The telecommunication industry is undergoing a rapid transformation as new technologies, customer demands, and competitive pressures reshape the market landscape. As a dynamic and highly competitive market, the industry is in a constant state of flux with technological innovations, consumer preferences, regulatory changes and increasing tariffs contributing to its evolution.

By 2024, we will witness the revenue-boosting potential of 5G for Communication Service Providers (CSPs), while the innovative use of data and analytics by industry leaders will become the locomotive that drives all other technology and business development such as cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), ESG, regulatory and geopolitical aspects. However, to stay ahead of the competition, telecom operators need to invest in upgrading their network infrastructure, expand their service portfolio, develop new business models and partnerships, and improve their customer service and retention.

Markus Persson, Global Telecommunications Industry Director, shares his valuable market insights into the industry, outlining four predictions that will shape the telecommunications industry in 2024.

Prediction #1: Telecom operators will need to develop new business strategies and adopt APM to accelerate the value of 5G.

The deployment of 5G networks creates new opportunities for revenue generation and value creation for telecom operators, as well as for their partners and customers. Most telecom operators are investing as much as 15-20% of their revenue back into network modernization. This is increasingly necessary as the predicted revenue growth of traditional telecom services is only 1-2% per year.

With 5G, telecom operators must seize the opportunity to capitalize on new use cases such as enhanced mobile broadband, IoT, ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC), edge computing, and network slicing. However, to realize the benefits from these use cases telecom operators will need to develop new business models and strategies to capture the value of 5G and drive competitive differentiation.

In 2024, as the network rollout continues at a steady pace, the demand for FSM and, particularly, EAM solutions will increase. Traditionally, telecom operators have only had inventory systems in place, and EAM solutions have not been widely deployed. With the adoption of 5G accelerating along with new use cases, telecom operators will increasingly turn to APM solution and regard EAM as outdated systems, like OSS, can no longer offer the preventive functionality that is necessary.

Prediction #2: Network as a Platform starts to take shape.

In 2024, telecom operators will leverage cloud technologies to offer industry-specific solutions and services to their enterprise customers across various verticals, such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail, media, and education. These industry cloud platforms will provide end-to-end capabilities such as connectivity, security, analytics, AI, and automation, enabling digital transformation and innovation across enterprises.

Telecom operators will also collaborate with cloud providers, software vendors, and system integrators to create industry cloud ecosystems. According to research, this collaboration could result in a total addressable market of 700 billion USD by 2030.

As a result, telecom operators will need to adopt platform engineering practices to modernize their IT systems and deliver resilient, scalable, and agile solutions. By applying software engineering principles such as DevOps, microservices, containers, APIs, and observability, operators will be enabled to create modular and reusable platforms that can support multiple applications and services. In turn, this will accelerate their digital immunity and protect against risk.

Prediction #3: Telecom operators will continue to prioritize ESG and drive sustainability.

To reduce their environmental impact and uphold their social responsibility, telecom operators are set to adopt sustainable technology solutions and increasingly track their progress and impact.

As 5G is a relatively new development, telecom operators are comparing the energy efficiency of 5G equipment in comparison with previous generations. This depends on a range of factors, such as network design, traffic load, spectrum bands, and use cases. For example, Ericsson recently reported that 5G can be up to 90% more efficient than 4G in terms of energy consumption per unit of traffic (W/Mbps).

Furthermore, to enhance the energy performance of 5G networks, in 2024 the telecommunications industry will look to other mechanisms and features, including the ultra-lean design of 5G NR, and accelerate the integration of AI and IoT into their operations.

In terms of ESG, AI is providing opportunities for telecom operators across the board, especially in terms of driving energy savings. According to Nokia research, 50% of CSP respondents said they expect to achieve energy savings of 10% to 20% over the next two years as AI energy solutions are rolled out and optimized.

For example, using AI-powered solutions like IFS.ai, telecom operators have the ability to closely monitor and analyze network performance, traffic load, and user behavior. This functionality allows operators to make dynamic adjustments, such as monitoring the number of active cells, the transmission power, the modulation and coding scheme, and resource allocation. As a result, operators can reduce the energy consumption per unit of data and enhance the network quality and its capacity.

Moreover, with IFS’s inbuilt ESG module, telecom operators using IFS Cloud are well positioned to achieve their quest to become more sustainable. For instance, using IFS Planning, Scheduling and Optimization (PSO), operators can support their EVs, reduce travel for field workers, therefore minimizing their CO2 emissions.

Prediction #4: AI will enhance operational efficiency for telecom operators.

In 2024, AI-powered automation will play an increasing role in optimizing various tasks and processes in the telecom domain, such as network management, service provisioning, fault detection, resolution, security, billing, and customer support.

According to Gartner, AI networking promises to deliver improved network availability, performance, and operational efficiency. And by 2027, 90% of enterprises will use some AI functions to automate Day 2 network operations compared with fewer than 10% in 2023.

By leveraging, AI and automation telecom providers will be able to improve network quality and reliability, reduce operational costs and errors, enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty, and comply with regulations.

For example, AI-powered automation can enable self-optimizing networks (SONs) that can dynamically adjust network parameters based on real-time data and feedback or automate customer service interactions using chatbots or voice assistants.

By leveraging IFS.ai, telecom operators can benefit from AI-powered automation that harmonizes data across our solutions, such as EAM, FSM, APM, and ERP. This connectivity between data creates a world of possibilities for cross-data intelligence -like anticipating asset health and real-time scheduling and dispatching- that automates the delivery of resources at the right place and the right time.

The role of technology in 2024

The role of technology in the telecommunication industry is evolving rapidly as CSPs face new challenges and opportunities in the digital era. Technology is a key factor that impacts their long-term services strategies, investment priorities, operational efficiency, and competitive differentiation.

The increasing demand for pervasive connectedness from consumers, businesses, and governments, requires CSPs to offer reliable, secure, and high-quality services across various devices, platforms, and locations.

With the advent of new technologies such as 5G, cloud-native network functions (CNF), software-defined networking (SDN), network function virtualization (NFV), AI, and edge computing, CSPs will be able to transform their network infrastructure, optimize their resource utilization, and deliver innovative and customized services.

However, regulatory changes, market disruptions and fragmentation of vendor ecosystems pose a threat to incumbent CSPs, who need to adapt and innovate to maintain their relevance and market share.

Looking ahead to 2024, it is clear that technology will not only be a tool but a strategic asset for CSPs. By leveraging emerging technology effectively, they can achieve their digital transformation goals, improve customer experience, create new revenue streams, and reduce their costs. However, in order to reap the rewards, CSPs need to carefully select, implement, and manage their technology solutions to maximize their benefits and minimize their risks.