The telecommunication sector is going through a tricky phase right now. The advent of the 5G technology augmented with the software-defined virtual networks is disrupting the industry on one side, opening a new landscape of opportunities. On the other side, there is tough competition from VoIP-based platforms such as Skype and Zoom. With an increased commoditization, telecoms are able to cut prices and stay in the competition. However, they had to take a hit on the Average Revenue per User (ARPU). Another important challenge is customer churn. With shrinking IT budgets and high competition, customer retention becomes a challenge for most telecoms. This is where IoT comes to the rescue.
How does IoT help Telecom Companies?
IoT technology is rapidly evolving. Telecoms can take full advantage of IoT networks as they already possess the infrastructure in the form of mobile phone towers and internet cables. When 5G is added to it, telecoms can build high-speed networks with low latency and accommodate a wide range of IoT devices wherein seamless connection is established between interconnected devices and people in the massive ecosystem. Telecoms can build IoT platforms that enable customers to connect and manage multiple endpoints and run IoT apps while managing the infrastructure from a central dashboard.
IoT with 5G offer high-speed networks with expanded bandwidths and low latencies to run real-time processes. Energy efficiency is a big advantage as companies can run millions of connected devices with minimal power consumption. With an IoT platform, telecoms can reduce churn while gaining new customers to increase revenues. Moreover, they can create new job opportunities and thereby contribute to the growth of the local economy as well.
IoT Use Cases for Telecom
While the basic functionality of IoT for telecoms is to provide connectivity services for the customer IoT devices, the use cases can be extended to industry-specific end-user apps as well.
IoT in home automation enables customers to control electronic devices at home using mobile apps or voice assistants.
Remote Asset Monitoring of physical assets such as orders, vehicles, patients etc. using a mobile application in real-time, benefitting healthcare, retail, logistics and several other industries.
Telecoms can perform Data Storage and Management (backend processes) for client applications.
Data Analytics services comprising storage of IoT-generated data and delivering actionable insights to clients using AI/ML algorithms.
Telecoms can offer cloud-based PaaS and SaaS services wherein clients can use IoT-based platforms to develop, deliver and manage software.
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Choosing the Right IoT Platform
As the IoT industry is still in the nascent stage and evolving, telecoms have to either build a custom IoT platform from scratch or customize a public cloud IoT offering. When you choose to build a custom IoT platform, you get the flexibility and feature-set that tightly integrates with your existing infrastructure. However, it is a time consuming and costly affair. In addition to development costs, you should also consider the fact that you need to build and manage your own cloud. Alternatively, telecoms can customize AWS IoT or Azure IoT platforms quickly and reduce initial investment costs. The advantage of public cloud IoT platforms is that you can use extensive network services that are secure and reliable. However, you’ll incur cloud usage costs.
The Bottom-line
Telecoms struggling with increased competition and reduced margins can tap into new revenue streams by exploring IoT capabilities for the telecom industry. Not only can telecoms reduce customer churn but they can expand their services and solutions to gain a competitive edge in the market with IoT solutions.
CloudTern is a leading provider of IoT-based telecom solutions. Be it developing an end-to-end IoT platform or providing IoT consulting services, CloudTern is here to help!
Call us right now to fly high on the IoT plane!
