Category: IP Networks

Gen Next for the telecom sector lurks in the wings worldwide.

The fifth-generation (5G) telecommunications network promises to radically revolutionize the digital world by enabling real-time connectivity on a whole new level. We expect incredible new speeds, significantly reduced latency, and enormous bandwidths.
Extraordinary opportunities like smart cities, telemedicine, autonomous vehicles, edge IoT devices, intelligent electric grids, and augmented reality are on offer. This is why it is no surprise that businesses and governments are considering enormous investments in 5G technology.

But in the middle of the excitement of all this technological potential, it’s possible that substantial new threats are being overlooked.

The real-life security concerns created by 5G are already becoming visible. In 2019, at the Black Hat Security conference, researchers stated issues in 5G security, which allowed them to access user locations and carry out cyber-attacks on devices. Furthermore, researchers at the University Lowa and the University of Purdue detailed 11 design challenges in 5G protocols that could expose user locations, downgrade services to old mobile data networks, or even track when one makes calls, texts, or browse the internet.

5G will impose new security challenges for businesses and new opportunities for cyber-attackers. So, what are the security risks that we are already seeing? What risks do we foresee rising with the proliferation of 5G? Are these holding up the arrival of the shining new technology?

Let us take a look.

• Challenges in SDN and NFV

SDN helps to centralize the network control platforms and allows programmability in communication networks. But these two remarkable features also create opportunities for hacking the system. For instance, the centralized control could encourage DoS attacks and expose the critical Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to unintended software. It’s possible this may cause the entire network to go down. The centralization of network control makes the controller a bottleneck for the whole of the network due to saturation attacks. Given that most of the network functions can be performed as SDN applications, malicious applications, if given access, can spread chaos across the network.

While NFV is incredibly important for future communication networks, it has some fundamental security challenges like confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. The present NFV platforms do not comprehensively cater to security and isolation to virtualized telecommunication services. One of the critical challenges persistent to the usage of NFV in mobile networks is the dynamic nature of Virtual Network Functions (VNFs)that leads to configuration errors and thus security lapses. However, the more significant challenge that needs immediate attention is that the entire network can be compromised if the hypervisor is hijacked.

• Challenges in Communication Channels

5G will enable more complex ecosystems, for instance, including drones and air traffic control, cloud-driven virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality, smart factories, cloud-driven robots, transportation, and telemedicine. These kinds of applications need secure communication systems that facilitate more frequent authentication and exchange of more sensitive data. Additionally, several new players, like public service providers, MNOs, and cloud operators, will engage with these services.

Before the emergence of 5G networks, mobile networks owned dedicated communication channels based on GTP and IPsec tunnels. The communication interfaces like X2, S1, S6, S7, which are only utilized in these mobile networks, demand a remarkable level of expertise to attack. However, SDN-based 5G networks won’t have dedicated interfaces like these. Instead they will have common SDN interfaces. The openness of these interfaces could escalate the possible number of attackers. In the present SDN system, the channels are safeguarded using TLS (Transport Layer Security)/ SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) sessions. However, TLS/SSL sessions are known to be susceptible to IP layer attacks, SDN Scanner attacks, and often lack robust authentication mechanisms.

• Privacy Challenges

From the customer’s perspective, substantial privacy concerns could arise focused on their data, location, and identity. It’s true that application developers or companies seldom state how the data is stored and for what purposes it will be utilized. Cyber threats like semantic information attacks, timing attacks, and boundary attacks chiefly hit the subscribers’ location privacy. At the physical layer level, location privacy could possibly be compromised by access point selection algorithms in 5G mobile networks. International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) catching attacks can be leveraged to disclose a subscriber’s identity by capturing the IMSI of the subscriber’s User Equipment (UE). These sorts of cyber-attacks can also be carried out by setting up a fake base station.

Furthermore, 5G networks also encourage the growth of various players like network infrastructure providers, Virtual MNOs, and Communication Service Providers (CSPs). All these players are likely to have different priorities for security and privacy. The mismatch of privacy policies among these players is sure to be a concern in the 5G network. In previous generations, mobile operators possessed direct access and control of all the system components. However, 5G mobile operators will lose the systems’ full control as they may come to depend on new players like the CSPs. Thus, 5G operators could be deprived of the full governance of security and privacy. The norm is that user and data privacy are challenged more in environments where the same infrastructure is shared among various players, for example, VMNOs and other competitors.

Moreover, the 5G network doesn’t have many physical boundaries as it utilizes cloud-based data storage and NFV. Thus, 5G operators may have less direct control of the data stored in cloud environments. As different service providers, companies, and even countries have different data privacy mechanisms depending upon their preferred context, privacy could be at risk depending on location.

• Challenges in Mobile Cloud

Because the cloud computing systems contain various resources shared internally amongst users, there is the possibility of a user spreading malicious traffic to pull down the performance of the entire system, consume more resources, or secretly access the resources of other users. Likewise, in multi-tenant cloud networks, where tenants manage their own control logic, interactions can trigger conflicts in the network configurations. Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) transfers the concepts of cloud computing into the 5G ecosystems. This could introduce several security vulnerabilities that could surface with the architectural and infrastructural modifications in 5G. The open architecture of Mobile Cloud Computing and the versatility of mobile terminals develop loopholes via which cyber attackers could launch threats and breach privacy in mobile clouds.

MCC threats can be classified as front-end, back-end, and network-based mobile security threats. The front-end of the MCC architecture refers to the client platform, which comprises the mobile terminal on which the applications and interfaces needed to access the cloud facilities operate. The threat landscape in this part may range from physical threats, where mobile devices and other integrated hardware components are primary targets, to application-based risks, where malware, spyware, and other malicious software are leveraged by attackers to disturb user applications or gather critical user information. The back-end platform comprises the cloud servers, data storage systems, virtual machines, hypervisor, and protocols needed to facilitate cloud services. On this platform, security threats chiefly target mobile cloud servers. Network-based mobile security threats are aimed towards the Radio Access Technologies (RATs) that interface mobile devices to the cloud. Cyber-attacks in this group include Wi-Fi sniffing, DoS attacks, and session hijacking.

Bottom line

There’s little doubt that 5G is all set to become the heart of the global digital economy in the upcoming years. While 5G will undoubtedly bring in business benefits, only meticulous planning and preparation can nullify the potential security challenges. It’s true that comprehensive security protocols and standards are only evolving in the space. That apart, as technologies like IoT evolve, even more complexities are likely to be unearthed. Touching upon those may be beyond the ambit of this blog but stay tuned for more on that important aspect.

In essence, it would seem that over-committing on security could become a critical aspect of a successful 5G service strategy. That could be the most crucial component of the 5G story.

Ever since the first transmission via ARPANET occurred in 1969, the internet has grown into such significance in our daily lives that it is being often referred to as one of the basic necessities of life alongside food, clean air, and water. Today, everything from mobile phones to the family microwave is connected to the internet and transmits data continuously. The COVID 19 pandemic also accelerated the growth of cloud computing wherein more people started to use cloud-based services leading to further internet congestion.

Working tirelessly in the background to facilitate this seamless transmission and exchange of data are IP networks that help data move from source to the correct destination.

However, with the present explosive growth of internet-enabled services and use cases, the challenge for the telecom companies and mobile service providers is the growing unease that traditional IP networks will be able to handle the volume gracefully.

It is estimated that by 2025, there will be over 100 billion connected points globally via the internet. Telecommunication service providers will be finding it hard to manage seamless traffic with their existing IP networks when such massive surges occur.

The need for a solution to manage the explosive growth of internet traffic is a growing concern globally and an answer seems to have emerged in the form of Intelligent IP Networks.

In simple terms, Intelligent IP Networks are networks that have integrated AI-based intelligence to identify the numerous services that will be using the allotted traffic channels and optimize interfaces, and network resources in accordance with the consumption trends. Intelligent IP networks are able to autonomously manage scalability within their ecosystem and set the stage for always-on experiences for network connectivity.

Here are 5 reasons why Intelligent IP networks are being fast adopted by global telecom companies, mobile operators, and carriers:

Exponential Scalability

With intelligent packet routing, service, and bandwidth optimization, Intelligent IP networks will allow for rapid scalability of network traffic. With 5G slowly promising to become mainstream in several global markets, the scale at which devices will connect to the internet will increase. There will be unprecedented volumes of internet data transmission that will occur in the 5G era and traditional IP networks will not be able to dynamically scale up to meet the requirements. Intelligent IP networks will offer highly flexible links for enabling faster customer experiences via the internet.

Growth of Cloud Computing

Did you know that nearly85%of all enterprise applications are cloud-based? Additionally, nearly every consumer sector is being disrupted by cloud services that master the art of offering services on-demand at a lower cost when compared to established business models. Traditional IP networks will not be able to factor in the huge and dynamic needs of today’s cloud services. From rapid scaling to pro-active availability, the challenges posed by growing cloud adoption for carriers are immense.

Personalized Optimization of Bandwidth

Intelligent IP networks allow carriers to offer guaranteed and personalized bandwidth experiences to their customers as they operate with principles such as sliced bandwidth isolation. This will allow them to adjust bandwidth allocation in a highly flexible manner and deliver custom solutions to a large number of subscribers simultaneously.

Autonomous Operations

Unlike traditional IP networks, Intelligent IP networks do not need manual intervention for deployment. Hence, they can be conveniently used for dynamic services that run on modern-day cloud infrastructure. They do not need manual provisioning and can facilitate rapid responses to help with faster adjustment of services. Also, they have intelligent AI-powered fault analytics and rectification features that allow them to heal on their own in most cases. Traditional IP networks would require disruptive shutdowns and time-consuming manual interventions to rectify faults which will ultimately result in the unavailability of the network for end consumers frequently. Today, when digital services are at a peak, such network connectivity issues can impact the reputation of the carrier severely.

Better Governance

Intelligent IP networks offer simpler and better governance mechanisms for carriers. Being self-driven and intelligently monitored continuously, these networks are most suitable for secure connections that are needed for today’s high-profile digital economy. They can enforce governance policies and protocols more efficiently. The AI algorithms can ensure that no biased network configuration decisions come about. This will result in a better experience for all customers irrespective of the regions in which they are located.

Network providers and carriers can become true enablers of digital transformation across all markets they operate in by integrating Intelligent IP networks into their infrastructure strategies. This is the way forward to ensure that the digital economy progresses and makes its impact felt in even the most remote areas and markets. Given that, these Intelligent IP networks can turn into the foundation for the growth of digital penetration and help businesses build more powerful services on the cloud to ensure consumers get “always-on” accessibility to their services.

Communications service providers (CSPs) worldwide are battling a fast-evolving landscape of stagnating revenues from traditional services, growing customer expectations, and cut-throat competition from agile and well-funded OTT entrants. This resultant tightening of revenue and cost squeeze is motivating CSPs to seek new strategies to cut costs and reignite growth.

It could be said that several CSPs are surviving by incrementally improving their core business. But to kick-start sustainable growth and thrive in the digital age, it may be necessary to pivot to some other high-potential areas.

According to PwC, 5G will enable $13.2 trillion of global economic output by 2035. The coming 15 years are predicted to deliver an essential shift in how we live, work, and relate to one another. And the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the transformation. For consumers, this will mean faster data speeds and universal high-speed access through services such as fixed-mobile broadband. These opportunities hold some growth potential for CSPs.

But the great news is that CSPs have immense opportunities to reinvent themselves for the new age by transforming themselves into Digital Service Providers (DSPs).

A DSP is a service provider that has advanced from offering just the exclusive telecom services to offering broadband access, content, services, and mobile apps to its consumers.

How can CSPs make a shift to being DSPs?

Growing as a DSP means putting customers at the heart of all initiatives. Most telcos visualize the customer experience as a series of touchpoints – discrete interactions between the customer and various parts of the business, like product customer service, sales, and marketing. However, a customer’s whole experience is really the big picture to focus on.

Only by considering a customer’s entire journey from beginning to end can telcos genuinely comprehend how to improve their services. What would a perfect journey feel like for the customer? What processes would enable that? How would they interconnect with social, mobile, and cloud technologies?

The objective is not to digitize multiple elements but to deliver a superior holistic customer experience. Let’s see how could telcos achieve this:

Telecom Analytics – Providing Actionable Insights for Enhancing Customer Experience

Leveraging all the data sources, internal and external, can facilitate telcos to get a 360 customer view and their requirements. The data-driven method will help them stand apart from their competition with targeted, personalized, and high-value services.

Network operators can leverage analytics to reduce customer churn, make superior marketing-spend decisions, enhance collections, and improve network design. For example, customers at risk of attrition can be recognized even before considering doing so, facilitating telcos to target retention efforts, trim spending, and maximize impact. Also, telcos can improve their marketing spending by leveraging advanced analytics to divine acquisition and retention triggers at granular levels of advertising channels instead of depending on predefined percentages or instinct to assign ad budgets. In collections, telcos can even use analytics to identify customers risking default and improve outreach for those worth retaining.

Digital Advertising – Identifying the Growth Engine

Digital advertising spending is powered by the exponential growth in the consumption of online content, mobile apps, and video. Advancements in data-driven audience analytics tied to the extensive adoption of automated advertising trading platforms enable advertisers and publishers to make real-time decisions to drive better performance of marketing campaigns.
Telcos must tap into the growth opportunities offered by digital advertising. There is an opportunity here to diversify their revenue base by becoming a part of promising high-growth digital business models. Joining the digital advertising ecosystem as impactful ad delivery channels empower telcos to grow beyond their core services and geographical reach. Advertising can become a revenue engine for telcos because of the available opportunity to monetize valuable customer data. Telcos can power content innovation, personalization, conversion, and long-term sustainability.
Telcos can place their validated customer data and behavior-centered analytics as a means to distinguish and provide added value to both advertisers and publishers. They can marry premium content with customer data to power advertising sales. Telcos can also profit by capitalizing on open-architecture advertising platforms and becoming enablers for businesses, providers, and other ecosystem participants. Advertising revenues can be leveraged to fund free new OTT services, driving customer loyalty. Telcos also can transform the competitive landscape of digital advertising by creating horizontal data and advertising technology partnerships across geographic boundaries.

Digitizing CRM

Digital technologies have made it simpler than ever for consumers to engage with businesses, yet tougher for businesses to track, manage, and enrich those interactions. The exponential rise in multichannel access builds a case for impactful customer-relationship management (CRM) systems—not just to track consumers’ digital footprints but also to decrease costs, improve consumer satisfaction, and enhance brand advocacy and differentiation. Digital CRM can help telecom operators accomplish greater cost efficiency and consumer satisfaction.

Utilizing AI-driven chatbots, online forums, social media channels, and knowledge-bases of frequently asked questions, for example, costs the average telecom company less than the typical call center, while providing customers with a convenient, accessible source for answers and advice.

The Bottom Line

It is the need of the hour for CSPs to evolve beyond legacy systems and reshape their business models to stay significant and profitable. However, the road to becoming a digital service provider from a communication service provider is laden with growing challenges. OTT players with their transformative technology-powered platform-based business models will put CSPs under immense pressure. CSPs will have to respond by introducing innovative services, in areas like mobile money, machine-to-machine services. Forming a sustainable partner ecosystem by catering to data as a service and launching alternate monetization avenues will also help enhance revenues and allow the telcos to maintain a competitive edge.

Most CSPs still have a way to go before their DSP transformation is accomplished. But as key enablers of our connected world, they’re in a critical position to cash in on the digital economy’s flourishing monetization opportunities.

The present era of connection that we live in demands businesses not just meet customer needs but anticipate them and then, exceed them. A volatile market, fluctuating consumer demands, and rising competition, however, make the playing field more complex. With the consumer firmly in the driver’s seat, delivering elevated customer experiences emerges as the key differentiator that separates successful organizations from the not-so-successful ones.

Pivoting to a digital-first mindset is now imperative to succeed in a world where competition is getting increasingly advanced and data, more detailed. While telecom organizations are leveraging data from the smartphone that has become ubiquitous in our lives, it is also time to leverage the world of wearables and connected devices to capture data that can drive demand and influence customer decision-making.

Research estimates that the wearable technology market will be worth $45 Billion with over 250 million annual unit shipments by the end of 2021. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22% between 2018 and 2021. In keeping with this trend, mobile connectivity and associated advanced capabilities – such as VoLTE (Voice over LTE) are also being integrated into the wearable and smart devices ecosystem. Research suggests that these devices will help “mobile operators drive more than $12 Billion in service revenue by the end of 2021, following a CAGR of approximately 36% between 2018 and 2021.”

For telecom providers, this also signals a more nuanced way to look at the commoditization of telecom services especially as the world becomes more software-defined. Wearable technology integration into the lives of the consumer is a sign of their willingness to engage with wearable tech. It demands expanded wireless capacity and the decreasing cost of data. However, it means access to more personal and contextual data that can help them deliver more personalized experiences to drive elevated customer experiences.

To succeed in today’s marketplace, combining wearable data with consumer data can give telecom providers the insights they need to deliver personalization to influence customer satisfaction and ensure customer retention.

Smartwatch data, in-ear virtual assistants, wearable technology: smartwatches, smart glasses, headsets, smart headphones, and other internet-enabled devices all generate a huge volume of data, all of which is personal and contextual to the consumer. Using this data telecom providers can:

Identify sales and upselling opportunities

Customer data generated from wearable devices present insights into their habits, choices, and preferences. Telecom providers can leverage this data and analyze patterns and trends and identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities. This data can also be used by customer service executives to engage with the customer more meaningfully and present them with services and offers that are contextual to their needs and requirements and converse with more certainty.

Improve customer support

By leveraging data generated from wearables and smart devices, telecom companies can also personalize the customer support experience. Following a robotic script and taking the customer through a series of questions only erodes goodwill and further aggrieves an irate customer. Following this script also makes it harder for the customer service representative to connect with the customer in a more meaningful manner.

Using data generated from this device network allows the customer service team to identify the points of conflict and challenges with greater certainty. This gives them the capability to better personalize support services and address customer issues more proactively.

Empowering the customer care executive with data can also assuage an irate customer by offering more relevant discounts or offers to compensate for issues faced by the customer. This personalization not only ensures better customer management but also ensures better customer satisfaction.

Customer support teams can also proactively track customer issues and proactively solve them before the customer reaches out for support. Providing a detailed understanding of the issue further builds credibility and drives customer loyalty.

Personalize marketing

Personalizing marketing experiences is of critical importance today to drive customer adoption and advocacy. It plays a great role in ensuring customer stickiness. Wearable and smart devices often allow users to buy products online. Telecom providers can use this data to create marketing plans and offers that are more contextual and relevant to the consumer. A free Netflix subscription, for example, might not be a great bait for someone who perhaps likes to shop more than a stream.

Data from wearables such as Google Glass can be used to track what advertisements the consumer views and takes interest in. With access to real-time data, telecom providers can send localized, context-based content and augment customer experiences with greater personalization.

Using data from these devices empowers telecom companies to engage with the consumer in a more meaningful, and intelligent manner. Data generated from these devices can give telecom companies deep insight into consumer patterns and behaviors that they can use to consistently improve the customer experience at each point and identify avenues to drive usage.

Hands-free tech has evolved considerably from its initial days of allowing people to listen to music or attend calls on wireless earphones and headphones. While this still is a major functionality and significant part of the hands-free culture prevalent today, there are numerous other innovative consumer experiences that have become mainstream thanks to the growth of hands-free technology. Hands-free experiences in cars and larger vehicles are a major sign of how the future of mobility is likely to be influenced by hands-free tech.

Today, nearly all car manufacturers offer a standard Bluetooth-based hands-free telecommunication facility in their vehicles that allow drivers to make and respond to telephone calls without having to take their hands off from the wheel. But this is no longer the most exciting element about hands-free tech. There is a new class of smart devices that are making hand-free communication radically cooler than ever. We are talking about wearable tech – smart digital devices that can be worn and carried around by people. From wristwear to footwear, the global wearable technology market size is expected to be worth over USD 265.4 billion by 2026 according to studies.

While there are tons of possibilities that make wearables, the new future of hand-free communication, it is obvious to ask the question about the value businesses can leverage from investing in services that work with wearable and similar modern technology especially in the highly competitive telecom landscape.

Let us examine the most promising of possibilities that wearables empower in hands-free communication.

Innovative Customer Experience

Enabling consumers to do a range of activities via wearables is the new paradigm of customer experience that several leading brands are now exploring. For telecom companies, this could mean enabling customers to pay their bills by simply talking to a voice assistant like Siri or Google Now or Alexa on their smart wearables like a smartwatch. To offer a seamless experience driven by such innovations, telecommunication companies need to have an integrated customer feedback recognition and service delivery framework that uses advanced conversational technologies powered by AI and machine learning. This will enable them to respond accurately to hands-free activities like wearable-based bill payment instructions.

Leverage Advanced Data Insights

To provide support to customers, it is important for telecommunication companies to have a clear idea of the usage pattern or behaviour of their customers on their network for the duration over which problems occurred. With wearable tech combined with advanced analytics, telecom businesses can identify root causes of issues such as connectivity loss in geographical zones as they are recorded and reported by wearables like smartwatches. This data can be used to build a more resilient network infrastructure and respond faster to customer concerns. Ultimately this helps in improving customer satisfaction which leads to better business outcomes.

Intuitive Notifications

Telecom companies leverage traditional notification options like SMS and Call reminders to inform or alert consumers about any activity related to their account. It could even be a security alert or indicator of spam. However, for all these scenarios, customers get notifications on their smartphones which they might not always pick up and observe instantly. This delay from the consumer side can be prevented by leveraging advanced notification and alert systems that communicate with wearables linked to the customer’s smartphone, like their smartwatch or band. Notifications or alerts displayed on wearables have a higher probability of being noticed by consumers and hence risky scenarios can be avoided.

Personalized Cross-Selling

As market conditions tighten, telecom companies want to find alternate sources of ancillary revenue. Wearables open a new possibility of collaboration for telecom companies wherein they can partner with leading brands to offer personalized services to consumers based on data collected and share by wearables. For example, telecom companies can partner with fitness companies to offer customized subscriptions to fitness programs based on the data collected from the customer via a wearable device. Telecom companies can charge a commission for the cross-selling service on their behalf and bill consumers directly in a single bill.

Wearables are amongst the latest entrants in the telecommunication industry that began to embrace technology as a key driver of value rather than the traditional approach of considering technology as an enabler. Consumers expect a great deal of freedom of choice and device independence while availing services from telecom companies. With wearables coming into the picture, the hands-free paradigm can be propelled into new dimensions.

To keep up with the pace of growing technologies, telecom companies need to have a resilient and responsive digital ecosystem within their business and invest in modern technology solutions that help them drive a unified customer and communication experience. This is where our range of digital services and solutions can be a game-changer. Get in touch with us to explore a range of modern digital platforms and unified communication solutions that can aid your business to scale new frontiers in digital innovation and embrace technologies like wearables at ease.

The telecom industry is undergoing seismic shifts. Investments in consecutive generations of technology are no more a guarantee of a return on capital expenditure. Simultaneously, digital start-ups are overturning traditional products and services of communications service providers (CSPs). Given this state of disruption, telcos need to look at all means to increase revenue and safeguard sustainability.

The opportunities from the web

One interesting area of opportunity is opened up by the internet. This is ironic since data is being seen as the voice-killer in many ways. But clearly, the reality is a bit more complex.

MNOs became a part of the Internet environment with the arrival of mobile broadband services. Interconnectedness arrived between few elements of MNO networks, like Short Message Service Centres (SMSCs), encompassed IF interfaces and unlocked e-mail-to-text and text-to-email messaging. This evolution opened up some opportunities and some risks too.

SMS messaging is susceptible to identity spoofing, faking, spam, and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. These openings WILL compromise customer experience and satisfaction. Revenues are also under attack from grey routes, which carry the traffic that cannot be billed because they are not subject to contractual agreements.

As per a report byTyntec, 66% percent of messaging traffic is on gray routes

The focus is growing onprotecting the space, even as the openings for revenue gain are emerging.

Messaging has evolved from simple messaging, like notifications and alerts, to real-time user authentication, ticketing, and mobile payment enablement. These new messaging set-ups are deeply tied to a consumer’s identity on the MNO’s network and demand strict adherence to high service quality levels. (For instance, message sources and destinations must be validated, message delivery must be well-timed and dependable) In fact, consumer requirements have rapidly evolved to now wanting real-time two-factor authentication across a variety of apps and app-driven services.

It’s clear that MNO services are likely to be leveraged more and more to validate a user’s identity on the app ecosystem. That suggests the MNO’s role is more than merely that of an access provider.

Other technologies that depend on MNOs are also becoming more mainstream.

Opportunities from IoT

Consider the Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure, which heavily depends on the coverage and access of the MNO. IoT networks employ MNO infrastructure for main or backup access. IoT devices communicate with platforms, data analytics engines, and central controllers all the time. They send data out and get instructions back. Security protocols would run on the network. Control messages to the devices would also utilize the MNO network.

By some estimates, there will be 35 billion IoT devices installed worldwide by the end of 2020. This massive growth of IoT presents yet another opportunity for revenue generation to MNOs.

The SMS Firewall: Allowing apt monetizing of Application-to-Person (A2P) Messaging

In previous blogs, we have spoken of how enterprise messaging is a real opportunity for MNOs to maintain and increase their messaging revenue. But this is a risk too. Intermediary entities are attracted to the opening to manipulate mobile operators’ security and revenue assurance gaps to evade costs and send unwanted messages.

Mobile carriers did take some steps to safeguard their networks by employing antispam filters and easy blocking mechanisms but they need to do more to enable end-to-end protection. Solutions based on content authentication and reporting also exist. But a comprehensive SMS firewall solution ensures visibility, efficacy, and proactive action.

More traditional areas

Obviously, there is a need to protect the traditional sources of revenue too – voice and SMS. Leaving aside more complex problems like how to drive up usage, there is sufficient room for maximizing the revenue potential of the current subscriber base by reducing fraud.

A good anti-fraud voice solution will allow the MNO to detect inbound and outbound voice call frauds and take the required preventive measures to block such activity. Over time, this will help drive up consumer confidence and trust -all good for sustained relationships and enhanced usage.

As mentioned while talking about A2P SMS fraud, a good SMS solution will be able to actively monitor and blog MO and MT SMSs to prevent fraud and spam SMS activity. This ensures the consumers get only the messages they value and increases their trust in the system.

A drag on prepaid revenue-generating activity is zero-balance subscribers. They sit on the books, but until they recharge, they are unable to deliver any revenues. Rather than treat them as lost causes, MNOs can deploy innovative solutions that help generate some transactions. For instance, a service could generate a missed call on behalf of the zero-balance subscriber and induce a call back with revenue potential.

The enterprise as a revenue source

Enterprises have long been great sources of revenue for MNOs with their use of solutions like International Toll-Free numbers and Premium Numbers. Those services are well-known but there’s innovation-driven evolution possible in the service needs of enterprises too.

Enterprise functions like customer service, marketing, and sales are potential consumers of solutions like bulk and auto-diallers, virtual roaming numbers, and collaboration and conferencing solutions. MNOs have the infrastructure capacity and the skill and experience of managing complex IT backbones and infrastructure. It’s a small step from there to monetizing that capacity by offering data center, cloud computing, and infrastructure support to enterprises in an on-demand model.

That apart, more collaborative and inventive business models are emerging as MNOs come to understand that the greatest asset they possess may be the data they have about millions of consumers and their habits. They are looking to monetize that data to good effect. For instance, telecom operators are building innovative partnerships with consumer product companies and financial services companies to drive up sales and revenues. This is an exciting space with great promise.

Telecom companies are a part of the essential fabric of economic activity in the modern economy. Even as specific revenue opportunities and threats emerge, it’s fair to expect telcos to carry on.

The battle for customer acquisition and retention has become cutthroat in the telecom industry. With more consumers’ choices than ever, tremendously low switching costs, and universal access to new services, the telecom industry is undergoing rapid change and growing competition.

As the revenues from traditional voice and messaging avenues continue to shrink, and over-the-top media services like Skype, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon, and others eat away at the principal offerings, telecom operators must prioritize their investments in customer engagement and experience strategies.

This is imperative to drive customer stickiness and advocacy.

Data from an Ericsson survey reveals:

• An average smartphone customer requires 4.1 days, and 2.2 attempts to complete an interaction with a telco.
• A one-day delay in achieving an action turns into a 30% decrease in customer satisfaction
• Only a third of customers think that their telecom operator understands their needs as a customer
• 46% of customers believe that their provider is hiding behind ‘bad’ technology, such as canned responses, impersonal contact forms, and do-not-reply emails.

As telecom operators continue to battle for customer loyalty, a key strategy to help them differentiate is offering subscribers consistent experiences across different touchpoints and interaction channels.

While operators need to have the right people and processes to help shape customers’ experiences, it’s also necessary to have the right technologies in place. Together, the people, processes, and tools will deliver a foundation for providing consistent experiences to customers across various channels cost-effectively.

It also needs to be said that while focusing on measures that reduce customer effort seems the right thing to do, this alone will not take telecom operators to the next level of customer experience. There are two reasons:

1. They get caught up in fixing existing business models to solve the issues of today’s customers. This restricts them from structurally reinventing themselves to meet the future expectations of customers.
2. They are tackling only one driver (that is, customer effort) of customer experience

Why is Customer Engagement Crucial to Telecom Operators?

Customer engagement is the procedure of improving customer interactions with a business at different touchpoints – research, pre-sales, onboarding, usage, support, and so forth.

Unfortunately, numerous telecom operators heavily invest in enhancing all the customer management life cycle stages only until the purchase point. Once the contract is signed and the service is purchased, fewer businesses actively focus on customer engagement or invest in augmenting it.

This results in:

• Poor customer satisfaction ratings, damaging brand equity
• The dwindling impact of referral marketing programs
• Higher customer support costs due to rising volumes of complaints
• Underperforming cross-sells/up-sells
• High customer churn
• Low customer lifetime value (CLV)

All of the above, in due course, turns to lost revenues.

The lack of suitable customer engagement solutions makes established operators more susceptible to revolutionary competitors like OTT players and digital-first market entrants who are better armed to engage with customers across numerous touchpoints/channels.

Consequently, the legacy operators’ ability to bring their old tactics of customer engagement to a new digital maturity level becomes crucial.

8 Ways Telecom Operators Ensure Customer Experience

Introducing Ease and Usability at Each Step

What more can be done to reduce consumer effort? Operators looking to offer ease and usability have dramatically diminished the number of tariffs and options and eliminated one-off fees. They have also addressed shorter-term options, keeping in mind that unhappy customers locked into long contracts can become social media critics.

But few operators have reduced their small print, rewriting them in plain language. Fewer have achieved a simple, combined fixed-mobile bill displaying a single total (monthly charges, plus VAT, minus discounts).

Several customers don’t understand billing, random credits, loyalty schemes, and unclear terms. This eventually results in more calls to customer service centers and long queues in retail outlets – which do not add value.

While most of these efforts help to achieve a better experience, there are some delight opportunities. For instance, customers can still be surprised by a zero-configuration experience.

Proactively Resolving Customers’ Hassles

Being proactive helps both sides. For instance, informing customers about planned maintenance means reduced effort for business (lesser calls to helplines) and less disappointment for customers (less time spent in call queues or troubleshooting the problem themselves).

Extending that philosophy could mean providing automatic migration to the latest tariffs, eradicating customer hassle (switching) while also lessening operator effort (maintaining legacy portfolios).

Enhancing Accessibility via Seamless Interactions Across Preferred Channels

Accessibility is an opportunity to provide advanced and personalized customer experiences based on seamless omnichannel customer interaction and engagement. Operators who want to delight today’s customers need to start by making swapping between channels hassle-free. The whole interaction history must be available at every touchpoint. For instance, an in-store sales rep can see what a call center agent has promised. Interaction continuity is mandatory. For instance, enabling a customer to talk to the same agent after a dropped call to a hotline. An enhanced omnichannel experience means seamless swapping and smart channel integration. For instance, leveraging interactive voice response (IVR) in a mobile app when customers are incapable of resolving issues and proactive follow-up when promised response times are exceeded. The information must flow seamlessly, between the physical and digital world, for instance, by enabling customers to scan a QR code on a device or printed communication.

Emphasizing on Quality and Performance Over Technical Specifications

Prominent operators are already emphasizing on customer service performance and quality. They meticulously monitor and address the possible deterioration in customer experience (such as dropped calls and low video or audio quality) by leveraging Quality of Experience (QoE) features in the network, Operational and Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS), and devices.

However, most operators need to put in extra efforts to express they care about customers’ perceptions. One instance would be a system to inevitably compensate customers for poor experiences before they complain, turning potential dissatisfaction into a delight. Operators could also innovate their business model to sell a customer-specific QoE instead of data volume and bandwidth.

Providing Flexible Services that do not Confine Customers

Customers expect to adjust the services they purchase in a flexible and personalized manner.Enabling customers to align their product or service should come without standard tariffs or increased out-of-bundle costs. By linking unit prices per service for all (not just new) customers, operators could minimize customers’ reconnections, saving on Subscriber Acquisition Cost (SAC). To limit the Average base Revenue Per Unit (ARPU) dilution in this situation, operators require an upsell strategy as a countervailing measure. An example would be to modify all sliders for present customers to keep them on the same ARPU, then let them pick “pay less” >or “get more.”

Fairness and Consistency are Significant Hygiene Factors

Customers who think they have been mistreated are prone to quitting. Taking care of such “hygiene” factors reduces customer churn. Things like making equal offers for existing and new customers, eradicating small print, and sticking by the service promises are a given. Advanced experiences might include cash-back warranties or a one-click “try before you buy” offers.

Transparency Gratifies the Primary Requirement for Safety and Builds Trust

Customer service divisions of prominent telecom operators must provide complete transparency about the present state and expected processing time of service cases. For example, operator mobile apps can display a customer’s inquiry status, significantly curtailing inbound calls. Where an offer or service is highly customized, customers need to see their CLV-based status, expected service level, and features or services they might have to pay for.

Customer appreciation is the fundamental customer experience emotion

Operators need to connect with and learn about their customers. For example, by connecting with their customers on social media, an operator could augment their CRM data and empower agents to relate to a customer’s personal life (where appropriate) more precisely (with knowledge about hobbies and interests, a reference to latest holiday photos, and so forth).

To Conclude

There are two distinct aspects to administering the customer experience—one reactive, the other proactive.

The reactive aspect requires getting the basics right. Negative customer experiences stem most commonly from incomplete network coverage, uncompetitive tariffs, and bad customer support. Essentially, these three variables are the fundamental pillars of the customer experience.

The proactive aspect focuses on how operators position themselves in the broader value chain —multiple networks, numerous devices, and several service providers. Collectively, these three aspects represent a multi-tiered opportunity: not only more users (and SIM cards) but also more uses (spanning multiple devices) and more recurrent usage (of OTT and other services). This proactive aspect of the equation is about embracing complexity.

Operators must embrace the new open, dynamic, and multi-dimensional ecosystem. Making the most of these opportunities demands operators must comprehend customers’ behaviors and preferences and build strategies that reflect them to optimize the customer experience. By embracing complexity, operators can not only reaffirm their significance but also magnify the breadth and depth of their revenue-generating activities.

Imagine making or receiving a call but without using a handset or transforming the handset into a device that can be worn on the wrist?

No, we are not writing this after watching Minority Report or reading some futuristic novel. It’s something that’s already either under development or something that’s been launched in the market.

The coming of the smartphone brought in a new era of mobility which was exploited for consumer benefits as well as enterprise applications and workflows. As phones became “smarter”, more capabilities moved to them. Enterprise applications started offering mobile interfaces and eventually moved to offer crucial capabilities that fully leveraged the capabilities of the mobile device. Think about the role of the mobile in enabling remote customer service and support, for example. But as this world starts becoming increasingly “software-defined” and the capabilities of the mobile start entering wearable and other devices, we are seeing the emergence of an evolved version of the mobility paradigm. Interesting applications are already becoming visible for the “virtual handset”. These applications use all the capabilities of a mobile phone, but without the need to have an actual phone in the hand.

In 2008, Nokia developed Nokia Morph along with the University of Cambridge. They demonstrated how handsets could be made into a stretchable and flexible device that users can use in any shape. Everyone quickly heralded it as the future of telecom.

While Nokia Morph’s progress got stalled due to wider issues with the company’s handset business, it set the precedence for new technologies such as connected devices, Internet of Things (IoT), voice assistants, virtual phone systems, etc. that have gained prominence among companies.

These emerging technologies coupled with 5G and network virtualization look set to change the landscape of telecom. Here are some trends that could lead to an incredible morphing handset revolution.

What’s Behind The Era Of Incredible Morphing Handset?

1. Boundary-less technologies: Traditional handsets were geographically bound. They could not be used beyond a specific range. Communication with people from other countries was cumbersome and expensive. However, the rise of mobile technologies and the internet made it easier for people to keep in touch anywhere, any time. Even companies have become more flexible due to the absence of physical handsets. For example, a few years ago, it was impossible to imagine a remote working customer support service. They had to come to the office and use fixed devices such as traditional handsets and desktops for their jobs. Today, customer support can work from anywhere using mobile phones and virtual calling systems. The entire process is driven by software. Companies are also working towards improving enterprise security by bringing it to military-grade.

2. Cloud technology: Take cloud telephony, for instance. It allows companies to interact with people from over 65+ countries with superior audio quality and zero interruptions. Users can make and receive a call using VoIP technology. It’s easy to set up, saves up to 65% of the total costs as compared to traditional phone systems, and can be accessed from any device such as desktop softphones or wireless VoIP phones.

3. Connected devices: Another recent development is the emergence of connected devices, IoT, and wearable devices. Everything is connected in today’s times. It’s easy for a technical team to identify potential issues in machinery using sensors and take preventive measures to resolve them. It’s also easy to guide workers on critical worksites to complete a task or alert them when close to a danger zone. In fact, many people now prefer to use a wearable device to make payments, set reminders, answer calls, send texts, etc. If the last decade was about using an all-in-one smartphone, the current decade is about using wearable devices to communicate with others without removing the phone from the pocket. With the advent of 5G connections, IoT will become an $8 billion market by 2024, i.e., it will grow over 1400%. IoT is expected to generate over $1.8 billion in revenue for mobile operators. It will also urge the operators to revisit their current offerings and enhance them to keep pace with market changes.

4. Thin and stretchable phones: Companies are now making thin, stretchable phones that could easily fit into the pockets and bridge the gap between laptops and mobile screens. So, the screens can be extended from 6 inches to 7.2 inches without impacting the screen’s resolution.

5. Next-gen networking infrastructure: Whether it’s the rapid 5G penetration, setting up low-power, wide area networks (LPWAN) that are suitable for IoT technology, or offering private 5G networks to large enterprises, next-gen networking infrastructure are becoming a mainstay. Even the hardware of future phones would be 5G-enabled or have integrated SIM.

Conclusion

Years ago, very few of us imagined that a mobile phone would become a one-stop gadget for everything – right from checking emails, making calls, playing games, or shopping online. Companies are constantly innovating to create hands-free, immersive handsets.

As faster, lower latency, bandwidths come in with 5G, the promise of these virtual handsets looks set to become more tangible as users can launch the apps they need more easily. Could this be the new age of mobility, where you are free from the mobile handset also?

As Ivan Guzenko, the CEO and co-founder of SmartyAds, said, “The new phone won’t be a phone that we know anymore. Rather, it will be an augmented reality device that you perceive the world through.”

Currently, 5G and IoT technologies are paving the way for morphed handsets. Years later, it could be another disruptive technology shaping the future communication between people and companies.

Telecom companies need to stay nimble-footed to keep pace with these innovations. They must be ready to replace legacy technologies with modernized ones to grow their revenue and stay relevant in a competitive landscape. To ensure that they are on the right track, companies can work with reliable partners who can guide them to make the right decisions.

We have witnessed the steady rise of OTT services over the past few years. With these OTT “providers” and the growing proliferation of smartphones, the way we engage has also changed. Applications such as WhatsApp, Skype, and the like have now become an organic part of the users’ vocabulary by filling in some niches that existing in the core offerings of CSPs.

Rather uniquely, these applications use the connectivity provided by the MVNOs but are eating into their revenues by providing fixed and mobile voice and messaging services. Given the leaning of the consumer towards OTT, research estimates that OTT services such as Skype and WhatsApp could hurt MVNO revenues by as much as 50% going forward. Mobile operator voice revenue is also expected to drop to $208 billion by 2024 from $381 billion in 2019.

The OTT impact

The proliferation of OTT applications works well for the end consumer but is clearly worrying for telecom providers. There are also countless OTT services that are designed in alternative formats that enable an exit from other classic communication formats such as SMS. While service providers have some income coming in from the data packages, the operators are losing revenue owing to the decreased uptake of their core services.

The OTT app-based performers are creating a great deal of stickiness as they are expanding their reach across multiple areas and attracting users to spend more time communicating, shopping, and consuming content. Given this, they are targeting the entire pie of the smart device and feature phone users.

That apart, the telcos and MVNOs pay a host of additional charges to the government and regulatory bodies. This includes elements such as spectrum usage, licensing fees, and other service taxes. The OTT players deliver the same gamut of services – messaging, video, and voice completely free of cost since they do not fall under the tax or licensing umbrella. As a major security concern, these OTT players are also largely free of government regulatory oversight and monitoring.

The rise of OTT providers and the uptake of their services by consumers also have an impact on network data congestion. The increased use of OTT services increases the data congestion putting an overall strain on the network. While telcos have to invest to enhance their existing infrastructure, they continue to lose revenue as consumers gravitate towards OTT from standard services.

This challenge becomes more complex as OTT players eat into the revenue and use the services of the telcos without being called upon to make any investments in their networks. Increasing connectivity and internet penetration and availability of cheaper devices and content-based ecosystems become catalysts for the growth of OTT.

MVNOs and the OTT threat

OTTs have formed a genuine threat by becoming de-facto MVNOs. In fact, they are jeopardizing their current business model. They are harming the MVNOs business even more as they service their customer’s consumers utilizing the MVNOs networks without any lease agreement or policies to regulate them.

A growing body of research is now pointing out that 43% of western Europe and 33% of the central Asia region consider OTTs a threat. A key factor influencing the steady rise of OTT and the cause of increasing pressure on MVNOS has been an easy regulatory framework that OTTs operate in.

Regulators have so far been technologically neutral towards OTT providers. Given the way OTT is cannibalizing traditional telecom services, it makes sense to bring OTTs under a similar regulatory, compliance, and governance framework as MVNOs.

This becomes all the more essential as OTT providers such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram outgrow major MVNOs such as Vodafone, Deutsche Telecom, and Verizon, and in regards to the number of subscriptions. These MVNOs have 2.11 billion subscribers compared to 2.45 billion for OTT users. While it can be alleged that this is not a fair comparison since these MVNOs have a limited footprint and these OTT providers have a global footprint, it is the MVNOs who spend billions on infrastructure costs and other operational and regulatory costs.

MVNOs until now have been working hard on protecting their revenues from grey routing and spam traffic. They have had to invest greatly to ensure secure and reliable connections and prevent unauthorized connections. They have to work towards ensuring network and data security and ensure compliance and governance to stay on the right side of the regulatory framework. OTT providers, while doing none of these are reaping more benefits than the MVNOs.

The rising proliferation of these OTT providers is a clear indication for the regulatory bodies to reassess their approach towards these providers. Just like how MVNOs operate within certain boundaries to ensure compliance and security, so must OTT providers. Doing so will level the playing field for MVNOs and give them a fair chance to remain competitive in a tough market while protecting the consumer and addressing the genuine security concerns of government bodies.

Is B2C SMS dead?

It’s a question that some companies and marketers are being forced to ask themselves while planning their marketing and communication strategies. They have depended on this powerful channel for years now. Their methods are tested and the approaches are ingrained into their communication strategies. Even the thought of making a drastic shift is daunting.

But the good news is that B2C SMS is still alive and relevant.

Whether it’s sending real-time updates about the delivery status, OTP, or announcing new deals and offers, businesses continue to use SMS to reach out to customers.

There are various reasons why SMS seems to work better than other messaging tools.

• Customers don’t have to download a separate app to receive or send messages. SMS is a default feature in every handset.
• You don’t need an internet connection to receive messages.
• SMS has a 98% open rate, and the messages are read within the first 90 seconds -something that’s unimaginable with other communication tools such as emails and push notifications.

Even customers seem to prefer receiving SMS from companies. 75% of customers are comfortable receiving SMS from companies. However, they want it to be opt-in messages, i.e., they should have opted for receiving messages.

Although it’s clear that SMS is still relevant and is likely to stay in the future, it’s true that companies cannot rely on it alone. Customer preferences are evolving and so is the messaging that companies need to send out. This is why companies need to find other ways to communicate with customers.

Why Is B2C SMS’ Position In Danger?

In India, companies were able to send bulk SMS to customers at just 1 paisa! The conditions are no different across the developing and developed world. No wonder, SMS was so popular with organizations. However, the side effect of this was that customers were bombarded with irrelevant and spam messages. Most regulatory authorities have tried to bring some order to this chaos. For instance, in India, the TRAI has intervened and introduced DLT, a blockchain technology that prevents SMS misuse. TRAI also increased the SMS costs by 25% to 30%.

Similarly, countries like the US, Europe, and Canada have laid down rules to protect customers’ privacy. In the US, companies have to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and CAN-SPAM Act to ensure that customers are not bothered by spam messages. These laws have also made it mandatory for companies to seek consent from customers before sending them messages.

While these rules are particularly for companies that send bulk spam messages, there are chances that the customer might miss the relevant messages. Recently, Indian customers failed to receive important messages such as OTP when telecom operators were implementing the new TRAI rules.

To avoid such unplanned disruptions and to ensure compliance, as well as to accommodate new types of messages, companies are looking for alternatives to SMS.

Some of these alternatives include:

• Instant messaging apps: Many companies have been using instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, and Telegram to send messages to their customers. There are various benefits of using these apps. First, these apps are widely used by customers for daily communication. So, it’s unlikely that customers will miss the message. In fact, WhatsApp messages get 40% more responses than calls. Second, companies can send rich text messages with images, videos, and links to the customers. Most importantly, these messages are secure as they are end-to-end encrypted, and any unsolicited message can be blocked with just a single tap on the block option.

• Social media messengers: Facebook has over 9 billion monthly active users worldwide, and overall there are 4.48 billion social media users. That’s why most companies find social media to be a lucrative option to communicate with users. Some companies also fully leverage options such as Facebook messengers to have personalized, one-to-one communication with customers. Social media messengers can be more engaging and interactive than SMS by sending useful resources, attachments and answering queries in real-time.

• Web chatbots: Many companies are integrating chatbots with their website to communicate with customers in real-time. They can address customer queries and provide product information to customers. They can also be integrated with social media messengers to generate and convert leads into sales.

So, does that mean that SMS will be permanently replaced with the above alternatives?

Not really!

SMS Is Still The King Of B2C Communication

Although new alternatives are emerging and businesses are looking for new ways to communicate with customers, SMS remains the undisputed king. According to Fortune Business Insights, enterprise SMS is poised to become a $64.24 billion market by 2028. SMS may have limitations such as character limits, restrictions in message richness, and lack of scope for customer engagement. It’s also difficult to stop receiving spam messages. However, SMS continues to revamp and be more compliant with local and international regulations to stay relevant. For example, companies can adopt SMS 2.0, i.e., Rich Communication Services that are similar to instant messengers to send images, videos, links, and rich text to customers. They can be branded, so customers can determine if it’s genuine. Similarly, companies can send messages in a pre-defined template suggested by the regulatory authorities to customers to stay compliant and avoid getting listed as spam. These small changes will help SMS communication to thrive in the future too. There’s no doubt that the king still occupies the messaging throne.