The Future is Exciting: Is Your Organization Ready? Intraway’s Vision For 2020 And Beyond

Analysts predict that by 2020, there will be 50 B connected devices, 50 EB/month mobile data traffic, and 20 Mbps mobile broadband connection speeds. This means exponential growth in connected devices and mobile data traffic.

To support these new network demands, telecom operators must streamline decades of piling on systems and complex architectures. They must change their “analog” processes and refresh their legacy ecosystems to embrace the digital transformation.

Intraway can help you create the network of the future, now. Check out Intraway’s Vision For 2020 and Beyond.

Behavioral Trends Transforming the Industry

Technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and nanotechnology are radically changing manufacturing and creating what we know as the 4th industrial revolution. Mobile apps are changing our behavior, the way we interact with each other, and the way we do businesses, with social networks and mobile commerce as clear examples. Technology and society are a perfect feedback loop where technology drives society changes. Those changes generate demands that require new technologies. The telecommunications industry must drive change – but it also has to adapt to behavioral trends. In our opinion, the most relevant ones are:

Seamless Connectivity and Mobility

Thanks to the proliferation of mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, wearables, and smart cars, the need for ubiquitous wireless connectivity is increasingly urgent. Users expect high-speed and hassle-free connectivity everywhere they go.

OTT

Cord-cutting is on the rise. According to a report by market analyst TDG Research, over 40 percent of users in the USA will have eliminated traditional cable from their homes by 2030. The future of TV – states the boutique consulting firm focused on the future of TV – is an app.

Efficient Streaming and Data

Cloud gaming, VR and 50 percent of all TV and video viewing will take place on a mobile screen. This creates more pressure to deliver efficient streaming experiences. Since the preferred content consumption format/ type will not be unique, operators will need to provide high-speed data. Lower latency and enhanced customized experiences must be on the list.

Immersive Experiences

According to IDG Connect, 2018 looks bright for immersive technology. Leading experts agree that the two key areas that will be most disrupted by AR and VR are the Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity.

Customer Experience

Going beyond seamless connectivity at a reasonable price. The ability to build strong emotional bonds with customers. Knowledge of the customer, ease of use, and flexibility are key factors to master customer intimacy and succeed in the digital economy.

Everything is Connected

Every device you own will be connected to the Internet. IoT will transform everything we know in the coming years. From the way we do business, to how we manage our household life, our health and security. Even our cities will be powered by IoT connectivity.

Technologies With Exponential Impact

What the technologies have the potential to create an exponential impact on the industry?

5G and Edge Computing

5G is the next-generation mobile networking standard that will build on the global 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) ecosystem. Its promise is to enable new service opportunities – from just people communicating on phones to fast real-time low latency data transmission between things.

On the other side, edge computing has the power to bring the core building blocks of cloud – calculation, storage, and networking – closer to the consumers. The latency involved in the round trip to the cloud is reduced when the calculation moves closer to the origin of the data, a powerful enabler for the immersive experiences end users enjoy with AR and IoT.

Cloud and Virtualization

The industry knows it: software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) are gaining traction. As Steve Marsh, Intraway’s CTO for North America mentioned, “operators seek innovative ways to meet growing bandwidth demands, boost service delivery and performance, slash operating costs and bring new products, services, and features to market faster than ever before, virtualization has stepped off the wishlist into the ‘must-have’ list for many.”

Artificial Intelligence

AI is expected to have an impact on many areas – the most important being traffic classification, anomaly detection and prediction, resource utilization and network optimization, along with network orchestration. It will also assist the mobile devices with virtual assistants and bots.

It will solve most of the issues related to customer care, network coverage, billing, service/product offering and many more, making possible to personalize services and establish one-on-one communication with each subscriber creating adaptive customer journeys.

The Three “No Regrets” Moves

The role that telecom operators will adopt in the future is still uncertain. Nevertheless, all possible scenarios have a common factor: playing alone is no longer an option. The key to succeeding is building an ecosystem to leverage and monetize telecom assets and promoting innovation.

Whatever role they adopt in the future, there are a few “no regret” moves telcos can easily execute:

• Developing virtual platforms.
• Combining the latest AI-based technology with real-time orchestration capabilities.
• Lowering the costs of providing seamless, ubiquitous wireless connectivity.

The Final Prediction: Four Things That Will Change Network Operations by 2020 and Beyond

We foresee that by 2020 and beyond, there will be four game-changers shaping network operations:

1. SLA-Based and Consumer-Centric Dynamic Provisioning

In an SLA-based and consumer-centric dynamic provisioning model, consumers are declaratively defined in terms of goals. Operators will look to a framework that will facilitate avoiding the cost of any SLA violation and controlling the monetary cost of the allocated resources.

2. AI-based Operations and Self-Driving Networks

Network transformation will force operators to reconsider how to ensure availability, performance, and quality of service.

Advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and intent-driven networking have brought us to the threshold at which automation gives way to autonomy.

3. eSIM Connectivity in Everything

Although eSIMs are already used for machine-to-machine (M2M) applications, the introduction of eSIMs for consumers will deliver multiple benefits such as:

• More connected devices
• Ease to add data plans
• Faster connection

4. B2B Business Opportunities

By leveraging their infrastructure advantage in combination with state-of-the-art digital technology, telcos can position themselves as the backbone of the B2B digital economy to make up for some of the terrain lost in B2C.

Network operations will look very different by 2020 and beyond. Overall, the network will be better able to serve the demands of the digital ecosystem and will have the elasticity to grow and change alongside it.

Are you ready to create the network of the future, today? Check out Intraway’s Vision For 2020 and Beyond.