It is hard to imagine what the world will look like, even at the end of 2020. The graphic above shows STL Partners’ best estimate of the mid-term outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even assuming the virus is defeated in the short-to-medium term, it will undoubtedly have a long-term impact on societies, businesses, governments and personal behaviours. Previous epidemics and global catastrophes have led to profound shifts in politics, international relations, business and our relationships with government, travel and each other. Given the world’s existing challenges before the pandemic – notably climate change – we may see ways forward that go beyond just recovery from the outbreak, and actually create entire new industries and ways of conducting business and personal life.
STL Partners is doing ongoing research on how each of these scenarios might affect different parts of the telecoms industry, and on the new challenges and opportunities arising for the telecoms industry as societies become more used to working from home, seeing the doctor virtually, and changing the way they get around.
See our research on the impact of COVID for telecoms: