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Top Five Frauds The Telecom Industry Has To Deal With – 2023 Edition

The telecom industry is innovating rapidly.

PWC reports that over 200 telecom companies had already launched 5G networks by the beginning of 2023. It further predicted that 50% of global telecom connections would be 5G by 2025. It is further expected to increase to 75% by 2027.

This year, the telecom industry has also ramped up the focus on AI and IoT and increased attention paid to cybersecurity.

While the constant focus is on improving connectivity and security, the telecom industry is also witnessing an increase in telecom fraud.

Telecoms are losing billions to frauds like Robocalls and SIM Box, impacting profits and customer trust.

Let’s look at these frauds that have kept the industry on edge and find out how they can tackle them.

Top Five Frauds That Telecom Industry Is Dealing With In 2023

Vishing scams

Vishing scams rose by 550% in 2022.

In vishing attacks, scammers use AI to clone voices to sound trustworthy. They use call ID spoofing to make the call look reliable. They call and impersonate a government agency representative or a relative and deceive the users into sharing personal details like credit cards and social security numbers. The scammers specifically target the elderly population as they are the most vulnerable group. According to the Cybercrime Support Network, 38% of the reports submitted to the FTC were by users aged 80+.

While users are expected to exercise while receiving voice calls, telecom companies must invest in technologies to prevent it. Technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) can help companies detect and prevent fraudulent activities in voice calls.

Impersonating SMS Frauds

Like impersonating calls, people are also falling prey to SMS impersonation. This is especially a concerning scam in the banking industry. According to a 2019 report, there has been a twentyfold increase in text fraud in the coming years, and the trends seem to bear that out. Here’s how it typically works. A user receives a text with a link from a fake bank number. When they click on the link, they receive a call from the alleged bank.

The caller asks for sensitive information. The user eventually loses money if they share sensitive information with the caller. SMS fraud through impersonation has led to a median loss of $3,000 last year.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has directed mobile operators to block robotexts and prevent scams. Mobile operators can use AI/ML or blockchain solutions to reduce fraud and safeguard customers from losing money.

SIM Box Frauds

In SIM Box Fraud, a SIM Box device routes international calls as local calls. This helps the fraudsters avoid paying the higher international call rates and earn profits. Since the calls get routed, telecom companies lose revenue from the international calls. Additionally, the routing leads to unprecedented traffic on mobile networks and poor customer service quality.

Telecom companies can solve this problem by monitoring network traffic for unusual activities and blocking or filtering calls that display patterns that are different from the usual. Companies must also develop new solutions that can help them detect and prevent fraud. They must also cooperate with law enforcement agencies and share regular information to thwart all routing fraud attempts.

International Revenue Share Fraud (IRSF)

IRSF fraud has been a threat for many years. However, reports suggest that it has significantly increased in the past decade. These scams involve scammers pumping traffic to premium-rate international numbers. It affects the revenue-sharing agreements and the bottom line of telecom operators globally.

Telecoms can use firewall solutions to identify and prevent fraud from local and international markets.

SMS Grey Routes

Like artificially inflated calls, scammers are also using grey or unauthorized routes to bypass internationally approved routes and deliver SMS to users. They avoid paying the termination fees to mobile network operators (MNOs), resulting in unnecessary losses.

Operators can combat this issue by implementing solutions like:

Monitoring traffic to identify and prevent grey route activities
Implementing SMS firewalls to block messages originating from grey routes
Collaborating with other MNOs to blacklist potential grey routes and take action against malicious actors

These combined efforts can help operators reduce losses and safeguard their integrity.

How Can the Telecom Industry Combat Frauds?

As frauds increase, 92% of carriers have started prioritizing them to protect customers and safeguard their reputations.

Some telecom companies have started using blockchain for subscriber authentication, detecting roaming fraud, and blocking stolen devices. A few others are using flash calls as a part of two-factor authentication to reduce dependency on One-time Passwords (OTP).

Technologies like AI/ML are helping telecom companies detect and prevent fraud in real-time.

As frauds become more sophisticated, telecom companies must replace reactive and traditional fraud detection systems with proactive ones.

They must invest in anti-fraud solutions that cover various aspects of telecom fraud.

At Globe Teleservices, we have built solutions that help enterprises and telecom operators prevent voice, SMS, and network traffic frauds, allowing them to preserve revenues and maintain customer experience.

To know more about these solutions that can help telecom companies prevent fraud, contact us.

How Can Telecom Companies Explore New Frontiers With Blockchain

The telecom industry is widely regarded as one of the key enablers of today’s digital economy. From connecting people to empowering consumer applications through a host of services, the industry plays a vital role in streamlining digital experiences. In fact, several businesses actively consider the health of telecom networks in different regions before prioritizing their digital service spending for that region.

However, the sector is not immune to challenges. Today more businesses and consumers are relying on the telecom sector to build the foundations of new digital experiences. Hence, it is imperative for industry leaders to find innovative and quick solutions for pressing concerns. The pain areas that need attention are fraud, network availability and performance, service experience, and cost efficiency.

As with any other sector, the telecom industry has increased its bets on emerging technology solutions like blockchain to eliminate these challenges and spearhead innovation. The ability of blockchain to hold data without being tampered provides immense opportunities for the telecom sector. From automation of billing to traceability of transactions, the potential outcomes are too good for major telecom players to ignore.

The emergence of blockchain

One of the most promising trends in this regard is the rising popularity of blockchain and its uses in telecom. Studies estimate that the market for blockchain in the telecom sector will surpass USD 14.8 billion by 2030.

Let us explore the top areas where blockchain technology promises to become a huge asset for telecom companies:

Data Security

It is estimated that nearly 9.7 million petabytes of data will be consumed over telecom networks globally by 2027. With so much traffic flowing through their infrastructure, telecom players need more strategic and fault-proof security measures to prevent risks from manifesting in the operations.

Blockchain can be a major influence in this area. Using blockchain’s inherent strengths in encryption and decentralized data management, telecom networks can build autonomous data-sharing funnels to enable secure data transmission. Our very own TxtChain platform utilizes the immutability and decentralization capabilities of blockchain to secure data. Data from users, MNOs, and other entities cannot be tampered in any way without leaving a trace.

Prevent Identity Fraud

Studies have found that in 2021, the telecom sector lost USD 6.69 billion due to fraud. Fraud hurts the revenues of telecom companies by opening up unauthorized routes and parallel networks that “steal” traffic. These fraudulent practices and hackers operating in the telecom space also often trick innocent victims and gain access to their secure credentials like a business phone number. In other cases, subscription services to apps linked to their phone numbers may also be hacked.

The underlying root cause here is the ability of hackers to manipulate identities illegally. With blockchain, telecom companies can arrest the use of synthetic identities that were created with falsified credentials. Ownership of mobile numbers can be easily established when telecom providers leverage a tamper-proof decentralized ledger for storing user details corresponding to each number allotted in their spectrum. This is exactly what our TxtChain platform does by ensuring that mission-critical data is stored in immutable distributed blockchain ledgers.

By using a decentralized verification process, it becomes easier for consumers to protect their credentials. It can further streamline user authentication across a range of services that are dependent on a customer’s identity linked to their mobile number. This also enhances the onboarding and user authentication process by providing a more modern and seamless experience.

Device Identity Verification

We have seen how the identities of customers linked to their mobile numbers can be a source of vulnerability for hackers to exploit. Today, even devices used by customers are potential targets. And we are not just talking about mobile phones. From televisions to refrigerators and even curtain blinds, the number of devices connecting to the internet via telecom networks is exponentially higher than used to be the case.

Blockchain is a tool that telecom operators can use to bring an additional layer of security and transparency to device management. By storing authentication insights and credentials on the blockchain, it is easier to prevent forced attacks on the network without proper authentication by the actual device user. Also, usage patterns can be autonomously analyzed to see if credentials have been tampered with as all authentication happens via blockchain. As we move into the realms of 5G connectivity, such device management capabilities will help telecom players fuel the growth of IoT-enabled devices.

Stakeholder Registration and Consent Management

One of the most painstaking tasks telecom players must face is maintaining transparency in committed plans for customers. Depending on usage patterns, different customers may subscribe to various data or call plans and packages. However, complaints about plan misfits or erroneous billing are common from customers. Additionally, there are avenues where customers are often bombarded with commercial messages. These could be from services that they have not given their consent to contact. This is a serious issue as it impacts the trust and credibility of the provider.

With blockchain, it is easy to set up smart contracts that capture the right set of user preferences. Be it data privileges, call benefits, consent to promotional or commercial messages, usage terms, or roaming charges, every aspect of a user plan can be captured and recorded in a smart contract. It can be used for autonomously executing the billing and invoicing workflow of a customer. Unwanted commercial messages can be filtered out easily. Solution like our TxtChain collects consent info from customers and stores it on the blockchain. In the event of a commercial message being readied to be broadcasted, the system checks for each users consent preferences before shooting it out. It minimizes disputes and prevents tampering with plans and terms agreed upon with customers initially.

Summing It Up

Our CMD Ashutosh believes that if there are ways to minimize fraud and revenue leakages in the telecom sector with blockchain, then there is nothing stopping its adoption in the industry.

It will help telecom companies secure their networks, curtail malicious actions, and prevent leakages onto unauthorized networks. That could be a boon for fraud detection and prevention as well.

Combining this with the other benefits we have mentioned above shows blockchain’s position as a technology with immense potential in the telecom sector. Telecom companies need to have the right strategic approach in implementing blockchain solutions to maximize the impact. That includes planning for a resilient and reliable roadmap and execution strategy along with the right choice of skilled professionals, tools, and platforms like TxtChain. This is where a partner like GTS can make a huge impact. Get in touch with us to explore more.

The Complexities of an Omnichannel Consumer Experience

Customers remain loyal to brands that can deliver a consistent and personalized omnichannel experience. In fact, a 2021 report outlined that 59% of consumers would prefer communicating with a brand that facilitated seamless communication across channels. However, delivering such an experience is easier said than done for enterprises. A host of challenges hinder this delivery. Let’s profoundly discuss those and understand how they can be addressed.

The Challenge of Delivering an Excellent Omnichannel Experience

Back in 2017, the Harvard Business Review published a famous study of 46,000 shoppers. The study outlined how 73% of the shoppers leveraged multiple channels throughout their shopping journey. These shoppers were labeled as “omnichannel customers.”

Today, an omnichannel customer experience for enterprises is about seamlessly accommodating the customer journey across various channels. Each touchpoint effectively promises a point of sale.

At its core, an omnichannel strategy enables brands to get a 360-degree view of their customers and focus on resolving their problems and queries.

However, in the competitive telecom market, it’s becoming difficult for service providers to meet customer expectations. Here’s a rundown of the main challenges they face when dealing with omnichannel consumers:

Channel Integration

Channel integration in the context of an omnichannel engagement approach is fairly complex. Enterprises need to integrate all the communication channels and the systems accommodating them. For instance, they must integrate the website chatbot with the product recommendation system. But this is easier said than done because enterprises often find it difficult to:

Remove and replace legacy systems that haven’t been designed with omnichannel capabilities in mind.
Reduce data silos cropping up due to inter-departmental and software system fragmentation.
Bring technical resources onboard that can help design, implement, and improve technological framework supporting omnichannel engagement.
Manage the security concerns associated with the exchange of sensitive customer data between channels and enterprise systems.

What enterprises need is an API-first approach, a unified communications platform, cross-channel analytics, etc. These can help create synergy between channels for efficient customer experience management. Notably, implementation of such solutions requires thorough assessment of vendors.

Customer Self-Servicing

Along with an omnichannel experience, consumers expect self-service options. While businesses realize the need to set up a framework to accommodate self-service, they still fall short of expectations. As per McKinsey’s 2022 survey, around 77% of respondents had built digital care platforms. However, only 10% of those platforms were scalable and fully adopted by customers. In fact, only 20% of the platforms were highly integrated.

Without a concrete technology framework, most telecom providers would struggle to provide self-servicing options to consumers. Of course, AI-powered customer communication solutions can help address this problem. But for their implementation as well, brands need a well-thought-out strategy.

Customer Expectations

The telecom industry still suffers from a high customer churn rate, owing to customers repeatedly switching operators. This increases costs on the acquisition end and a loss of referrals. That’s never a good sight.

Providing excellent service to omnichannel consumers is challenging in the absence of a robust technological framework. With immense competition in the space, it’s essential that businesses:

Constantly monitor satisfaction scores using KPIs relevant to specific engagement channels.
Invest in modern infrastructure, software solutions, and skilled personnel.
Aim towards getting a unified view of customers to personalize services and resolve issues before they escalate.
Communicate honestly about service disruptions, pricing changes, and other critical matters directly linked with customer engagement.

How CPaaS Is the Best Solution for Omnichannel-Related Challenges

Telecom companies need a more coherent approach to implementing an omnichannel strategy. As consumers expect an omnichannel experience, telecom companies are best served by adopting cloud technologies like Communications Platform-as-a-Service (or CPaaS). With CPaaS, they can leverage the benefits of a real-time communication platform. This platform can help realize improved customer experience, cost reduction, and more profound customer engagement.

Here are some of the CPaaS features that make it the best solution to address omnichannel-related challenges in the telecom sector:

Seamless Integration

With CPaaS, companies can easily integrate customer communication with existing third-party applications or services like CRM. With an integrated CRM system, they can improve customer service, improve lead management, and track customer conversions.

Customizable Solution

CPaaS platforms are easy to customize according to the business needs. With customizable APIs and SDKs, developers can integrate call functionalities into their applications. They can do this by using core programming or low-code development tools.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

CPaaS platforms (powered by AI) can deliver high-quality communication while minimizing network latency. Besides, AI-related capabilities like facial recognition, text-to-speech conversion, and analytics can further drive customer engagement.

Campaign Management

With CPaaS, telecom companies can create and customize marketing campaigns for their target customer base. Furthermore, they can track and monitor real-time campaign performance specific to each relevant channel.

The Way Forward

With the emergence of omnichannel consumers, telecom companies have a massive opportunity to improve engagement at every touchpoint. However, this requires them to overcome the various challenges discussed above.

Favorably, with the cloud-powered CPaaS platform, telecom companies can help realize a unified and integrated customer experience across various channels. CPaaS platforms also add relevance and context to customer conversations over their preferred channels.

At Globe Teleservices, we offer the cloud-powered CPaaS platform as a customer engagement solution for telecom companies. From CRM integration to chatbots, it houses capabilities to streamline customer engagement across operational channels.

Interested in learning more about how it can transform the omnichannel experience? Get in touch today!

Enabling Innovations – The Purpose That Binds Us

Telecom is one industry that has transformed significantly in the last few years. We have come a long way from fixed landlines and dial-up internet to mobile phones with seamless voice, messaging, and data connectivity.

As a member of this rising sector for years, we are thrilled to witness the many drastic changes transpiring now. We have seen sharply increased, near ubiquitous, connectivity among businesses and individuals, including those based in remote locations. Further, we have had a chance to see how the smaller nations and developing economies have progressed because of communication and information accessibility.

These transformations and first-hand experiences have shaped our ethos and led us to embrace the philosophy of enabling innovations.

What Is ‘Enabling Innovations?’

‘Enabling Innovations’ is a philosophy that our company and affiliates have adopted to codify our DNA as we try to meet customer demands.

We understand that in an ever-changing business landscape, innovation is a key differentiator. It helps enterprises meet and exceed customer needs, often before they become apparent. This enables them to thrive in challenging times, stay ahead of the competition, and increase their revenue.

This bedrock philosophy of ‘enabling innovations’ guides us and our affiliate companies to build products that solve significant problems in finance and telecom.

Take the example of the telecom industry. Fraudulent calls and messaging, SIM box scams, and IP-PBX have resulted in the telecom industry losing $40 billion to fraud alone.

As such, we have built solutions like AI/ML-based anti-fraud voice to safeguard businesses from fraudulent calls and scams. We further provide real-time analytics on messaging traffic and message delivery status to help companies improve connectivity and communication.

We also offer international voice and SMS services for underdeveloped nations to bridge the global connectivity divide and uplift economies. Our solutions provide connectivity to businesses located in remote locations and help them take advantage of new opportunities.

Like Globe Teleservices (GTS), our affiliate companies have also built innovative solutions to solve major global issues.

How Our Affiliates Are Building Innovative Solutions?

CERF

CERF is the enterprise arm of GTS. It has a vast network of 100+ direct carrier connects and provides customer experience, engagement, and security solutions to enterprises worldwide.

GTS TechLabs

GTS TechLabs leverages emerging technologies like AI and data analytics to build solutions that will redefine telecom and fintech industries. Products like Armour X, TxtChain, CPaaS+, and Grentor help MNOs transform and improve efficiency.

Armour X, for example, uses AI/ML capabilities to detect anomalies in traffic patterns. It identifies SIM Farm and IP-PBX frauds, Interconnect fraud, etc. Further, it secures the network from voice and messaging fraud and improves customer experience.

FinBraine

FinBraine offers next-gen lending and eKYC software for telecoms, microfinance institutions, banks, and eCommerce industries. They have built products like IDBRAINE and CREDBRAINE to promote financial inclusivity and provide businesses and individuals with easy access to funds.

How Will Our Customers and Developing Economies Benefit from Our Philosophy?

Although we cater to different clients and industries, each of these affiliates was built to provide innovative solutions.

We have kept innovation at the heart of technologies, methods, and tools built for our clients. It’s the reason why we have been able to empower emerging economies in Africa to deliver everything from healthcare to education. It’s also why we have been able to build products that secure financial systems and provide people access to funds for purchases.

We promise to continue innovating through our ‘enabling innovations’ philosophy. We promise our customers that innovation will be the core of everything GTS and our group of companies develop. It will open new opportunities for businesses to grow and earn revenue. More importantly, it will improve financial inclusion and empower citizens to access funds and purchase whatever they want.

Watch out for this space to know more. We will continue to discuss and promote innovation.

For more information on GTS and our solutions, get in touch.

Top Trends, Influences, and Technologies Driving Telecom Product Development

Today, almost every business can find at least one telecom product within their digital ecosystem. From voice call-enabled services to SMS authentication, they help companies elevate their digital experience significantly.

But, it’s noteworthy that the need for a communications solution has transformed over the years. To understand the trends driving telecom product development, it’s essential to granularly understand this evolved need.

Why Are the Demands From a Telecom Product Different Today from the Past?

Earlier, telecom companies were only seen from the perspective of a network provider building and maintaining the communication hardware. But fast forward to today, telecom companies are strategic partners. They enable businesses of all sizes to scale and succeed with their digital aspirations. In essence, they create the connectivity infrastructure needed to effectively exchange data and information in a digital environment.

Consumers today expect digital-first experiences for almost all their needs, from shopping to healthcare. As businesses expand, telecom products are at the forefront of driving meaningful connections between businesses and consumers.

Areas like customer onboarding, customer experience enhancement, security and authentication, etc. have been transformed significantly courtesy of modern telecom product development initiatives.

It is certain that at least one of the apps you use daily on your smartphone leverages an OTP mechanism via an SMS or a missed call. A telecom product realizes either of these authentication mechanisms. Similarly, there are several capabilities that a telecom product offers to businesses for managing their digital channels.

So, What Drives Telecom Product Development Today?

As we have seen, a telecom product serves as a fundamental building block of modern digital experiences for several businesses. Therefore, development initiatives should ideally incorporate the key traits that define digital experiences.

Let us explore the top four trends that telecom product development initiatives must make special note of:

Seamless Customer Experience

Studies show that 32% of customers would leave a brand after just one poor experience. While building a telecom product, the core ideology that powers every workflow should be to provide a great customer experience. This can be achieved by using customer centricity as a core element of every development initiative.

Speed of Services

Speed is a critical element of customer experience, but it deserves a special mention from a telecom perspective. Today, customers value time more than anything else. Studies show that customer loyalty will improve by over 2.4 times if their problems are solved quickly.

In that light, processes like user onboarding should not take too much time. They often rely on telecom solutions for KYC authentication and user validation. When such products are built, speed should be a major development criterion.

By using solutions that provide easy authentication and faster enablement of Digital KYC processes, businesses can accelerate their customer journey rapidly.

Secure Experiences

We have seen how seamless and fast customer experiences make for great traits in a product development initiative. Alongside them, security is another characteristic that can’t be ignored. As more digital services become enabled and managed through telecom services, it is critical to eliminate any vulnerabilities.

However, preventing fraud will be a major challenge for businesses as they seek to plug leaking revenue and protect customer interests. Therefore, products with anti-fraud intelligence and fraud prevention workflows will be key.

Continuous Innovation

Consumers love innovation in technology that serves them great experiences. This is probably why AI and machine learning have become so mainstream today. For telecom product development, the situation is no different.

Businesses would leverage telecom solutions that can accommodate innovative capabilities in the future. For this, they need to be built with inherent support for AI, ML, IoT, big data analytics, etc. This would allow businesses to build newer customer service innovations by leveraging the underlying telecom framework.

AI-powered customer interactions in the form of chatbots, fraud detection with AI, etc., are just some of the possibilities they can explore.

Wrapping Up

Telecom product development initiatives cannot be judged as a simple endeavor anymore. They hold strategic importance in pushing businesses to achieve better ROI from their digital investments. As such, selecting a solution would require end-to-end analysis of possibilities and potential it can unlock for a business.

Implementing a trusted communication solution for your business is vital, given that critical customer aspects like fraud prevention are on the line. This is where Globe Teleservices can make a huge difference. Our range of trusted solutions has been built to incorporate the latest market trends and innovations. They can undoubtedly propel your digital channels to new heights. Get in touch with us to know more.

The Top 6 Telecom Challenges for Enterprises Working Across National Boundaries

‘Global operations’ is no longer an uncommon dream for companies but an absolute reality across the business world. And we can safely say that communication technology has been a major facilitator of this boundaryless marketplace. The telecom sector plays a key role in helping enterprises build global teams and serve their client base across geographies.

Operating globally opens up more opportunities to serve customers and access expansive talent pools. However, staying competitive can become challenging without the support of robust telecommunications systems that enable collaboration and empower communications.

Some of the key telecom challenges for enterprises that operate across national boundaries are:

1. Routing and Interconnection Challenges

Global business operations need smart voice connectivity across all geographies, as communication keeps all business departments in sync. However, this can become a challenge for enterprises. That’s because different countries mean different telecom operators. Businesses need access to top-notch routing services and interconnects to these operators.

International Virtual Numbers (IVNs) and International Toll-Free numbers also become non-negotiable here. They are facilitators of good customer service and deliver a local experience to customers for such enterprises.

All in all, the challenge arises in integrating voice solutions with multiple channels and ensuring smooth communications. Enterprises must enable customers and employees to make calls from anywhere to any location worldwide. That’s what drives competitiveness.

As such, they need the support of telecommunications voice solutions that provide:

Origin-based dynamic routing
Number handling
Low-Cost Best Quality Routing (LCBQR) services

2. Latency and Call Quality

The days of choppy call quality are thankfully behind us. Seamless, clear, crisp connectivity now drives business outcomes. Low latency in voice calls is, in fact, a business imperative for smooth communication. It drives collaboration and customer experiences in a global world.

While latency between 20 to 150 ms can be barely noticeable, anything in the range of 150 to 300 ms can impact and diminish call quality. There can be noticeable lags and interruptions. Overcrowded networks are often one of the main contributors to such latency.

Therefore, enterprises need reliable international voice solutions. These must provide international coverage and enable easier, faster, and low-latency connections.

3. Challenging Fraud Landscape

Call quality and performance cannot come at the expense of high costs or poor security. As the telecom fraud landscape becomes more sophisticated, enterprises need robust fraud prevention strategies.

They need to build capabilities to prevent fraudulent phone calls, interconnect scams, and international outbound attempts. Further, they have to ensure that the connectivity and performance of their telecommunications assets are not compromised.

4. Real-Time Analytics

Real-time analytics of telecom traffic and the use of new technologies are now becoming imperative for enterprises. This is especially true for those businesses with operations across national borders.

Technologies such as AI and ML are essential to detect fraudulent traffic activities in real-time using pattern analysis. Using intelligent profiling techniques, can also help enterprises take a more proactive stand in risk identification and fraud prevention.

5. High Costs

The cost of international calls can cause a significant dent in the company’s bottom line. With voice call rates increasing globally, enterprises with global operations must look at optimizing cost opportunities.

The telecom sector is constantly evolving, and along with call charges, interconnect charges are also increasing in several geographies. Besides, the sector across the globe offers different floor prices when it comes to floor traffic. This means that the cost of completing a single call can differ across locations and cause a significant dent in the profits.

Identifying cost optimization strategies is crucial for enterprises to contain costs while driving connectivity. The role of voice solutions increases here as they offer enterprises the capability to:

Make affordable international calls
Optimize costs associated with voice calling
Prevent the compromise on call quality or performance

6. Driving Customer Experience

Businesses today are competing on their capability to deliver exceptional customer experiences. One of the key factors influencing customer experience is the enterprises’ ability to deliver contextual and localized experiences. As such, they need to not only tailor product experiences but also deliver local experiences.

From the telecommunications standpoint, enterprises can do this by having local numbers that customers can dial to speak to company personnel. They can leverage telecom solutions to:

Keep up with on-demand customer requirements
Capably redirect calls to appropriate agents who can deliver the localized experience using intelligent IVR

Cloud-based omnichannel customer engagement solutions like CPaaS+ can further help in:

Engaging with customers over their preferred channels
Facilitating hyper-relevant and contextual interactions

All these capabilities influence business outcomes as they help enterprises:

Resolve issues faster
Deliver better customer experiences
Improve customer loyalty rates

The Bottom Line

Enterprises need the support of telecommunications solutions to build high-quality and long-lasting relationships with their customers. To that end, robust, comprehensive, and integrated voice platforms are essential for enhanced call quality and performance.

The right platform can offer the advanced interoperability that businesses need today. It can map out the best traffic routes while providing affordable and cost-effective intercarrier fees.

Apart from this, unified routing, advanced forecasting, in-depth analytics, and live quality assurance are also critical. These capabilities empower enterprises to remain competitive and profitable in a complex and global business landscape.

Interested in learning more about such telecommunications offerings and how they can help your business? Book a strategy call with our experts today!

Security Scares – 5 Stories in the News About Fraud and Risks in the Telecom World

The telecom industry is growing rapidly and becoming a pivotal enabler of the world’s progress. Various factors, like the advent of 5G, remote and hybrid work, rising demand for high-speed data services, etc., are now seen as integral to this growth. Of course, the use of IoT, AI, and edge computing has also catapulted the telecom industry to the forefront in the business innovation stakes.

According to Statista’s research, $1.5 trillion will be spent worldwide on telecom this year alone. While this shows the size and scale of the industry, some concerns remain persistent. Key among those are concerns about rising fraud in the telecom industry worldwide. In 2021, the telecom industry worldwide lost about $40 billion due to fraud.

Let’s find out how fraud in telecom industry has shocked companies, customers, and lawmakers and why a robust fraud management system in telecomis necessary to curb them.

Five Stories of Fraud in Telecom World

To better elucidate the impact of telecom fraud, here’s a rundown of the five security scares that plagued the telecom industry:

1. Why Vodafone Is Issuing Warning About Wangari Fraud

Wangari is a Japanese term that means one and cut. In this scam, the scammers call a targeted list of subscribers and hang up the phone before they answer. They usually call at a time when the subscriber is less likely active. When the subscriber calls back on that number, the call is re-routed to an international premium number, and they are charged for the call.

Owing to the growing number of Wangiri frauds, Vodafone recently released an official security memo, warning users to exercise caution and avoid returning calls to unknown numbers. They added that users who are not careful about such fraud in telecom would be left with a hefty bill without realizing it.

2. How SIM Box Fraud Cost Telecom Companies $3 Billion

A SIM box is a hardware device. It allows operators to manage SIM cards from different service providers and access GSM gateways located in different places. Operators usually use it to route Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls through local GSM networks. This is done to avoid paying international calling tariffs.

Recently, telecom providers have witnessed an increase in SIM Box fraud. In this fraud, international numbers pretend to be local numbers and cost telecom companies the international call fees. According to the Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA), SIM Box fraud cost the telecom industry $3.11 billion in 2021.

SIM Box fraud has emerged as the topmost telecom fraud in recent years. Besides losing revenue, telecom companies also lose their reputation as end users suffer from poor service quality. As such, they need to improve telecom security to reduce such fraud.

3. Scammers Steal Bank Information in the Name of 5G SIM Upgrade

As customers mull over upgrading to 5G, telecom companies and state police departments in India are issuing warnings about 5G fraud. In this fraud, customers receive text messages with a link to upgrade their SIM card from 4G to 5G. When the customer clicks on the link, there is a risk of hackers hacking the phone and stealing personal and bank information.

According to police departments, there have been instances of accounts getting emptied due to the 5G SIM upgrade scam. Telecom companies and police departments have clarified that upgrading SIM cards to 5G is not necessary. The 5G connection will work on compatible smartphones with the old 4G SIM.

4. How Mobile Users Lost $58 Billion in 2023 Due to Robocalls

Popularized during COVID-19, robocalls are automated calls where a recorded voice speaks instead of a live person. Robocalls are typically used for selling products, sending reminders, or providing information. However, scammers are also using them to steal money or personal information from customers.

According to Juniper’s research, mobile users lose $58 billion worldwide due to scam calls like robocalls. The report predicts that by 2027, the losses will reach $70 billion globally. North America continues to be one of the most affected regions.

5. IRSF Losses Have Increased Six-Fold Over the Past Decade

International Revenue Share Fraud (IRSF) is a type of fraud where scammers use illegal ways to access an operator’s network. This allows them to perform illicit activities, such as:

Increasing the volume of international traffic to high-cost destinations with revenue-sharing agreements
Generating revenue by using complex pricing structures for international calls and SMS traffic

Recent studies show that IRSF losses have increased more than six-fold over the past decade. Such fraud can also lead to revenue leakage for telecom companies and leave customers unhappy due to unnecessary financial loss.

It’s critical that companies use telecom security solutions powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). They can help detect IRSF patterns early and curb them on time. Otherwise, companies will likely lose more revenue and customer trust in the future.

How Can Telecom Companies Combat These Frauds?

Fraud in telecom industry is not new. However, it has become more sophisticated and widespread in recent times, wiping out unsuspecting customers’ entire savings.

These frauds are not only impacting the revenue of telecom companies, but they are also at risk of losing customers. Trust between customers and telecom companies is eroding due to issues like:

Poor call quality
Identity theft
Overcharging
Charging for unused services

The only way to prevent such fraud is by using an anti-fraud solution. A traditional fraud detection system for telecom may no longer be able to detect and solve such sophisticated fraud. These systems are more reactive than proactive.

What companies need is a modern solution that:

Uses AI and ML to detect fraud and anomalies in real-time
Makes proactive decisions to curb the identified anomalies

At Globe Teleservices, we have built a robust fraud detection solution called Armour Firewall Solution to safeguard customers from fraud like:

Wangari attacks
SIM farming
Robocalling
IRSF
International outbound call fraud

The solution uses AI/ML algorithms to detect such emerging threats and empower telecom companies to stop them before they escalate further. To know more about Armour Firewall Solution and other fraud detection systems in the telecom industry, contact us. We will help you prevent fraud, save your reputation, and improve the trust between you and your customers.

The Data Domain – Why Modern Telecom Companies Need Data Products

With advancements in 5G technology and the increasing use of smartphones, telecom companies are looking to the future with renewed hope. The global shift to remote working has further contributed to the growth of the industry, with reports suggesting the global telecom market to reach $3.4 trillion by 2025. While this growth is encouraging – and seems sustainable – it also brings about its own challenges, like causing a massive amount of data to flow through telecom networks.

The Data Imperative in the Telecom Industry

Like businesses across other sectors, telecom companies are also increasingly relying on data to run their business and enhance profitability. They need to harness the power hidden in their data to provide elevated customer experiences, an emerging and ever-present challenge for telecom companies. Telecom companies are also waking up to the need to expand their service offerings beyond merely providing communication services. They recognize that they must make the most of the customer data at their disposal to enable a new generation of revenue opportunities by becoming digital service providers.

So, why do telcos need to capitalize on growing volumes of data?

Let’s look at all the things data helps telecom companies achieve:

Optimize networks: Live data analysis can enable telecom companies to get insight into performance issues and take steps to proactively resolve them. Active network data monitoring helps optimize network potential, reduce congestion, and achieve strategic goals amid increasing scale and complexity.
Enhance customer experience: Active data monitoring enables telecom companies to identify when and where to expand capacity for enhanced customer experience.
Improve security: Constant data analysis enables telecom companies to identify security gaps and loopholes, enabling prompt action to prevent fraud and theft.
Enable and ensure compliance: With the telecom sector exposed to regular scrutiny, the right approach to data can also aid companies in highlighting compliance gaps and bottlenecks. This can help them make the right decisions and adhere to growing regulations in a rapidly-changing environment.

But if companies want to act on this data, they need to find a way to rapidly store, process, and extract useful insights from the available data and use them to make critical business decisions like how to personalize offerings to drive customer engagement, retention, and loyalty. And the best way to do this is by investing in the right data products.

What This Means for Telecom Companies

Leveraging data to make intelligent business decisions and driving the business to the pinnacle of success is on every telco’s mind. But wanting to make the most of data is not just about adopting generic big data analytics solutions. Telecom companies have to relook at their existing tech stack and invest in data products that have been curated keeping the precise nuances of the sector in mind.

Designing and implementing forward-thinking telecommunication solutions can enable companies to exploit data-driven technology products that keep business needs at the centre of development. By uncovering detailed insights into every aspect of the business, telcos can deliver with speed, respond with agility, and drive competitive advantage. For instance, the right data products can enable telecom companies to gain insights into network capacity, effectively planning for trunk and route management.

They can also identify fraudulent activities in the network like revenue share fraud, roaming fraud, robocalling, VoIP & SIP fraud, and more.

Telecom-specific data products ensure seamless integration with the existing business ecosystem helping companies achieve the best results.

How To Build the Right Data Products

Despite various market tools, standard solutions can’t address the telecom industry’s unique challenges effectively due to its specific requirements.

To overcome issues around cybersecurity, network congestion, and complex operational processes, companies need highly tailored data products that can cater to telecom-specific needs. These solutions leverage human intelligence with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enable enterprises to streamline tasks across fraud detection, network congestion, and revenue assurance.

If you want to build such products, you need to:

Make the most of AI-based analytical frameworks to boost confidence in the application of data-driven actions and avoid human errors.
Invest in the right skillsets across different profiles to develop and deploy robust data analytics programs using a low-code AI orchestration workbench.
Look at ways to complement existing technology systems and implement scalable solutions to optimize ROI.
Utilize human intelligence in tandem with AI to improve real-time monitoring, making it adaptable to future changes in business variables.

The experts at our group company GTS Tech Labs have been curating highly-tailored data products for the telecom industry. An example is the advanced product – Grentor, enabling network providers to access real-time data and gain insights on revenue reconciliation, fraud, telecom traffic, and more. It delivers interactive dashboards allowing companies to identify frauds in the network. It can also be used to track and analyze consumers, monitor network usage, and uncover ways to drive better customer experiences.

Final Thoughts

As telecommunication companies experience unprecedented growth, there is a lot they can achieve by building the right data products. By combining AI with human intelligence and low-code technologies, telcos can get all the insights they need to make the right business decisions.

It’s time to invest in the right data products today to predict your peak network usage periods, uncover ways to reduce congestion, improve demand forecasting, plan for extra capacity, and constantly act on live data to drive profitability and prevent customer churn.

Talk to us to understand the next steps in how to go about doing so.

Fueling Telecom’s Success with Private Wireless Networks (Trends, Opportunities, & Challenges in 2023)

Private networks continue to grow in adoption and popularity around the globe. In fact, the research firm Analysys Mason has predicted that the number of private wireless networks, including 5G and LTE, will grow to over 20,000 by 2026. They also expect that enterprises will spend around $5 billion on these networks.

While stressing the reasons for this growth, Ashutosh Agrawal, CMD at Globe Teleservices, explains that much of the “impetus seems to be coming from expectations of the imminent arrival of 5G.” He further adds that “there are also many application scenarios opening up across smart manufacturing, smart cities, automated supply chains, and so on.” Since private wireless networks can provide the requisite low latency, high speed, and high availability to accommodate such applications, they’re gaining utter prominence.

So, the question transpires – What opportunity do private wireless networks offer to telecom companies, and what challenges must they overcome? Let’s discuss.

Private Wireless Networks – Latest trends in 2023

In 2022, telecom operators added around 455 million 5G connections. Globally, wireless 5G connections grew by 76% in 2022 to reach 1.05 billion.

There’s no doubt that the spread of 5G technology has been the driving force for private wireless networks. Additionally, enterprises are now relying more on advanced data analytics, which requires a robust wireless network to handle the massive volumes of data.

Considering all these facets, here are some trends to look forward to:

The telecom industry isn’t a lot different when it comes to the need to deliver excellent CX. A study revealed that 70% of customers consider customer experience as a pivotal factor in choosing a telecoms provider. This emphasizes the telecom sector’s urgent need to prioritize investments in customer experience and put it at the center of the business strategy.

To embrace the future, telcos must undertake comprehensive transformations that place customers at the core of their operations.

The migration of private networks from 4G to 5G bandwidth
The adoption of full production deployment for both 4G/LTE and 5G applications and infrastructure
The growth of private networks for public venues, including hotels, airports, and stadiums
The integration or convergence of private 4G/5G networks with Wi-Fi-driven enterprises

Private Wireless Networks – How Telecom Operators Can Leverage the Opportunity

Ashutosh states that telecom companies have the “opportunity to monetize their infrastructure while building deeper engagements with super-user enterprises.” For instance, private wireless networks can bring the next-level connectivity for challenging industrial sites. Industrial firms can harness the power of technological interventions like digital twins, robotics, artificial intelligence, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

In particular, the fast-growing IIoT ecosystem on private wireless networks is creating new opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs) and utility companies. For example, connected smart grids on 4G- and 5G-enabled networks can deliver consistent service to millions of customers.

That said, here are some of the possible use cases or opportunities for telecom companies:

Manufacturing: Private wireless networks can help create smart factories where real-time data insights can drive reliability and efficiency.
Education: These networks can enable students and teachers to interact remotely from a “virtual” classroom.
Supply Chain: 5G-based private wireless network, along with IoT technology, can automate the factory, warehouse, and transportation environment.
Smart City: A private wireless network in smart cities offers multiple benefits over public networks, including better security, flexibility, and infrastructure control.

A future-ready private wireless network requires enterprises to connect every device, sensor, and user. With complete data consolidation, private networks can augment the business value of data through analytics.

Challenges in Private Wireless Networks

Despite the benefits and opportunities, private wireless networks have their share of implementation challenges. Ashutosh outlines that telecom operators need to develop capabilities for “more flexible infrastructure and management.” Additionally, they need technical skills in:

Managing Agile deployments
Network integration
Delivering effective customer support
Managing and monitoring private networks

As wireless connectivity continues to grow, enterprise users expect it to be always up and running. The reality is much different. Wireless networks need to function optimally in facilities with high disturbance – for example, factories and mining sites. Unreliable connections can severely disrupt business operations, causing productivity-related issues.

Other challenges associated with a private wireless network include extreme weather conditions and bandwidth overload. Companies also face the challenge of providing fast and consistent network coverage over large areas, requiring a greater number of Wi-Fi access points.

High costs are also a significant challenge for enterprises implementing a private 5G network. These networks incur a substantial upfront cost for the infrastructure, maintenance, and operations. Enterprises need to invest in radio equipment, network accessories, and the backend infrastructure. Due to the high costs, private networks are out of the reach of smaller enterprises.

Another significant obstacle is to integrate the private network with the existing infrastructure and legacy systems. This means integrating the network with the existing applications, databases, and systems. Private 5G networks must also integrate with public networks, IoT devices, and Wi-Fi connections.

The Significant Role of Data Analytics in Private Wireless Networks

Data analytics is integral to the private wireless network space. This is understandable since telecom providers constantly need to improve their service delivery and infrastructure management capabilities.

Private wireless networks depend on data analytics to collect data from various network connections.

The analytics capabilities provide valuable insights into network operations and are useful across use cases, including the following:

Computing and predicting network load levels
Predicting the service experience for an application or user group
Predicting network load analytics for a specific network function
Measuring congestion information for a specific location

The data analytics function works in favor of telecom companies, as they leverage massive market opportunities associated with private wireless networks.

Cash in on these business opportunities with Globe Teleservices. We enable telecom service providers to manage their deployments and integrations. Want to know more? Get in touch with us today!

The Future of Customer Experience in the Telecom Industry

Customer experience has emerged as a defining factor in business success, shaped by the trailblazing efforts of digital giants like Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Uber. These industry disruptors have set new standards with their seamless and personalized interactions, raising customer expectations to new heights.

A recent survey revealed that 72% of customers switch brands because of poor customer experience (CX). Likewise, a 2022 survey found that 86% of customers will turn to competitors against the brand they trust after just two instances of poor CX.

The telecom industry isn’t a lot different when it comes to the need to deliver excellent CX. A study revealed that 70% of customersconsider customer experience as a pivotal factor in choosing a telecoms provider. This emphasizes the telecom sector’s urgent need to prioritize investments in customer experience and put it at the center of the business strategy.

To embrace the future, telcos must undertake comprehensive transformations that place customers at the core of their operations.

Latest Trends in Customer Experience in the Telecom Sector

“Mobile networks will be up to 100 times faster and have 1,000 times the capacity than we experience today,” outlines PwC while emphasizing the prominence of the 5G networks. For sure, the growth in the telecom sector is being underpinned by rapid technological evolution. But what impact can these changes and trends have on the consumer experience that telecoms facilitate? Let’s discuss.

Increased Focus on End-to-End Customer Experience Improvement

For successful end-to-end customer experience transformation in telecom, evaluating both short-term and long-term benefits is vital. It’s also important to refine commercial models. When we talk about “commercial models,” we’re looking at the metrics that telcos usually use for defining the success of their initiatives. These might include metrics such as weighted average cost of capital (WACC).

However, the trend now is to focus more on the customer experience aspect of things. The telecom sector is poised to make advancements in predictive capabilities for ensuring proactive issue resolution, personalized customer interactions, and overall higher ROI.

But for this to happen, there needs to be a shift in how telcos view their success. If they quantify it against the traditional metrics, they might miss out on the long-term value that customer focused initiatives can accrue.

AI for Customer Service

Telecom companies are adopting AI-powered chatbots to automatically address customer queries and issues, freeing human agents for complex tasks. For instance, an AI-driven virtual assistant can handle billing, service plans, and technical support questions. No surprise that the global AI in telecommunications market is projected to reach $19.17 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 40.6% between 2023 and 2029.

Telcos must also pioneer the application of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and voice-based customer care solutions to nurture more contextual interactions. This is certainly possible today, especially with generative AI solutions coming to the fore. The AI mix can help telcos deliver unparalleled customer service — all while catering to regions in their local languages and accommodating a very high frequency of requests.

This also paves the way for opportunities to adhere to the omnichannel shift. Today, customers demand consistent service across channels. With the help of data analytics and AI, telcos can ensure smooth transitions between channels while maintaining customer context. The result? Better personalization, increased loyalty, improved CX.

AI for Network Optimization

According to Nokia, networks will become exceptionally complex with the advent of 5G, growing by a whopping 73% in the next five years.

Favorably, implementing AI-powered self-optimizing networks (SONs) enables automatic network quality optimization based on traffic data, region, and time zone. This optimization based on AI technology can refine network resources and reduce operational costs.

Utilizing AI/ML in IoT for improving network performance, maintaining service levels, and protecting data privacy is also gaining momentum. AI algorithms can also analyze vast network data to:

Provide real-time insights into performance and issue resolution
Enhance network reliability and customer satisfaction

The 5G-Led Experiences

By 2025, 5G networks are projected to serve one-third of the world’s population. 5G promises to deliver much faster speeds, lower latency, and increased bandwidth than previous generations of cellular networks. This paves the way for reliable connections and spells the advent of more connected and personalized experiences.

To succeed in the 5G era, telecom providers need to be cognizant of the value of the entire distribution channel, Business Support System (BSS) platforms, etc. Collaborating with startups, technology companies, Communications Service Providers (CSPs), etc., can help curate innovative 5G product offerings for better CX.

How Can Telecom Providers Prepare for This Future?

The telecom sector is undergoing a major transformation, and customer expectations are rising. To stay competitive, telecom providers need to prepare for this future by:

Powering Data Analytics Initiatives

Data analytics is essential for telecom providers to understand their consumer needs. By collecting and analyzing data, telecom providers can identify trends, patterns, and insights that can be used to improve the CX. For example, data analytics can be used to:

Identify customer pain points: By understanding customers’ challenges, telecom providers can develop solutions to improve their experience. For example, customers may have complaints about network coverage. The data analytics team can use historical call records to identify areas with poor network strength.
Optimize network performance: By analyzing data about network usage, telecoms can identify areas where the network can be optimized to improve performance.
Personalize the customer experience: McKinsey’s research outlines that organizations that excel at personalizing CX generate 40% higher revenue. However, the consulting giant also mentions how only 5% of telcos capably unlock the potential of data-driven personalization. It’s imperative that telecom providers monetize their data assets to ensure this percentage goes up. After all, their personalization initiatives can help retain customers, build loyalty, and improve CX.

Partnering with a Telecom Solutions Provider

The future of customer experience in the telecom industry is bright, but it requires telecom providers to embrace the latest trends and partner with a telecom solutions provider that can help them implement the requisite technologies.

For example, at GlobeTeleservices, we help telecom companies implement anti-fraud solutions and drive seamless connectivity with uninterrupted voice solutions. We further help telcos realize higher ROIs via the use of the cloud. The idea is to help telecom companies deliver a superior CX and alleviate challenges related to service disruptions. Contact us to learn more about how we can help.