Login to access
Want to subscribe?
This article is part of: Consumer, Cybersecurity
To find out more about how to join or access this report please contact us
As connected devices proliferate in the home, telcos are exploring how to leverage their ownership of the gateway, customer trust and network visibility to play a meaningful role in consumer smart home cybersecurity.
Welcome to our ‘Coffee break reading’ series. These pieces are designed to be short and easy to read, presenting our opinion on a hot topic and challenging you to think about it too.
In this edition, we share our takeaways from a research programme conducted in partnership with Bitdefender in June 2025. This includes interviews with seven Tier 1 operators across Europe and North America. It explores how telcos are approaching consumer smart home cybersecurity, and what this means for their future role in the connected home.
Summary
Consumer smart home cybersecurity is emerging as a credible adjacent growth opportunity for telcos, driven by the rapid growth in connected devices and rising awareness of digital risks in the home. Telcos’ ownership of the router or gateway gives them a unique technical position to deliver network-level protection that works across devices and operating systems.
However, operators are taking different routes to market, shaped by their existing strengths, brand positioning and partnerships. Pricing and packaging decisions further influence adoption, engagement and long-term value capture.
In the longer term, many telcos see the evolution of the router into a “smart hub” as a way to build strategic control of the home – but this requires sustained investment and clarity of intent.
Two entry strategies for telcos in the smart home cybersecurity
Our insight covers the following key points:
- Telcos are well-positioned – but must choose their route carefully
- Go-to-market execution: Pricing shapes uptake and perceived value
- Looking ahead: The strategic opportunity of the smart hub
- Recommendations
Related research
- Connect and protect: Telcos’ avenues of growth in consumer cybersecurity
- Where does consumer innovation thrive?
- Consumer innovation tracker
