“Digital transformation” has become a common term in enterprises across all sectors in the post-COVID era. As pointed out by Nick Read, CEO, Vodafone Group, “digital is becoming make or break.” The digital transformation “needs a strong and sustainable telco industry,” according to José María Álvarez-Pallete, the Chairman of Telefónica and the GSMA. It represents a great opportunity for telecom operators to extend their business scope and explore new business opportunities.
Telecom operators need to build the necessary capabilities to support digital transformation toward 2030. Firstly, operators should focus on the basics, i.e., building and maintaining a high-quality network in terms of coverage, capacity, and cost efficiency. Based on the extended network connectivity, telecom operators can leverage digital technologies to break through the traditional service boundary to explore new business opportunities, particularly in the industrial digitalization market.
Telecom operators also need to fully leverage various resources and advanced automation technologies to extend service capabilities and enhance the value propositions. Collaborations between the public and private sectors and between the telecom industry and hyperscalers will be crucial for successful digital transformation.
As carbon reduction has become one of the key goals of economic and social development toward 2030, Telecom operators can play an active role in the net-zero journey by improving energy efficiency, using renewable energy, and helping customers to reduce carbon emissions. In particular, they can leverage advanced ICT technologies to enable the reduction of global carbon emissions.
Telecom operators need to take a new philosophy to build their differentiated competitiveness. The strategic priority could be transformed from overcoming weaknesses to leveraging strengths. Network capability is the most significant strength of telecom operators. Operators can win a better position in the ICT ecosystem by exploiting the network capability and eventually make up for the weaknesses – such as content applications – through collaboration with OTT partners. Telecom operators and their partners should strengthen their collaboration to embrace the adventure and pursue business success in the next decade.
This whitepaper is jointly published by Strategy Analytics and Huawei.