Big Tech’s entry into telecoms is shaking up the industry

2021 was a huge year for tech giants and telecoms with Google, Verizon and most recently Amazon Web Services (AWS) all announcing plans to enter the telecoms space. The convergence of Big Tech telecoms is nothing new and each company has their own plans to disrupt the current landscape for the better. But is this disruption a dream or disaster for telcos? Here, Hamish White, CEO of digital-first telecom software provider Mobilise, navigates the benefits and drawbacks of the growing tech-telecom convergence.

Despite seeming similar, in many ways telecoms and Big Tech are polar opposites. While Big Tech tends to position itself at the forefront of innovation, paving the way for new upcoming capabilities, the telecoms industry tends to stick to its traditional but stable principles and ways of working. But could a unification be just what’s needed?

Better Together

Big Tech’s entry into telecoms has a wealth of potential for service providers (SPs) and their customers. Big Tech has what many providers are lacking — the resources, financial resources and culture to accelerate the pace of innovation of the telecoms industry by applying a Big Tech approach product development and improvement. Big Tech brings its own way of innovating to the market, resulting in quicker, better products and services that smaller providers can tap into too. 

This has a positive knock-on effect on consumers, who ultimately receive a better experience from their SP. Through their advance data management techniques, Big Tech has the potential to gather, organise and present more customer data from various sources. The more a SP knows about its customer, the greater the level of personalisation they can offer. A greater level of personalisation leads to more relevant marketing, great customer satisfaction and increased customer lifetime value (CLV) for the SP. A win-win for both the SP and the customer.

Personalisation is complicated to deliver, often requiring significant investment on new technology and involvement from stakeholders across the business. As a result, smaller and medium-sized providers often cannot offer personalisation services on par with Big Tech or Tier 1 SPs, leaving them uncompetitive and missing out entirely on new opportunities.

With the help of Mobilise’s HERO platform, small and medium-sized SPs can now deliver personalisation on par with industry leaders. This is because they have access to all customer data needed for such services through one central location which also houses an orchestration layer which acts as a single entry point between interconnected systems in order to capture the data required for hyperpersonalisation.

Fair Share

Despite the potential benefits that Big Tech could bring to the telecoms market, there’s also shared concerns from mobile operators all over the world. SPs’ ongoing dissatisfaction with Big Tech’s lack of investment into the physical telecommunications infrastructure has been documented publicly.

In December 2021, the Financial Times published an open letter from Europe’s 13 biggest SPs addressing tech giants to demand a greater contribution to network investment. Why is this so crucial?

Data from Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report revealed the top six tech firms are generating over 56 per cent of global network traffic. Their entire business model and profitability relies on the infrastructure funded by SPs, but despite their successes, they’re still not contributing investment that is commensurate with the gains they’ve reaped. 

What’s more, telecoms’ frustration with Big Tech’s lack of infrastructural investment is without even considering the latest layer of the problem: Big Tech’s attempt to launch products and services that directly compete with SPs. 

A Market Monopoly

Several tech giants are developing or already have developed telecoms business areas. There’s concern from regulators, SPs and consumers that if Big Tech’s expansion continues, they could monopolise the entire technology sphere.

From a SP’s perspective, monopolisation has already begun. AWS and Microsoft have both acquired SAS-SM accreditation, required for the cloud deployment of one of telecoms’ latest development: eSIMs. eSIMs allow SPs to onboard subscribers remotely, virtually performing the traditional functions of a physical SIM card, directly provisioning a device over the internet.

While the intentions behind AWS and Microsoft’s acquisition of this accreditation are unclear now, it’s possibly linked to the development of eSIMs for Internet of Things (IoT) use cases covering sectors like manufacturing and supply chains, where their use improves operational efficiency. 

While Big Tech is free to do this, and has the technology and resources to develop products quickly, this approach of cherry picking certain areas of the telecoms network could negatively affect the industry. 

Double-Edged Sword

The implications of Big Tech’s lack of infrastructural investment is concerning. Currently, SPs are entirely responsible for the physical infrastructure that keeps our modern digital societies connected. But as of yet, Big Tech’s shown no interest in supporting this activity.

If Big Tech continues to only cherry pick certain elements of telecoms it wishes to enter, it could jeopardise the revenue SPs can make from their products and services, reducing investment availability, which could then place the critical infrastructure under threat. 

There’s buzz from regulators and consumers around the impact of Big Tech’s potentially anti-competitive app store practices. In the US, in February 2022 the Senate passed the Open App Markets Act, which seeks to remove the control of Apple and Google over their app stores, creating a more accessible and diverse market. Similarly, in the EU, in October 2022 the Digital Markets Act will be adopted, banning practices used by Big Tech to gatekeep information and encourage competition. 

While these steps promote consumer choice and a fair market, regulators also must consider how Big Tech’s partial entry into telecoms could have a detrimental impact on infrastructure development. The juxtaposition we see is that Big Tech could provide much needed innovation to the telecoms industry, but the infrastructure required to support this innovation won’t exist. Mobilise offers a suite of advisory services, including strategy and regulatory policy consultancy, to assist SPs and regulators in navigating these uncertain times and to see Big Tech as an opportunity rather than a threat.

The tech-telecom convergence will undoubtedly shake up the market. But more consideration needs to be taken to ensure infrastructure investment remains stable and the market remains competitive.

About Mobilise

Mobilise is a leading provider of SaaS solutions to the telecommunications industry. Focused on delivering highly engaging digital-first service propositions with excellent customer experience, Mobilise has a proven track record, deep industry knowledge and a team of specialists to support clients to building and executing transformational strategies.

Clients range from large corporate organisations with over 100,000 employees to small enterprises with under 20 employees. Mobilise has a deep knowledge of the telecoms business model and our experience includes working with over 40 service providers across eight markets for brands including Virgin, Dixon’s Carphone, Red Bull Mobile, Manx Telecom and Freenet.

A seamless UX enabler

In its Top 7 trends shaping digital transformation in 2022 report, Mulesoft claimed the 2020s as the era of seamless digital experiences, enabled by modular software design. All more often, consumers are expecting the same quality of user experience (UX) from their service provider (SP) as they receive from tech giants like Amazon and Meta. Here, Hamish White, founder and CEO of telecoms SaaS solution provider Mobilise explains how a composable business model and a modular API-led connectivity architecture is an SP’s best friend.

Organisations that have adopted innovation must not just be able to use it, but use it well enough to deliver a seamless digital UX. Consumers expect the same highly engaging experience from every single brand they interact with, so smaller SPs must offer a UX that’s on a par with tech giants to remain competitive and keep their customers happy.

Offering digital services is essential in our modern digital society. A consistent, intuitive user interface is a core differentiator for SPs seeking a competitive edge, contributing to a positive CX and ultimately preventing churn. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Future of CX report, 32 per cent of all customers would stop doing business with a brand they once loved after just one bad experience. So, a positive UX right from the start is crucial.

APIs Enter the Chat

In today’s digital society, data is king. But despite the widespread recognition of its power, most organisations don’t have a comprehensive data strategy in place. According to Capgemini’s Master the customer experiencereport just 21 per cent of brands have an integrated, holistic view of all customer information. For the others, data is scattered in silos in incompatible formats, and in some cases it’s not even captured and stored. But APIs help to solve these issues.

API-led connectivity links data to applications through application programming interfaces (APIs). It decouples data from the business logic and experience layer to create functions specifically with CX in mind. APIs are developed for specific purposes, but once created, they are reusable. So, adopting an API-led connectivity model allows an organisation to create ecosystems of applications that are modular, purposeful and reusable, enabling businesses to operate with more agility. 

Elevating CX

Implementing API integrations, or an orchestration layer, into an organization’s digital infrastructure supports digital CX in many ways. APIs enable the full integration of external systems and third-party services so that processes appear seamless.  What is actually a sequence of several individual processes and triggers behind the scenes, enabled through applications from several vendors, can appear as single interaction to a customer.

For example, in telecoms, when onboarding a new customer through an in-app eSIM subscription, subscriber provisioning, stock management and Know Your Customer (KYC) is all handled by APIs. Yet for the customer, all that’s required is the tap of a button.

For smaller SPs, having the resources and expertise to successfully implementing a API-led digital architecture may seem an impossible task. Mobilise’s HERO is a digital BSS platform that enables SPs to deliver digital-first customer experience. Through its orchestration layer, which is fully compliant with the TM Forum Open API Specifications, there are over 60 APIs available to integrate into front and back-end systems, for functions including self-service, eSIM provisioning, payments, in-app push notifications, marketplace for cross selling, and user profiles maintenance. 

Preventing churn, maintaining satisfied customers and elevating CX is essential to success in the ever more competitive telecoms space. Creating a consistent, intuitive digital ecosystem, powered by APIs gives SPs the ongoing flexibility to adapt and keep pace with innovation.

About Mobilise

Mobilise is a leading provider of SaaS solutions to the telecommunications industry. Focused on delivering highly engaging digital-first service propositions with excellent customer experience, Mobilise has a proven track record, deep industry knowledge and a team of specialists to support clients to building and executing transformational strategies. 

How Can Telcos Help Solve Rural Connectivity?

Access to the internet is still an issue for many people across the globe — the most recent data collected by DataReportal revealed that just over 40 per cent of the world’s total population don’t have it. In a world where digitalisation is gaining traction, internet connection is often perceived as an essential utility. So, what’s the deal with rural connectivity, and what should telcos be doing to bridge the geographical divide? Here, Hamish White, CEO of telecommunications software provider, Mobilise investigates the effect of the geographical digital divide.

Mobile internet access provides deployment and coverage flexibility that cannot be matched using fixed broadband, which is typically unaffordable or completely unavailable in rural areas. Therefore, mobile connectivity is the only feasible pathway to internet access. However, simply having a mobile phone is no good if the area has no network coverage, and this is where the problem with rural connectivity lies — how can telcos connect the unconnected and bridge the geographical digital divide?

Diving Into the Digital Divide

A digital divide refers to a scenario where there is unequal access to communication technologies. It is a multifaceted issue, as those who are not connected can be split into two groups: the uncovered and the covered but not connected. 

The uncovered population live in an area where there is no mobile network, so even if they owned a device that could connect them to the internet, there is no infrastructure in place to enable connectivity. The covered but not connected population live in an area of network availability but cannot access the internet for a variety of reasons such as affordability or technology literacy.

Affordability of mobile access can be split into the affordability of data and the affordability of devices. The United Nations Broadband Commission has set a global target to make entry level data services less than two per cent of the monthly income per capita by 2025. Device affordability is improving due to the increased availability of lower cost smartphones and smart feature phones such as JioPhone Next. These are steps in the right direction to empower the rural population to reap mobile connectivity’s benefits. 

Bridging the Gap

Operators need to consider how technological developments could help them to bridge the gap in the long-term while keeping operations economically viable. Operators need to determine how to reduce the cost of deploying and operating networks in remote areas. 

The challenge lies in backhaul connectivity, which refers to the portion of the network that links a base station to the core network. Traditional backhaul connectivity is achieved through microwave technology or physical full fibre cables, but in rural areas, where there may just be a handful of people, the distance, terrain, and cost make these strategies unviable.

Instead, the solution could lie in a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network. LEO satellites offer backhaul connectivity on a global scale. Instead of connecting each individual small village with microwave or fibre, a LEO satellite network allows blanket global coverage for backhaul purposes. LEO satellites consist of many thousands of satellites orbiting the Earth at lower altitute, which allows them to offer bandwidth and latency far superior to MEO or GEO.

Many satellite companies are investing in this technology in a bid to bridge the digital divide. OneWeb, the UK.gov backed satellite company, is currently building a global system aimed at network operators that will be available by the end of 2022, while SpaceX’s Starlink is sold directly to customers and is already operational across 22 countries with plans to expand across the world over the coming years.

Selling directly to consumers is rare, but could this model be the key? Deploying a solution that consists of radio connectivity via WiFi and mobile combined with a satellite receiver for backhaul via the LEO satellite network would offer operators a more efficient deployment model for rural areas. And as LEO satellite networks scale, the economics of satellite transport costs will also improve. In an increasingly supportive regulatory environment, perhaps there’s a chance that regulators and governments could invest to support this model as a viable, sustainable, long-term solution to bridge the digital divide?

Let’s Go Digital

While eliminating the rural-urban connectivity gap helps citizens to take advantage of digital services, it’s also worth considering how digital tools can in turn support rural connectivity, and by default, linking the geographical digital divide. Onboarding remote customers is not a simple task — store collection or postal delivery are not viable. However, going digital and with an eSIM solution enables telcos to establish a remote sales process to instantly onboard their customers directly from their device without any physical interactions.

eSIM-capable devices are growing in popularity, although they are typically premium smartphones that are unaffordable for low-income populations. However, the affordability of eSIM devices looks like it’s starting to change. Although still within the premium price range, Apple’s iPhone SE and Google’s Pixel 3a are lowering the entry point for eSIM adoption. If this trend continues and some eSIM capability is included in affordable devices, like the JioPhone Next, the entire onboarding process for rural customers could be done digitally. 

eSIMs eliminate the need for a physical SIM card. Instead, device authentication can be enabled by downloading network authentication credentials that can be permanently embedded into a device. Mobilise’s HEROwhite-labelled platform includes its latest offering —  eSIM as a Service — which allows telcos to offer eSIMs to customers. In conjunction with network expansion, HERO would allow telcos to onboard customers in any remote location without the logistics of delivering any physical components, playing an important part in imposing some form of control over the geographical digital divide.

In a world increasingly dependent on technology, bridging the geographical digital divide has become an urgent issue that needs to be resolved. We are all responsible —   network operators, regulators and software providers — for growing mobile penetration rates and to ensure the benefits of the internet are available to all, regardless of their location.

About Mobilise

Mobilise is a leading provider of SaaS solutions to the telecommunications industry. Focused on delivering highly engaging digital-first service propositions with excellent customer experience, Mobilise has a proven track record, deep industry knowledge and a team of specialists to support clients to building and executing transformational strategies. 

Clients range from large corporate organisations with over 100,000 employees to small enterprises with under 20 employees. Mobilise has a deep knowledge of the telecoms business model and our experience includes working with over 40 service providers across eight markets for brands including Virgin, Dixon’s Carphone, Red Bull Mobile, Manx Telecom and Freenet.