Telenor research has released key trends for this year, emphasizing on consumers digitalization in many parts of their daily lives, from buying bus tickets with the mobile phone to monitoring heart rate or getting GPS directions – and the smartphone is at the centre of it all. The current digitization will transform all aspects of the telco industry and the way consumers increasingly use and rely on mobile technology, said Telenor Research. Telenor Research has identified six important trending areas for 2016.
i. Customers will co-create services : Customers are increasingly digital savvy, demanding and empowered. This puts demands on companies to deliver superior digital customer experiences, and be more aligned with the customer’s changing behaviour than ever before.
ii. Data for social good : Telecom big data will be used more in 2016 to tangibly help society – for the purpose of social good.
iii. Softwarization : Networks as software rather than hardware will take off as technologies such as Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Software Defined Networking (SDN) will enable new ways of designing and operating networks.
iv. Deep learning : As they get more deeply integrated into digital services and devices, machines will understand more digital content. We will experience this through new services, better digital assistants, search results and suggestions, and more relevant ads.
v. More IoT services with LPWA : Future Internet of Things (IoT) devices need low cost and low power consuming networks. Low Power Wide Area networks enable a future smart society with many new and exciting IoT services and platforms.
vi. Levelling out the playing field : In 2016 governments and regulatory authorities will have to deal with an intensifying debate on how to adjust the traditional legal frameworks to the new competitive digital environment and a growing sharing economy.
Bjørn Taale Sandberg, Head of Telenor Research
2016 will be an exciting year for telecoms as we face evolving customer expectations, competition, regulation and accelerating technological change. .
