The Shaping up of the Telecom industry: Highlights from MWC 2024 and reflections for road ahead
Mobile World Congress (MWC) is a pivotal gathering, attracting big telecom players and telecom startups. The buzz and chatter at MWC have always been indicative of the current trends, some persist and some fall by the wayside. At MWC 2024 the Generative AI buzz was quite significant, which seems to be a natural consequence of the strides taken on this front over the last year. The 6G talks were relegated to a few announcements and talks around spectrum management, while with AI /Gen AI, the industry ‘seems’ to have finally found something substantial to piggyback on and exploit investments in 5G and even legacy 4G. There was also focus on foundational aspects of data ecosystem and data management which is important to enable powerful Gen AI use cases for Telcos which shows Industry wants to ride the AI/GenAI bandwagon with humility.
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 showcased a vibrant landscape of innovations and trends, reflecting the ongoing evolution of telecommunications technology. Among them, several key themes emerged, indicating the direction of the industry in the coming years. Here are some highlights:
Impetus on 5G: The predominant focus on 5G technology was unmistakable, with an emphasis on accelerating 5G Monetization and Industry 4.0 use cases. Notably, the interest in 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) was pronounced, as evidenced by the array of companies presenting 5G FWA equipment and solutions. Moreover, startups showcased 5G service orchestration and Mobile Private Network (MPN) orchestration at scale for Private 5G ecosystems, which also aligns well with CEMtics’ comprehensive suite of UNMS offerings for Private 5G.
Data Monetization & APIs: Innovative approaches to data monetization took center stage, particularly through collaborative ecosystems involving Operators, Advertising agencies, and Geo Location analytics startups. The convergence of telecom operators’ rich data resources with consumer insights facilitates targeted advertising, illustrating the potential for partnerships to leverage telecom data effectively. Furthermore, examples of direct consumer monetization through App partnerships and SDK ecosystems were prominent, showcasing various location analytics applications for Retail, Footfall, Geo Fencing, and POS optimization. These developments present promising avenues for CEMtics’ own GeoSight’s geo-location-based data monetization offerings.
Telcos also showcased solutions and demos for software centric players and developers to access its Network APIs for use cases like SIM swap detection, payments, network experience on the move and even RIC based cases. Network APIs seem to hold potential to unlock new revenue streams for Telcos.
AI: Generative AI emerged as a prominent topic (as expected), with discussions spanning on-device AI applications and telco/network GenAI frameworks designed to streamline processes and enhance decision-making in both customer care, CLV management and network operations. Additionally, it was also good to see showcases around “Conventional AI” applications, focused on Network Optimization, Capex planning, operations, energy conservation, predictive network management, fault maintenance, and Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) data management, alongside customer engagement platforms.
Digital Twin Adoption for RAN and Customer Experience Management: The adoption of Digital Twins garnered considerable attention, complementing CEMtics’ recent launch of its Digital Twin solution for Telco tower and inventory management. Companies showcased the utilization of digital twins for geospatial insights for enhanced RAN infrastructure management. Moreover, Digital Twins found applications in customer experience management, aiding churn management initiatives and upsell campaigns.
Conclusion
The industry seems to have heralded the age of (Gen)AI, but it is also important for Telcos to tread this path in synchronization with maturing their own operating mode and work force upskilling to tackle the challenges which might come across. The business model also needs to involve with active involvement of Telcos with Software centric players & Analytics companies in the Network API area and Data Monetization sphere to unlock new revenue streams.5G FWA holds potential and here also Operators should try to look beyond traditional players and willing to invest in a more disaggregated value chain.
By Sivaram J
(CEMtics)