanced information and communication technologies and with those communities who do not have such options. This aspect draws on the broader economic imperative of connectivity: more bandwidth, more equal distribution, enabling better access to education and opportunity.
