The world and telecoms industry is undergoing a transformation and thus creating a new normal in which connectivity has become the lifeblood of economies and societies. This is offering telcos an opportunity to double-down on smart connectivity and maximise value creation by fully harnessing technology and adopting new business models, emphasised Khalifa Al Shamsi, Chief Corporate Strategy & Governance Officer, Etisalat Group.
He delivered a keynote on ‘Driving the Connectivity Renaissance’ at the 12th Global Mobile Broadband (MBB) Forum hosted by Huawei with industry partners GSMA and SAMENA council. This year’s forum brought together industry stakeholders to discuss the importance to reconnect, rebuild and reimagine a fully connected and intelligent world.
Al Shamsi in his presentation highlighted how it is integral for telcos in the new normal to gain new competencies especially with an acceleration towards a cloud-based service model, services being separated from infrastructure, digital players taking precedence and ecosystems scaling up to offer co-creation opportunities. Digital is the new norm however at the same time connectivity and digital services are also two sides of the same coin.
He also shared insights on how digital lifestyle and Industry 4.0 accelerates the requirement for value-added connectivity while growth in core services creates further demand and stimulates technology evolution. This can be achieved by creating smart and programmable connectivity for segments by harnessing the full power of technology transformation in addition to innovating the business model.
He cited examples that require low latency and bandwidth such as IoT, autonomous cars, remote surgery and gaming.
“The new normal has also created an opportunity to reinvent connectivity with 5G playing a key role and with telcos already having assets and competencies that help them meet the requirements of sophisticated customer segments. All these can be achieved with the support of the wider ecosystem to co-create and gain mutual benefits. It is most critical for telcos to focus on important pillars, mainly strategy, technology and the operating model supported by the best talent pool in the industry,” reiterated Al Shamsi.