Telco edge computing: Turning vision into practice
Telcos are well-placed to take advantage of the edge computing opportunity. In this report, we dive into the questions and challenges they face and how they can overcome these to succeed.
Telcos are well-placed to take advantage of the edge computing opportunity. In this report, we dive into the questions and challenges they face and how they can overcome these to succeed.
Passive network sharing is a well-established practice, but 5G may force telcos to consider more active network sharing to overcome financial,
technological and physical constraints. We explore 5G network sharing options and cost structures, drawing lessons from existing agreements.
The US operator is an enthusiastic proponent and strong early backer of 5G. Why, what does it know that is different from the norm and what should other telcos do about it?
Uber and Tesla are at the forefront of a new age of personal transportation in which wireless connectivity will play a major role. Both of these disruptors could be important partners for telcos, while offering lessons about consumer engagement, relationships with regulators and strategic thinking.
In this report, we outline the potential roles and business models for telcos in blockchain ecosystems for digital identity and IoT, building on examples of how companies are already using blockchain to create value.
Retail banks are threatened by a new breed of focused and fast digital firms – fintech – that offer cheaper and more tailored financial services. BBVA management saw this threat early and acted decisively to ensure it remained competitive. Telcos have much to learn from this.
NFV/SDN is one factor driving radical change in telco business models. This report explores the three archetypal telco NFV/SDN implementation strategies that we’ve found in the market, and the different telco business models each will result in.
Most telcos have now accepted that they need to offer more than connectivity if they want to move up the IoT value chain. This report presents a four-step framework to help telcos define a successful IoT strategy.
With Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC), telcos can move workloads and applications closer to customers, potentially enhancing experiences and enabling a plethora of new use cases. But with competition looming from other players, telcos need to start commercialising MEC. We have identified and modelled five viable telco business models.
Telcos can draw ten lessons around organisational structure, strategy and staying relevant with customers from AccorHotels’ rapid digital transformation. This is the second in our series of transformation case studies from outside the telecoms sector.
Veon (rebranded VimpelCom) has embarked upon a bold strategy, shedding its network to move from being a traditional telco business to an agile consumer IP communications platform. We analyse its new strategy, its risks, and what it will need to do to succeed.
Healthcare is an attractive vertical for telcos to address with digital solutions, given the sector’s low digital base and rising demand for healthcare services from ageing populations and changing lifestyles. Although many telcos have made attempts to capture this opportunity through telehealth or consumer wellness services, TELUS stands out as an example of the value of a long-term commitment to healthcare. In this case study, we examine TELUS’ strategy in health, evidence of its success, and draw out lessons for other telcos.
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.
This report explores how Net Neutrality legislation has evolved significantly, looking at the general shape and specifics in the EU, US, India, Brazil and other territories. In general telcos can differentiate some aspects of broadband access with pricing or “specialized services”, but Internet app-blocking or paid-priority are disallowed. While legal challenges are ongoing, the way ahead seems much clearer, and we explore how telcos should focus on and enable interesting non-Internet connectivity opportunities around 5G, NFV and IoT.
Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WANs) have catapulted to prominence in the enterprise networking world in the last 12 months, driven by the growth of demand for access to cloud applications, and businesses’ desire to control WAN costs and complexity. SD-WAN may be a new “intermediary” layer in the network which has the potential to disrupt telcos’ enterprise aspirations, particularly given that it is dominated by vendors and specialist providers rather than telcos. SD-WAN may reduce operators’ MPLS and WAN services revenues and could potentially restrict future NFV/SDN opportunities. But SD-WAN also offers opportunities, where it is embraced – tactically – as part of operators’ enterprise portfolios.
We analyse the aggressive strategy Telstra has chosen to develop its digital healthcare business – which relies heavily on acquisitions across the whole eHealth value chain – and discuss how this fits into a wider companywide digital strategy, what it will take for Telstra to succeed in this vertical, and what insights other telcos can take away about their own digital health strategies.
Becoming a Telco Cloud Service Provider (TCSP) is a new vision for the future of telecoms operators, which promises hugely improved agility, a fundamentally new business model, new services, and new growth. What is this vision, how would it work, and how can it overcome the barriers to change that have thwarted most previous efforts?