“ Telecommunication ”

MINI PROJECT-II

Submitted to

Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow

In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of

Master of Business Administration

Prepared by: Under the Guidance of:

Nida Hasan Fati Shafaat
MBA-II Semester. Assistant Professor
Roll Number: 2000400700013 Dept. of Business Administration
Enrollment No.

2020-21

Department of Business Administration

Technical Education & Research Institute
Post-Graduate College, Ghazipur – 233001 (U.P.)
 Certificate
This is to certify that Nida Hasan, pursuing MBA-II Semester from this
institute, has prepared the Mini Project-II, entitled
“Telecommunication” in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the
degree of Master of Business Administration from Uttar Pradesh
Technical University, Lucknow, for the session 2020-2021.
This Project report is undertaken by Nida Hasan under the guidance of
Mrs Fati Shafaat during the course of MBA-II Semester and fulfills the
requirements of regulations relating to the nature and standard of MBA
course of Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Technical
University, Lucknow
I recommend that this project report may be sent for evaluation.

Dr Neetu Singh Mrs Fati Shafaat

Associate Professor & Head, Assistant Professor
Dept. of Business Administration Dept. of Business Administration
 Declaration
I, Nida Hasan, hereby declare that this summer training Mini
Project-II entitled “Telecommunication” has been prepared by me
during the course of MBA-II Semester, under the guidance of Mrs.
Fati Shafaat.
This project report is my bona fide work and has not been submitted
in any form to any University or Institute for the award of any degree
or diploma prior to the under mentioned date. I bear the entire
responsibility of submission of this project report.

Nida Hasan
MBA-II Semester
Department of Business Administration
Technical Education & Research Institute
P. G. College, Ghazipur
 Introduction

The telecommunication sector is made up of companies that make communication possible on a

global scale, whether it is through the phone or the Internet, through airwaves or cables, through
wires or wirelessly. These companies created the infrastructure that allows data in words, voice,
audio, or video to be sent anywhere in the world. The largest companies in the sector are
telephone (both wired and wireless) operators, satellite companies, cable companies, and
Internet service providers.

Not long ago, the telecommunications sector consisted of a club of big national and regional
operators. Since the early 2000s, the industry has been swept up in rapid deregulation and
innovation. In many countries around the world, government monopolies are now privatized and
they face a plethora of new competitors. Traditional markets have been turned upside down, as
the growth in mobile services outpaces the fixed-line and the Internet starts to replace voice as
the staple business.

Evolution of the Telecommunications Sector

The telecommunications industry began in the 1830s, with the invention of the telegraph, the
first mechanical communications device.1 It shortened communication from days to hours—
much as modern mobile technology has shortened the time span of sending large amounts of
data from hours to seconds. The industry broadened with each new invention: the telephone,
radio, television, computer, mobile device. These technological advances changed how people
live and do business.

At one time, telecommunications required physical wires connecting homes and businesses. In
contemporary society, technology has gone mobile. Now, wireless digital technology is becoming
the primary form of communication.
The sector’s structure has also changed from a few large players to a more decentralized system
with decreased regulation and barriers to entry. Major public corporations act as the service
providers, while smaller companies sell and service the equipment, such as routers, switches, and
infrastructure, which enable this communication.
 Key Telecommunications Industry Segments

The telecommunications sector consists of three basic sub-sectors: telecom equipment (the
largest), telecom services (next largest), and wireless communication.

The major segments within these sub-sectors include the following:

• Wireless communications
• Communications equipment
• Processing systems and products
• Long-distance carriers
• Domestic telecom services
• Foreign telecom services
• Diversified communication services

Wireless communications is a very fast-growing sector within telecommunications; more and

more communications and computing methods shift to mobile devices and cloud-based
technology. This piece of the industry is the anticipated keystone for the continued global
expansion of the telecommunications sector.

Looking forward, the sector’s biggest challenge is to keep up with people’s demand for speedier
data connectivity, higher resolution, quicker video streaming, and ample multimedia
applications. Meeting people’s needs for faster and better connections as they consume and
create content requires significant capital expenditures. Companies that can meet these needs
thrive.

Evaluating Telecommunications Companies

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that size matters in telecom. It is an expensive business;
contenders need to be large enough and produce sufficient cash flow to absorb the costs of
expanding networks and services that become obsolete seemingly overnight. Transmission
systems need to be replaced as frequently as every two years.
Big companies that own extensive networks—especially local networks that stretch directly into
customers’ homes and businesses—are less reliant on interconnecting with other companies to
get calls and data to their final destinations. By contrast, smaller players must pay for
interconnection more often in order to finish the job. For little operators hoping to grow big one
day, the financial challenges of keeping up with rapid technological change and depreciation of
equipment can be monumental.

Earnings can be a tricky issue when analyzing telecom companies. Many companies have little or
no earnings to speak of. To gauge a company’s value, telecom industry analysts might turn to the
price-to-sales ratio (stock price divided by sales). They also look at average revenue per user
(ARPU), which offers a useful measure of growth performance, and the churn rate, the rate at
which customers leave (presumably for a competitor).

Big Players in Telecommunications

Current industry leaders worldwide can change from year to year. Determining which are the
largest depends on whether one looks in terms of total sales numbers or in terms of market
capitalization value as well. As of January 2021, the top five telecom companies ranked by market
capitalization are as follows:

1. AT&T (T) is one of the oldest companies in the telephone business and has a market value
estimated at approximately $209 billion.
2. Verizon (VZ), which provides wireless and wireline services in addition to broadband and
information services, has a current market capitalization value of approximately $236
billion.
3. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp (NTTYY) is a Japan-based holding company that
provides telecommunication services and has a market capitalization of $96.8 billion.
4. Deutsche Telekom AG (DTEGY) is a Germany-based provider of telecommunications and
information technology services. The company has a market capitalization of $87.4 billion.
5. T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS) is a major U.S. wireless carrier offering various data plans as well
as consumer and business telecommunications services. The company has a market
capitalization of $159.7 billion.

Telecommunications ETFs
 Several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) serve as alternatives to directly investing in individual
telecom firms. Telecom ETFs have varying focuses on geography or industry specialization.
Some of the most popular include:
• The Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX) is entirely composed of U.S. stocks,
ranging from small, regional telecom firms to the big three, Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
• The iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF (IYZ), similar in holdings to Vanguard’s
Telecommunication Services ETF, also tracks the largest telecom service companies in the
U.S.—T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon—along with a handful of smaller regional service
providers.
• The iShares Global Comm Services ETF (IXP) is more focused internationally, with more
than 30% of its holdings in companies headquartered outside the U.S. Notable stocks
include some of the top telecom companies: Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone, and Soft Bank
Corp.
Other popular telecom ETFs include the Fidelity MSCI Communication Services Index
(FCOM) and the SPDR S&P Telecom ETF (XTL).

Applications Of Digital Technologies In The

Telecommunication Industry

With the advent of new age digital technologies, the global scenario has undergone a
radical transformation with industry after industry joining the digital bandwagon. Needless
to say , the telecom industry has not remained untouched either. Marrying together the
right strategy and process design with digital technology has resulted in the emergence
of new business models in the telecom sector.
Here Are 6 Ways Telecom Companies Can Leverage Digital Technologies

1. Smart Metering
Smart Meter Systems are electronic measurement devices which operate by transmitting
information wirelessly to communicate information for billing customers and operating
their electric systems. They are based on a two way communication and data system
commonly referred to as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). The advanced billing
requirements of organizations today and the host of benefits that a smart metering system
brings along with it such as improved outage restoration and reduced estimated billing
and billing errors , have together paved the way for smart meters to emerge as the one
stop billing solution across a wide base of consumer segments.

2. Infrastructure Management Using IoT

Gartner predicts that Internet of Things (IoT) would swell up by 30% in 2016 to include
6.4 billion connected devices. IoT has a pivotal role to play in terms of infrastructure
management in telcos. It serves as an intelligence platform to achieve significant energy
savings and provide an improved workplace experience. Contrary to the traditional
approach of devices functioning in isolation , IoT provides a unified console to manage
several devices connected across the telecom network in an integrated manner.

3. Digital VAS (Value Added Services)

Telecom service providers are today able to provide an enriched single-window
experience to consumers for discovering digital content related to information, services,
news,entertainment and much more. The field of digital VAS is today expanding to provide
solutions to suit each and every end user’s requirements. The more traditional versions
of SMS based value added services are giving way to digital infotainment services, mobile
advertising, mobile TV and much more.

4. Outage Management Systems

Modern digital outage management systems implemented in the telecom industry today
can accurately predict size and duration of outages,raise alarms,calculate estimated
restoration times and manage crew assisting in restoration.They combine the functionality
of the geographical information system(GIS), Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) and
Interactive Voice Response(IVR) to make effective outage predictions and implement
network tracing.

5. Unified User Profiling

It enables telecom operators to come up with a common platform to analyze huge volumes
of user data with the help of analytical engines. It plays an extremely important role in
several areas such as customer relationship management,customer segmentation,
developing business practices to influence customer behavior in specific segments and
managing the entire customer cycle from customer acquisition till churn and retention.
 6. Business Intelligence (BI)
Business Intelligence solutions are widely adopted by telecom majors for reporting,
dashboards and analytics to include capabilities such as predictive analysis,data
mining,forecasting and optimization.The adoption of BI in telecommunications goes a long
way towards improving core operations,identifying market trends and establishing
forecasts. It also has several useful applications in product development, financial asset
management, campaign analysis and service fulfillment.

The strides made by telecom companies in digitizing their operations has enabled them
to bring new products, services, customer segments and geographies and build a culture
of sustainable growth and create renewed enterprise business models. Going digital has
opened up a plethora of opportunities for telecom to transform into a truly new-age
industry.

5G Applications

With high capacity and ultra-low latency, 5G will give artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT
applications a major boost across a range of industries and use cases.
Consumers will see changes including more immersive gaming and improved retail experiences.
As enterprises use 5G as a conduit to process and analyze more data, business value is expected
to be generated across a range of industries.
The fifth generation of wireless technology—5G—represents the changing face of connectivity.
Designed for maximum speed and capacity, 5G has the potential to vastly expand how data is
moved and will enable a wide range of new applications and use cases that go far beyond the
smartphone.
While broad 5G rollouts are expected by 2021, engineers are already hard at work on applications
and devices that will make use of the benefits of 5G. From the evolution of the IoT to
revolutionary advances in how AI is used in the real world, many of tomorrow’s most exciting
technological advances will depend on 5G connectivity.

Harnessing the Power of IoT

When the term “Internet of Things” was coined in 1999, it was largely conceptual. Two decades
later, everything from home thermostats to smart city sensors depend on IoT technology. Now,
5G and IoT stand ready to enable applications that would have seemed impossible just a few
years ago.
5G’s promise of low latency and high network capacity helps to eliminate the biggest limitations
to IoT expansion. Giving devices nearly real-time ability to sense and respond, 5G and IoT are a
natural pairing that will impact nearly every industry and consumer.

Broadband-Like Mobile Service

Upgraded mobile service is among the most noticeable of the initial impacts of the 5G network
rollout. All major US wireless carriers, as well as many smaller communications service providers,
intend to deploy 5G mobile networks that will deliver broadband-like services, such as
highdefinition streaming video without dreaded buffering. With a vastly increased network
capacity, 5G is also predicted to reduce slowdowns during usage spikes—for example, sports fans
can still stream during the big game.

Connectivity for Edge Computing

With the move to cloud-native 5G networks, enterprises can take advantage of strategically
distributed computational power, allowing more data to be processed and stored in the right
place based on the needs of the application. Intelligent edge computing operates at the
convergence of 5G’s ultra-low latency, IoT, and AI technologies. Devices and applications can tap
into edge cloud computing resources without needing to access a centralized data center
potentially thousands of miles away.
As 5G edge computing becomes more pervasive, industries will be able to dramatically scale up
their use of data and act on insights faster—often instantly and autonomously.

Unleashing AI
Applying AI to an immense amount of data at scale will be accelerated with fast, efficient
connectivity. For example, smart city AI could correlate traffic light data automatically and
implement new patterns after an apartment complex nearby is opened. Smart security and
machine vision can keep secure facilities safe with automatic recognition of potential security
breaches or unauthorized visitors.
While 5G will help enable AI inference at the edge, it will also play a role in delivering data from
devices to the central cloud to train or refine AI models. For example, real-world data about road
conditions collected by connected vehicles can improve cloud-based mapping services.
Immersive Gaming and Virtual Reality
For gamers, 5G promises a more immersive future. High-definition live streaming will get a big
boost from 5G speeds, and thanks to ultra-low latency, 5G gaming won’t be tied down to devices
with high computing power. Processing, storage, and retrieval can be done in the cloud, while
the game itself is displayed and controlled by a mobile device.
Low-latency 5G will drive major innovation in virtual reality (VR) applications, which depend on
fast feedback and response times to provide a realistic experience. These applications are likely
to explode in number and sophistication as 5G networks and devices become the new normal.
As 5G edge computing becomes more common, industries will be able to dramatically scale up
their use of data and act on insights faster—often instantly and automatically.

Industry Applications
Whether their goal is to increase revenue opportunities, reduce total cost of ownership (TCO), or
improve customer experiences, today’s enterprises are expected to see major benefits from the
5G upgrade.

Healthcare
5G healthcare use cases will enable doctors and patients to stay more connected than ever.
Wearable devices could alert healthcare providers when a patient is experiencing symptoms—
like an internal defibrillator that automatically alerts a team of ER cardiologists to be ready for an
incoming patient, with a complete record of data collected by the device.

Retail
For 5G retail applications, the customer experience will be everything. Stores of tomorrow may
no longer look like today’s aisles of stocked shelves. Imagine a store that’s more like a
showroom—one that lets you add items to a virtual cart rather than shopping with a physical
one.
Stores may also use 5G to manage inventory and stocking in real time. Consumers could even see
changes like cashierless stores that simply track what you put in your cart in lieu of the traditional
checkout line.
Agriculture
Farms of the future will use more data and fewer chemicals. Taking data from sensors located
directly in fields, farmers can identify with pinpoint precision which areas need water, have a
disease, or require pest management.
As wearables become less expensive and 5G makes it easier to scale networks containing large
numbers of IoT devices, health monitoring for livestock may also emerge. With more accurate
health data, farmers can reduce the use of antibiotics without compromising the safety of the
food supply.

Manufacturing
Factory floors will be totally transformed by the convergence of 5G, AI, and IoT. Beyond predictive
maintenance that helps control costs and minimize downtime, factories will also use 5G to
control and analyze industrial processes with an unprecedented degree of precision.
With the connectivity boost provided by 5G, manufacturers can also change traditional quality
assurance processes, streamlining them with sensor technology and AI.

Logistics
In shipping and logistics, keeping track of inventory is expensive, slow, and difficult. 5G offers the
potential for greater communication among vehicles, as well as between vehicles and
infrastructure itself.
Fleet monitoring and navigation will become significantly easier at scale with 5G. Driver
navigation could potentially be powered with an augmented reality system that identifies and
flags potential hazards without diverting a driver’s attention away from the road.1

5G: The Next Chapter Begins

The future of 5G is still being written, and it may be as momentous for connectivity as the dawn
of the internet. Perhaps the most exciting part of 5G use cases is that no one knows exactly what
will come next.
Whatever the future holds, you can bet on one thing: 5G will do a lot more than give you a faster
phone connection. It could change your life.
 Challenges Faced by the Telecoms Industry in 2020

Just like every other sector in the newly digitized world, telecoms is in the midst of a significant
transformation. The way that we communicate is evolving to suit an environment that demands
more agility, opportunity, and flexibility.
In 2020, the first year of a new decade, the environment is rife with disruption, and changes in
the telecoms industry are everywhere.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now a standard of everyday communications, supplementing and
enhancing the discussions between customers and brands.
5G technology is growing, paving the way to richer mobile experiences. There has also been an
unprecedented rise in demand for new network services thanks to substantial growth in these
unique markets.
According to the EY Digital Transformation (2020 and beyond) report, disruptive competition
from vendors in the technology, service management, and other spaces, is the biggest challenge
facing telco companies.

Demand for Traditional Services Is Decreasing

While Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G have started to fuel more diversity in vendor product
offerings, businesses using legacy tools have struggled to stay ahead of the curve.
Vendors in all environments need to expand their offerings, going beyond the basics of voice, to
deliver everything from SMS to video.
The way that people are communicating is changing. Internet messaging, VoIP and other
cloudbased technology is taking over the industry. Even smartphone traffic is moving to WiFi.
This means that businesses of all sizes need to consider how they’re going to evolve their service
packages to suit the new cloud-focused community.
Not only do companies need to deliver the next generation of call and contact centre offerings to
stay ahead of the game, but they need to ensure that these new services are reliable and practical
too.
Customers are increasingly less accepting of drops in quality and performance.
The ability to monitor data in real time and check the quality of call traffic will be critical if
communication companies are going to thrive. Communication services need to be faster, more
agile, and more dependable than ever.
Security and the Risk of Data Breaches
Monitoring call and communication quality is crucial to ensuring that customers get the kind of
telecom experience that they deserve.
However, tracking and understanding your communication life cycle will be essential to telecoms
companies for another reason, too – data and privacy.
It has become increasingly important for telecommunications companies to make data security
and privacy a key priority.
The Digital Media Trends Survey from Deloitte shows that customers are still terrified by the idea
of identity theft and financial loss.
The result is that customers are demanding the same level of control over their personal data
that they get when it comes to placing passwords on their bank accounts and email addresses.
Telecommunications firms will need to work harder to create environments where people can
feel as safe as possible.

More Regulatory Scrutiny

This shift will also include a greater focus on GDPR and the way that data is captured in the new
AI environment. Through virtual assistants and chatbots, telecommunications can improve
customer service. However, AI also collects a lot of information.
Customers crave the personalized experiences that are available when businesses capture rich
data, but they don’t want to compromise on how that data is protected and stored.
Telecommunications companies will need to ensure that their networks can protect the data that
they collect and follow regulatory guidelines.
On the one hand, businesses will need the freedom to see what’s happening in their calls from
beginning to end. Proper logging technology that allows organizations to keep a close eye on the
communication strategies that they’re using will lead to enhanced service experiences.
On the other hand, the data that is captured needs to be carefully assessed, analysed, and stored
according to guidelines that will only become stricter in the years ahead.

2020: The Year of 5G Adoption

The 5G action plan created by the European Union already includes access to
uninterrupted 5G coverage by 2025 in the new vision of the future.
As well as being able to support a considerable increase (hundredfold) in connected
devices, 5G will also offer things like improved data rates, better network slicing, and ultra-
low latency.

This opens the gateways for new services, network operation, customer experience, and
more. 5G has the potential to truly change the role of telecoms companies.

These businesses will evolve from being distributors of technology to full-service

providers too. This could mean that telecoms companies are engaging more regularly
with enterprise customers, governments, and other groups.

It may also mean working with other technology companies to build more effective
communication apps in the 5G landscape.

While 5G may just be in the build phase for now, as people come to understand its
potential, we will begin to see a new wave of business built on this strategy.

The Demand for More Thoughtful Companies

As the experience continues to stand out as the most important differentiating factor for
many companies, consumers are searching for brands that can understand their needs
and deliver exceptional results.

With in-depth reporting tools, organizations can place themselves in a better position to
deal with things like rising and falling demands in staffing levels or trends in customer
experience.

However, customers on the hunt for better experiences aren’t just relying on their vendors
to deliver solutions that benefit them.

Tomorrow’s generation also wants telecoms to think more carefully about how they impact
the planet. An IEEE article on broadband communications illustrates that
telecommunications companies consume some of the biggest volumes of energy in the
world.

In a decade that opened with events including a global pandemic and Australia burning,
sustainability is at the height of our concerns as a community.
Moving away from plastic on the desk and into software and cloud-based solutions may
be one way to make businesses more energy-efficient in this new environment.
On the other hand, merely evaluating your communication system and looking for ways
to optimize the way that you use your equipment could make sustainability more
accessible too.

Gearing Up for More New Technology

Everywhere we look, the demand for new and disruptive technology is growing.Artificial
intelligence has officially changed the way that we interact on a fundamental level. We
have entered a time when many of us use voice commands instead of text to interact with
machines.

At the same time, businesses are embracing remote working and video-first cultures to
reduce costs and improve work/life balance.

The integration of IoT into our everyday world is looming ever closer, with billions of
connected devices already in the marketplace. Platforms that support high levels of
connectivity will be essential in this new environment.

What’s more, telecoms companies will need to think more carefully about how they can
deliver end customers the flexibility and extensibility that they need.
Even concepts like robotic process automation and computing at the edge could deliver
their share of challenges and opportunities.
On the one hand, things like robotic process automation will reduce the frequency of
mundane processes, allowing employees to concentrate more of their efforts on creative
challenges.
On the other hand, these kinds of tech mean more monitoring for IT teams and more
planning when it comes to things like data protection too.

Preparing for the Future

It’s difficult to know for sure what the future might look like in the communication
landscape. What we do know is that the environment is becoming more sophisticated and
advanced by the day.
This means that if businesses want to stay ahead of the curve and deliver the results that
their customers and shareholders expect, they need the right plan. It’s not enough to
simply jump on the latest trends as soon as they arrive.
Business leaders need to assess the current gaps and issues in their communication
strategy and look for ways to fix existing problems.
Those who are ready to embrace opportunities from the new environment, like 5G and
AI, will need a plan for monitoring the performance of their tools and ensuring that they’re
not swapping reliability for innovation.

Challenges Faced by the Telecoms Industry in

2021

2020 was a tumultuous year, defined by unexpected challenges, accelerated digital

transformation, and the sudden demand for new ways of working.
The issues affecting the globe also influenced the growth of the telecoms industry by
increasing voice traffic, pushing a greater demand for video, and placing additional
pressure on bandwidth demands.
Over the last year, the telecoms landscape has evolved at an incredible pace, which
means that 2021 will no doubt have a new array of issues and opportunities to deliver.
This year, a continued focus on digitisation, the rise of disruptive technology, and shifting
consumer attitudes are just a handful of the concerns that telecoms companies will need
to address.
Let’s explore some of the challenges that the telecoms sector is set to face moving
forward and discuss how organisations may be able to set themselves up for success.

A Growing Demand for Digitisation

In 2020, the need for traditional communications services was decreasing. VoIP and
cloud-based solutions replaced the on-premise PBX in companies around the world, and
organisations found themselves shifting slowly but surely to the cloud.
Thanks to the influence of global quarantines in 2020, however, this process of digitisation
is now moving at a much faster pace. Companies can’t afford to rely on traditional and
legacy systems for communication.
Every organisation must have a presence in the cloud to adhere to consumer
expectations, compete in their industry, and protect themselves against potential issues.
The cloud has become a crucial component of business continuity, and telecoms
companies must ensure that they can deliver the right fully-featured systems for cloud
communications.
Many vendors and resellers are combining packages of technology featuring everything
from call analytics to recording tools for their clients.
The result of this aligned cloud environment is a more aligned space for true unified
communications, delivered over a flexible and scalable cloud bridge.
Telecoms companies must now be able to deliver communication tools, services, and
systems in a flexible environment that team members can access anywhere, at any time,
without compromising on security.

Intelligence Is a Must-Have
For years, intelligent systems for analytics, reporting, and data management have largely
been regarded as ‘add-ons’ to the telecoms landscape.
However, the year of virtual everything in 2020 paved the way to a future where
intelligence is no longer optional. Companies rely on insights to keep the business from
crumbling in complicated situations.
With the rise of remote work, companies depend on intelligent ways to monitor employee
performance in real time, and pinpoint issues in customer service. Intelligent reporting
tools can even form a crucial part of the employee engagement strategy.
Gamification in the form of wallboards and real-time reports prevents remote and
distributed teams from losing their connection to the business.
Intelligence also has a part to play in supporting the workforce in an increasingly
challenging environment. In times where call volumes accelerate and customer demand
increases, AI virtual assistants and chatbots can automate repetitive processes and
manage aspects of self-service for today’s teams.
These tools are becoming an essential aspect of ensuring that team members can
continue to focus on the tasks that require the most human creativity.
More than just a tool for analysing the customer journey and providing business
intelligence, AI is becoming a fundamental aspect of every part of the telecoms stack.
Today’s telecoms vendors need to look at how they can intelligently support everything
from productivity to agent management with the right services.
Critical Concern
We mentioned security and the threat of data breaches as common trends for the
challenges that would face telecommunications companies in 2020. In 2021, the demand
for better security is likely to continue, perhaps at even greater scale.
The sudden trend towards digitisation in 2020 meant that many cybercriminals found new
opportunities to steal data online.
With teams and business leaders relying on the internet more than ever to share and
manage information, there are now more avenues for criminal activity to take place.
According to some studies, COVID-19 was the world’s largest-ever cybersecurity threat.
Moving ahead, companies in telecoms will need to carefully evaluate their security
practices and ensure that the right strategies are in place to protect information.
From remote employees using secure networks to log in to services, to team members
ensuring that video meetings can remain secure, there are a lot of different components
to consider.
Telecommunications firms in the new era will need to ensure that people can continue to
feel safe in this rapidly virtual environment.

Transparency Will Be Crucial

Aside from keeping data secure, telecoms companies will also need to ensure that they’re
transparent with their consumers and clients about how they use data.

In recent years, we’ve already seen the impact that regulations like GDPR have had on
the way we manage information. With a greater reliance on digital tools and artificial
intelligence, it will be more important for companies to reconsider the way they collect
data.
The key in the new landscape is to find the right balance between personalising customer
experiences with useful insights and keeping private information under wraps.
Telecoms companies will need to ensure that they have the right systems in place to track
the flow of information in the organisation from beginning to end.
Any information captured needs to be carefully assessed and stored according to industry
guidelines.
More importantly, companies will need to be able to prove, on-demand, that they’re taking
all the appropriate measures to keep their customers and their information secure.
Today’s consumers are even more concerned about the control that they have over their
data and valuable information – particularly in a world where everything is digital.
Telecoms brands must be ready to show that they’re committed to privacy.

New Opportunities Arise With 5G

5G promises some serious changes in the telecoms industry. With the full rollout of 5G
on hold due to the 2020 pandemic, we haven’t experienced the massive impact that this
technology could have on telecoms yet.
The EU is still planning a rollout of 5G on a massive scale in the following years and the
opportunities are incredible. 5G will be essential in a future where remote and mobile
workers need to operate seamlessly outside of the office.
This technology could also be the key to helping teams operate crucial tools from a
distance. The Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality, and mixed realities could
combine with 5G technology to allow engineers to see equipment through a headset, and
make changes to performance from a distance, all by tapping buttons on a keyboard that
send instructions to connected devices.
The possibilities of 5G and IoT were already gaining a lot of attention in recent years, but
the demand now could be higher than ever.
As employers look for ways to improve safety and efficiency in the workplace, while
reducing the number of actual employees in the office, 5G could be the key to more
effective communications on the move.
Telecommunications firms will need to think about how they can deliver the right selection
of disruptive tools to empower the workforce of tomorrow.

Empathy Will Be Required

Finally, today’s telecommunications companies are still competing based on excellent
customer experience. Memorable moments with customers and clients pave the way to
brand success.
However, many telecom providers have struggled to deliver personalised experiences in
the last year, thanks to the overwhelming demands and changing processes created by
the pandemic.
Now, more than ever, customers are looking for insights into the kinds of companies they
can trust to deliver the best service and support during difficult times. Companies that fail
to take the right steps in showing thoughtfulness and empathy in 2021 could lose their
customer base forever.
The key to success for many brands will be data. In-depth reporting tools allow
organisations to understand what their customers need on a deeper level.
The better your reports, the easier it is to see when you need to hire extra remote staff
members for peaks in demand. You can also use these insights to offer better training to
team members and reduce the risk of call quality issues.
Evaluating your customer’s journey and implementing the right strategies at every step
will be a demanding process, but it’s the only way to set yourself apart from the crowd
going forward.

SWOT Analysis of the Telecommunication

Industry
Telecommunications are ways to spread messages over long distances. While at one
point in history fire signals might have been used to spread this information, today
telephones, television, and computers are used. A SWOT analysis of the telecom
industry will focus on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths of the
organization. The industry would conduct a SWOT analysis to understand what its
problems are so they can be fixed and the business can be improved.

Strengths
The strengths in a SWOT analysis for the telecommunications industry focus around the
things the business does best. The industry can focus on the types of assets it owns, the
human capital is possesses, where the business makes its money from, and what
experience exists. The industry might have a particularly good record with phone call
quality, according to customers, or it could be the only provider of a particular successful
product. Once the analysis is complete, the goal will be to maximize the strengths.

Weaknesses
The telecom industry’s weaknesses in a SWOT analysis center around what the business
is not doing well. The business may be losing money in a particular area, or could be
without resources to better the business model. Especially within the telecom industry,
which can change quickly, it is essential to be honest and upfront about what the current
weaknesses are, so they can be eliminated in the future. The analysis will be inaccurate
if all weaknesses are not included.

Opportunities
The telecom industry’s opportunities in a SWOT analysis include those variables that are
out of the control of the industry, but could benefit the business. Perhaps new customers
will enter the market or the government will supply subsidies to supply the newest piece
of technology. Since technologies that the telecom industry supplies change so
frequently, it is essential that the businesses know what types of products are soon-to-
be-supplied, so they can have the proper marketing prepared.

Threats
The threats in a SWOT analysis for the telecom industry focus on the issues that are
coming from the outside that might negatively impact business. These could include new
competitors opening their doors, or a failing economy. The telecom industry sells products
that are key for communication, but are not essential if someone is trying to cut their
budget. Free use of computers and extremely cheap phones are available for use in public
facilities. Poor economic conditions could keep people from buying a new phone or
computer, and could hurt business.

Analysis
Once the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats have been listed, a two-bytwo
grid should be created with the opportunities and threats on the left side and the strengths
and weaknesses on the top. The industry should brainstorm about ways to take
advantage of strengths and opportunities while also minimizing the weaknesses and
threats.

Conclusion
The international public discussion to date on national and global information
infrastructures has been influenced unduly by a focus on the particular circumstances in
the US, and its preoccupation with constructing a broadband information superhighway
including fibre cable connections to households. This has created the erroneous
impression that these issues should be priorities everywhere and that investments in such
broadband capacity will provide enormous benefits everywhere, implying that any country
that does not follow this path could be left out of the information society of the 21st
century. A more comprehensive analysis has shown that the information superhighway is
a future step in the technological enhancement of the most modern telecom systems in
the most developed countries. To the extent that there is demand for services that require
it, the broadband capacity already exists in most countries. To date this demand has been
small because the vast majority of new information and communication services do not
require the broadband enhancement, even in the US. Internet services, for example, do
not require either an information superhighway or a fibre cable connection to the users’
PC. They run on digital telephone lines. As a result, there is at present no major
investment program to build fibre cable connections to households even in the US.
Making rushed and unconsidered commitments to promote the construction of
information superhighways at the most rapid pace possible can only help the dominant
supplier industries and countries in the short run. If supply far exceeds demand in any
country, the premature inefficient allocation of resources will have negative long-term
economic and social effects. The ultimate test for every country will be the economic and
social efficiency of the investments undertaken. If they are to be efficient, they must be
demand led, not supply forced; and responsive to local needs and circumstances.
Moreover, if demand determines the rate, direction and structure of investments, there is
a much better chance for balanced growth toward broadly based information societies. If
government policymakers and telecom regulators succumb to the siren song of the
suppliers, it will inevitably lead to inefficient investments, unbalanced growth and the
cultivation of an elite information class in societies characterised by increasing divisions
between the information, (as well as economic) rich and poor. It is apparent that all
countries are on a developmental path in which electronic information and communication
services are becoming more central to economic, social, cultural and political life. But
each country is on its own path of development, and different countries are at different
points along their respective developmental paths. A wide diversity of approaches to
information society development should be both expected and accommodated. Countries
can only hope to obtain some of the benefits claimed in the information society ‘visions’ if
the technologies and services are directed to meet the specific needs and priorities of the
societies, the institutions and the individuals applying them. Informed, independent
telecom regulation will play an important role in shaping the information societies of the
21st century.
There can be significant benefits from privatisation, liberalisation and competition, if they
are adapted to the particular circumstances in the countries where they are applied. But
if governments are serious about extending benefits across all sectors of their societies,
or even to the great majority of the population, strong and effective regulation will be
required. For many countries, especially small and developing ones, regional and
international associations of regulators also will be needed to strengthen their capabilities
for regulating in an industry increasingly dominated by transnational operators. The
review and analyses of the issues provided in this book have documented the reasons
why strong, independent regulation is essential to achieving the goals of telecom reform.
Hopefully it will contribute to more informed discussion and debate on current and future
regulatory issues, and thereby help strengthen telecom regulation as an effective
institution of economic and social reform.