AI, satellite, network sustainability, OpenRAN - these key themes undeniably characterised the telecom industry in 2023 and this will continue through next year, that isn’t all that 2024 has in store for telco.
With unique insight into both the telecoms and enterprise space, we have gazed into our crystal ball and presented to you four predictions for next year (besides the obvious!).
#1: Seamless roaming between private and public networks
Despite a lack of 5G and IoT devices, as well as spectrum licence acquisition challenges, 2024 will see further expansion of mobile private networks across sectors, driven by increasing government support globally. The manufacturing sector is poised to dominate private 5G network deployment, but other industries will soon catch up, including healthcare, logistics, energy, utilities, transportation, and smart cities - with 140 active projects in Europe alone.
Geographically, countries like the U.S., China, Japan, Germany, and the U.K. will continue to lead the way, but across the board, private networks saw consistent growth in 2023, with reports indicating their presence in over 1,000 organisations across 70+ countries.
Regardless of how the chips fall geographically or industry-wise, the benefits of private networks will be enhanced significantly if we overcome the challenges of public/private roaming access. The industry is already making the right steps in facilitating seamless in/out roaming between private and public networks without the need for complex operator agreements - but we need to see more of this in 2024.
#2: SMS becomes the new playground for fraudsters
Robotexts are on track to overtake robocalls in 2024 as one of the biggest threats facing telcos. At the same time, Artificially Inflated Traffic (AIT) is targeting enterprises and end-users. These fraud schemes have become more invasive and more complex than robocalls - making them particularly hard to detect and block. As is the case for robocalls, regulatory frameworks are simply not keeping pace with the evolution of robotexts and AIT.
Next year, the industry needs to collaborate on a strategy to thwart SMS fraud and AIT. For example, obligating control over domain name allocation, to prevent scammers from duplicitously adopting domain names. AI/ML is an important piece of the puzzle, but it is crucial that operators invest resources in training these models with the correct, and most current, data, to effectively spot network anomalies. Collaboration is also key: operators globally must share intelligence so that they learn from each other’s experiences. That said, preventative efforts will be obsolete until we have a regulatory framework that allows ML/analytics to access SMS content for fraud protection.
It is in the interest of the whole ecosystem that operators respond to this challenge and ensure that telco services remain secure and reliable. It’s urgent that trust is brought back into the telecom industry, or operators will risk losing customers.
#3: eSIM for IoT adoption
2023 was a transformative step forward in the adoption of eSIM for IoT, in part thanks to the GSMA’s introduction of a new standard laying the groundwork for more flexible eSIM architectures that more closely emulate the eSIM model for consumer devices like smartphones. As a consequence, mobile operators in 2024 will have less control over the relationship between the device and the SIM, but the upside is that eSIM for IoT will finally become an open ecosystem that delivers value for global IoT deployments.
The next challenge in 2024 will be spurring momentum and commitments to more industry standards on interoperability that level the playing field for everyone. True flexibility for IoT devices will come from device makers, eSIM vendors, and mobile operators deploying standards that ensure that any deployed devices are interoperable: mobile operators will have to adapt their eSIM infrastructure to support them accordingly, taking advantage of things like eSIM IoT Remote Managers (eIM), device makers will need to commit to simple deployment of the new standards and agree with eSIM vendors to have the IPA (IoT Profile Assistant) inside the eSIM, and finally, we will see the development of eSIM Hubs helping source local eSIM profiles for enterprises.
#4: Connectivity twins become crucial
Everyone’s pretty familiar at this point with digital twins and their applications for IoT, but if Omdia’s projections of sustained growth for IoT and eSIMs hold true, then much more attention will turn in 2024 towards ‘connectivity twins’. They’re the missing piece for enterprises to virtually clone IoT devices, including their connectivity components, for a single real-time view of their end-to-end IoT solutions, along with all device and application components.
Digital twins turn device-centric information into a business visualisation allowing more efficient decisions. As the volume of IoT devices continues to ramp up, these connectivity twins will be essential for enterprises to troubleshoot problems faster, better predict downtime and maintenance, facilitate end-to-end security, and improve overall service quality. Without these, businesses deploying IoT will effectively be blind, lacking real control over their systems and devices.
And there you have it! As enterprises adopt eSIM and connectivity twin technology on a wider scale to enable greater IoT flexibility and management, we hope the telecoms industry supports enterprise connectivity by facilitating easier private-public roaming and establishing ways to combat the growing threat of robotexts.
