Lightstorm’s SmartNet and Polarin – NaaS case study
Welcome to this series analysing innovative B2B offerings by leading telcos worldwide. In this second edition, we turn our focus to a successful NaaS player in India.
Research
Defining the future telco — and what it means for operators and their partners
Telefónica – Autonomous networks case study
Welcome to this series analysing network autonomy efforts by leading telcos worldwide. In this second edition, we put the spotlight on a leading multinational operator in the journey toward autonomous networks.
MWC Doha 2025 had AI at its heart
Regional AI ambition was at the heart of the Middle East’s inaugural MWC event, backed up by a new LLM and many large investments. But the region is still early in its journey, and must focus on laying fundamental groundwork if it is to see the successful adoption of AI.
What is the role of edge computing in an AI world?
STL Partners takes stock of the development of the edge computing ecosystem over the past five years, how AI has now reshaped the landscape and proposes its view on the future outlook of the market: including the likely winners and losers.
Perspectives 2026: 26 industry predictions for the year ahead
STL Partners’ 26 predictions for 2026, focusing on change and growth in the telco industry
AI and agents in next-generation assurance
This research examines current and future requirements for AI and ML in service assurance as telcos move towards self-healing networks supported by agentic AI.
Small and medium-sized business cybersecurity: Telco landscape in North America
This report explores how North American telcos are seeking to capture the cybersecurity opportunity in the small and medium-sized business segment.
Lessons from China’s low-altitude economy
China has seen rapid growth in its low-altitude economy. Its experience offers important lessons and fresh insights on how telcos can better position themselves to enable and accelerate the future of this emerging sector.
Where does consumer innovation thrive?
Telcos continue to innovate in consumer services beyond connectivity. Recent trends point to a strong focus on AI-based services where telcos can add significant new value and address a real-life need in a new way.
Private 5G vs Wi-Fi: Cost, capabilities and coexistence
Does 5G need to “defeat” Wi-Fi to break through private networks scaling barriers, or can these technologies exist side by side and complement each other?
Travel eSIMs and telcos – Friends and foes
Growing demand for travel eSIMs is opening up new opportunities and intensifying competition. Telcos must choose how to participate in the expanding market: launch travel eSIM propositions or rethink roaming to provide a more personalised customer experience, convenience and value to travellers
Can mobile base stations be transformed into edge AI data centres?
A surge in AI adoption is reviving interest in leveraging mobile base stations as an alternative avenue for deploying AI workloads. This report outlines the commercial rationale, key customer segments and potential investment strategies for telcos exploring this opportunity.
Can telecom techco ambitions survive a downturn?
Several telcos are refocusing on their core business amid economic challenges. Does this spell an end to their techco dreams?
Futureproofing datacentre interconnect: The backbone of an AI strategy
The AI revolution is transforming networks, demanding greater capacity and agility in datacentre interconnectivity (DCI) to support diverse workloads. This report explores the challenges AI presents and offers recommendations for providers to adapt through flexible connectivity and NaaS models.
Lessons from releasing enterprise spectrum
Can the right spectrum policy framework create momentum and help scale the private network market?
STL Partners’ annual edge computing industry survey
2025 has seen renewed industry enthusiasm towards edge computing. Our latest industry survey examines these evolving perspectives, capturing insights from stakeholders across the ecosystem on a range of pressing topics.
From reactive networks to AI-driven automation: A new path to network autonomy
This report explores how a more adaptive, cross-domain AI approach, leveraging the latest AI techniques such as time series foundation models, can move operators forward in their network autonomy journey and unlock significant financial value.
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