World of Woes – and Possibilities
For nearly a decade, telco firms have battled against shrinking revenues and declining return on investment – in a stark contrast to the success enjoyed by their tech giant counterparts, such as Facebook and Amazon. These woes are set to increase, with a number of challenges promising to be a thorn in the side of telco boards: soaring mobile data traffic, increased capital expenditure (CapEX) requirements, more aggressive competition, ROCE degradation and cybersecurity and higher privacy needs.
Now is the time for telcos to take bold actions to effect lasting and meaningful change. Below are six questions that may help telcos make these important breakthroughs:
How far will we go beyond connectivity? In mature markets connectivity is becoming fully commoditized and regarded as an invisible on-tap experience. Consumer IoT could open up new revenue streams.
How will we capitalize on customers trust? Data intimacy, which is yet to be won, can untap many different plays: from digital ID to optimized operations.
How will we leverage customer data? AI offers the opportunity for a quantum leap in customer experience enhancement by utilizing the data to improve targeting and personalization.
How can we make more from partnerships? Data captured through artificial intelligence is a high stakes game. Coalitions can be an effective way to outplay limited access to external data and accelerate the virtuous data cycle.
How can we win the hearts and minds of our customers? Great customer experience is powerful. It can provide the important emotional connection that is the “missing multiplier” between operations and what the customer feels.
Can we monetize alternative streams, such as content? The trends towards commoditization of connectivity leaves video as the main element of differentiation, fueled by AI-driven customization.
We find ourselves surging towards an ever increasing world of connectivity, where the pace of change accelerates year upon year. Telcos still have considerable work to do if they are to utilize new technologies intelligently and profitably. Central to this will be putting consumers at the heart of their value propositions and designing seamless new solutions, backed up by meaningful data. No doubt, by 2025 the telco landscape will look radically different. For telcos, the time to start changing is right now.