The dubiousness circling the Internet of Things (IoT) is slowly but steadily decreasing as many industries are realizing the extraordinary benefits of this technology. According to many reports, IoT will connect nearly 28 billion devices by the end of 2020. IoT’s unique solutions will have a notable implication in every industry. Telecom industry is no exception.
The global telecom sector is transforming itself for a phenomenal increase in the data traffic across networks. With the number of global smartphone users are raced to 2.4 billion, & the number of overall internet users has touched nearly 3.5 billion, the telecom industry is all set to face tough challenges in near future. Keeping this in mind, adoption of IoT and its allied technology is expected to touch$9 billion over the next couple of years. The rise of IoT will drive data consumption and emphasize the growing trend of mobile data. Mobile data traffic is expected to grow at CAGR of 45% during next 5 years. However, if you are a telecom player & planning to implement IoT, you have to revisit your existing infrastructure, business model, resource capacity in order to utilize this opportunity first.
The Internet of Things (IoT) will include 26 billion units installed by 2020. By that time, IoT product and service suppliers will generate incremental revenue exceeding $300 billion, mostly in services.
Gartner Report
As we all know IoT changes consumer connectivity demands, it has become important for telecom companies to define a clear strategy which supports and enhances the next gen of smart devices. With this highly competitive market, consumer preferences and behavior changes frequently. This enables service providers to gain a competitive advantage by offering services which deliver higher value to their customers. In this blog, we are going to discuss how IoT is adding real value to the network service providers.
Internet of Things – A Summary
Internet of Things (IoT) has come a long way from being considered as a hype, to becoming a hard reality of the modern connected world. It works with sensors which help in leveraging the device interactivity for forming relevant data insights. IoT technology connects small objects with an active network, driving to enhanced data collection and management. It creates a dynamic globally connected network based on standard communication protocols where virtual, and physical things possess interfaces and can be easily integrated into the existing information networks.
ALSO READ: “IoT Global Trends for 2017”
IoT in Telecom
Telecom industry is probably the hub of the Internet of Things. Technology around us is interacting and helping us gather and share information and notably, these technologies are evolving rapidly. As IoT changes consumer’s data and connectivity demands, it becomes a necessity for telecom service providers to establish a strategy which supports and develops the next generation of smart devices. The continuous change in customer preferences and behavior force service providers to gain a competitive advantage by providing high-value services to the customers.
Let’s discuss few notable ways IoT can reinvent telecom sector;
Connectivity & Scalability
Connectivity and scalability are two major aspects of telecommunication industry. One of the major challenges, for network service providers, is to handle a huge volume of mobile traffic. If they fail to manage traffic, their service will get interrupted and they will lose customers.
IoT can offer a significant opportunity to telecom operators by allowing them to extend uninterrupted connectivity and on a global scale using IoT applications. IoT applications can easily manage the mobile traffic.
Creative Offerings
IoT provides a huge opportunity for the telecom companies to offer innovative offerings and introduce something exciting and new to the market. Such type of offerings will boost the sales figures and you can have a more loyal customer base.
Vodafone is a good example. They partnered with BMW to provide an innovative solution. Vodafone introduced SIM cards to be put in vehicles that allows the owner to track the vehicle’s location at any point of time. In the case of any kind of emergency, alerts can be sent to the emergency services and cooling system can be managed inside the vehicle automatically. Vodafone even used IoT to help power companies in New Zealand to track electric meters. This kind of smart offerings is the next biggest thing to achieve for telecom companies.
Deliver, what you promised
You must have encountered a situation where you opted for 4G service, but you get 3G service because of the unavailability of 4G network in that location. In current telecom network system, customers receive services what is available, rather than getting what they choose or promised. No telecom provider guarantee data speed, network availability or responsiveness.
IoT devices are changing this & improving existing products and services. IoT is still in its initial phase & the best is yet to come. With IoT, telecom companies will also evolve to an environment where the customer gets exactly what they are paying for.
Personalized Service
IoT will allow the telecom companies to offer personalized services to their customers. With the help of analytics, telecom companies can analyse the huge amount of data and can draw interfaces and understand their customers.
With the help of IoT, enterprises can understand the exact need of their customers and can offer those personalized solutions and offers and services at an individual level. This will take the customer experience to a new level.
Customer Value Addition
As we know the level of competition is very high in the telecom industry, the real challenge lies for the service providers to retain customers and at the same time acquire new ones. As IoT is considered as a game changing technology for telecom, it will be important on the part of telecom companies to take advantage of this to enhance the customer experience and add real value to their customer service. Companies who will embrace this are going to maintain their customer base. All the innovations, re-designing of existing products and improved services will enhance the overall experience of the customer. This will help telecom companies to optimize their revenue.
Strategic Partnership Development
In order to achieve the maximum advantage of IoT, telecom companies must develop strategic partnerships which allow them to penetrate new markets and increase customer base. As smart devices are expected to surpass the number of smartphones in near future, telecom network providers are targeting key business areas. With these, companies will leverage their current capabilities and encourage the use of new devices that ultimately will increase data consumption. With a right partnership development, telecom companies can identify which market to tap in and to build sustainable collaborations which are based on mutual benefit & trust. As we already told Vodafone has partnered with BMW in order to offer smart car solutions which allow the owner to control several functions of the car like location tracking, active emergency controls, cooling system managing, self-parking etc. with their phone.
Higher Security & Data Privacy
The major concern of interconnected devices is the security of the information stored. Network service providers need to assure that the data produced by smart devices will be effectively managed and all the majors will be taken for cyber security. 53% of the consumers are concerned about data sharing features, while 52% expressed fear of hacking. Companies that successfully manage to ensure the privacy of customer data will enjoy a competitive advantage during IoT revolution.
What is there in Future?
The global IoT telecom market is expected to grow at CAGR of 43.67% during the period 2016-2023. As we know telecom industry is one of the top notch industry when it comes to annual revenue generation, the revolution of Internet of Things is a blessing for the industry. IoT powered telecom market is primarily driven by below factors;
- Rising penetration of smart connected devices
- Growing adoption of telecom cloud
- Increased number of smartphone and smart device users
- Deployment of over-the-top applications
- Smart network bandwidth management and automation in operations
Our Take
A big part of everyone’s life already revolves around smart devices. But technology is making it stronger day by day. The Internet of Things impact is set to grow as the market for networking devices is expected to touch $7.1 trillion by 2020, according to an IDC report. IoT is also defined as the wireless connection of humans and objects to the internet without the need of a computer system. Wearable devices are best examples for this.
For telecom service providers, IoT is dramatically changing consumer demands and service delivery models. It is essential for telecom companies to understand the opportunities and challenges produced by IoT, and then build a strategy for the next generation of smart connected devices.
In the scale of hype to reality, can the IoT profit telecom service providers, suppliers and end users? What is the process required to enable the IoT and widespread deployment of wireless sensor networks that are feasible and based on the ROI? Who is buying IoT in the short term? To find the answers and to know how it can transform your business by optimizing your productivity Contact Us
As a premium IoT service provider, Apogaeis has got the expertise and technology to use it for your business to witness the magical transformation.
