Research

Defining the future telco — and what it means for operators and their partners


5G: The spectrum game is changing – but how to play?

5G deployments will need new allocations of radio spectrum, particularly to achieve promised speeds, and target new IoT use-cases. However, the official process for releasing new frequencies is slow and cumbersome. Some countries may short-circuit the process. At the same time, the rationale for new sharing mechanisms, that allow industrial and vertical players to acquire spectrum for their own networks, outside of MNO control, is growing. What should telcos do?

Network Innovation — January 2017

NFV and OSS: Virtualization meets reality

Changing telcos’ systems from a legacy to a virtualised model is a bit like building an autonomous car from a moving steam locomotive. In this report, we look at the relationship between NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) and OSS (Operations Support Systems), and the difficulties that operators and the developer community are facing in migrating from legacy OSS to NFV-based methods for delivering and managing communications services.

Executive Briefing Service, Network Innovation — January 2017

NTT DoCoMo: The Digital Pathfinder

Developing new digital services is a key growth strategy to make up for Voice revenue decline, but many telcos are struggling to implement it effectively. NTT DoCoMo has made more progress in digital services than any other operator, but is often dismissed as an example because Japan is considered “too different” to be useful for other operators. We disagree with this assumption and highlight key lessons that operators can learn from NTT DoCoMo’s digital journey.

Executive Briefing Service — January 2017

Amazon: Telcos’ Chameleon-King Ally?

Amazon, Facebook and Google are engaged in a global contest to become the pre-eminent broker of digital commerce between merchants and consumers. Google controls the leading digital platform – the Android smartphone. And Facebook dominates mobile messaging. But new digital platforms are emerging – the growing popularity of smart speakers, which rely on cloud-based artificial intelligence, could help Amazon, the original online chameleon, to bolster its fast-evolving ecosystem at the expense of Google and Facebook. As the digital food chain evolves, opportunities will open up for telcos, but only if the smart home market remains heterogeneous and very competitive.

Consumer — November 2016

Trump’s Impact: Global TMT Scenarios

US President-elect Donald Trump made many statements during the campaign, but now that he has won the election what will his administration do? In this report we look at five key areas for the TMT sector and analyse how we think Trump’s presidency is most likely to impact them.

Executive Briefing Service — November 2016

Telco Transformation: The 20 Metrics That Matter

Metrics are an integral component of telcos’ digital and overall transformation. But what metrics are telcos using, and what metrics should they use, to measure the progress and success of their transformation initiatives? STL Partners has looked at metrics in use by three of the most advanced telcos in the world, including AT&T and Telstra, and identified the 20 that matter most.

Executive Briefing Service, Network Innovation — November 2016

eSIM: How Much Should Operators Worry?

The evolution of eSIMs, supporting remote provisioning of mobile operators’ profiles, could allow new IoT devices and business-models to thrive. However, the promise is countered by fears that eSIM could enable Internet companies and device manufacturers to become connectivity gatekeepers. We analyse the threats, opportunities and practicalities, and give our view of the likely outcomes.

Executive Briefing Service, Network Innovation — November 2016

The IoT ecosystem and four leading operators’ strategies

This report provides detailed analysis of the IoT ecosystem, the technologies enabling it, and how telcos can establish themselves within it, by presenting case-studies of strategies from AT&T, Vodafone, SK Telecom, and Deutsche Telekom. The report also discusses the connectivity needs of several different IoT use-cases.

Executive Briefing Service — October 2016

MobiNEX: The Mobile Network Experience Index, H1 2016

The quality of experience delivered by operators’ mobile data networks is a key indicator of their current performance, and a foundation of their future prospects in digital. Our MobiNEX ranking, updated this week for H1 2016, shows how 80 operators in 25 countries compare. How does your telco stack up?

Executive Briefing Service — October 2016

Understanding Fintech: Why Interest and Investment Has Exploded

Investment in fintech has increased by 500% in the last 3 years. Interest and investment has spiked as fintech companies seek to leverage new sources of data to develop disruptive offerings across a broad range of financial service areas (e.g. payments, lending & funding). The scale and scope of investment and activity represents a potential paradigm shift within financial services. Telcos, who have a long history developing financial services (e.g. mobile money), need to understand this changing landscape. This report explores why fintech is happening now and maps where and how it is disrupting established financial services.

Executive Briefing Service, Consumer — October 2016

Regulation: A Good Case for Change (at last)

For the past 30 years, telecoms regulation has largely been designed to keep the market power of incumbent telcos in check. Now, the growing maturity of the market, the massive power of global digital players, and the pressing need for more investment are combining to prompt a regulatory rethink. How should telcos and regulators change their approaches to accelerate the cycle of growth and innovation?

Executive Briefing Service, Consumer — September 2016

Digital Health: How Can Telcos Compete with Google, Apple and Microsoft?

Digital solutions supporting consumer health and wellness are proliferating, driven by the take-up of wearables and a growing supply of data from consumers, advertisers, insurers and healthcare providers. In this report we explore the ecosystem, and discuss the key players and opportunities, the likeliest areas for disruption, and the potential opportunities for telcos, as well as presenting case studies of the digital health strategies of Google, Apple and Microsoft.

Consumer — September 2016

Want access to our research?

Our research focuses on how telcos and their partners can embrace industry disruption.

Learn more