Businesses need to be where their customers are to succeed, and with more than half of the world’s population connected to the internet, telecommunications and mobile device management have become primary assets for many businesses to reach their intended audience. That said, the Internet is changing the way people communicate, and it pays for telcos to keep an eye on these changes to stay ahead of the curve.
Embracing OTT
Traditional content providers over the Internet usually require users to subscribe to a pay service. Over-the-top (OTT) services eschew such formalities, making them a serious threat to telecommunications revenue. For instance, messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have grown phenomenally in such a short time, pulling significant sources of revenue away from telecommunication text services. If people increasingly favor OTT over traditional telcos, text messaging as it is today may die out completely.
With what’s happening to text messaging, it isn’t that farfetched to imagine that voice services will go the same way. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and internet messaging have swallowed a large chunk of voice revenue as smartphone traffic transferred to WiFi.
Statistics suggest that telcos could be missing out on $386 billion in revenue due to OTT competition. But instead of fighting the tide, some telcos have chosen to embrace it and partnered with OTT providers. Some have even acquired OTT services in an attempt to stem the tide of losses and go back to profitability.
Adapting to the internet of things (IoT)
Research and advisory firm Gartner predicted back in 2015 that there will be 21 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2020. With IoT fast becoming an integral part of people’s day-to-day lives, platforms need to keep up with demand and provide the high level of connectivity that people need to do their business online. If demand isn’t met and made adaptable to future growth, a hugely compromised telco infrastructure could be the result.
The great thing about telcos, especially those who focused on scalability early on, is that they are in a great position to provide upgraded services such as carrier-grade WiFi, Network Function Virtualization, and 5G, the latter of which is expected to roll out for public consumption by 2020. 5G is being touted as the wave of the future, with the promise to improve not just Internet speed, but capacity and latency as well. With it, users can download HD content in just a few seconds, and that’s just one of its expected benefits. Ultimately, 5G will provide users with the fastest unlimited browsing experience imaginable.
5G will also usher in better access to IoT and facilitate its development. This virtually untapped potential could completely revolutionize the entire telecoms industry, and so it pays for those in the telecoms business to gear up for it and prepare for its integration.
Internet telecommunications is the new name of the game for telcos and subsequent telecom service users. Is your provider getting left behind? Then it’s time to switch to a mobile device management service that can help you and your business stay abreast with the latest and best that the industry has to offer.