https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Architecture
  • Engineering/Development
  • Security
ioti.com

Architecture


Thinkstock

Vintage phone on a wooden table

Digital service providers: 4 key IoT-related areas to focus on

Digital service providers – companies morphing from communications service providers – must adapt to capture IoT and edge computing revenue. Telecom expert Rajiv Weragama lays out four key areas for them to concentrate on.
  • Written by Rajiv Weragama
  • 12th September 2017

For over a century since Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, the pair of copper wires that connected households to the central exchange of traditional phone service providers was primarily used to provide nothing more than voice services.

That began to change as the industrial age gave way to the information age. Even though telcos had a “pipe” to reach their customers, in the mode of copper wires, they hardly made full use of the bandwidth until they started to provide internet services. Similarly, the mobile network operators (MNOs) started their businesses by providing basic voice services, and over time, they have adopted different technologies with higher spectral efficiency, which enhanced the internet data rates tremendously.  

Today, with the availability of ultra-high-speed broadband technologies, most of the world is seamlessly connected by voice and data services and the internet is likely to become a utility service such as electricity, water or gas. Its importance has further enhanced with the introduction of smartphones, the popularity of social media and the intensified digital revolution.

With such a huge transformation taking place, can communication service providers (CSPs) survive and at least retain their market share by providing no more than connectivity to subscribers? The obvious answer is “no.” So how should they transform their businesses to cope with this change in the marketplace, and when should they make this move? They must adopt a newer business model to suit market demand while mutating the business to become a digital service provider (DSP), and the sooner they make this change, the easier it will be to stay ahead of competitors.

A few years ago, the co-founder of Matrixx Software Inc., Jennifer Kyriakakis, defined the term digital service provider as “any company that distributes media online, and in the case of telcos, it’s an organization that has moved on from offering core traditional telecom services to providing mobile broadband access, services, content and apps, all sold directly from the device.”

[Industrial IoT World highlights the intersection of IoT and industry, showcasing how IoT transforms business across manufacturing, supply chain and operations. Get your tickets and free passes now.]

This definition elaborates everything that telcos must have in their armory to successfully withstand market changes and to grow sustainably thereafter. If you are a fixed-line operator, you need to have a mobile wing or at least adopt mobile technologies, preferably 4G and above, to extend the wireless reach from a few meters to several kilometers. Further, the extensive and effective use of digital channels will not only create new revenue streams but also reduce operational cost considerably.

Now let’s talk about the role of emerging concepts such as Internet of Things  (IoT) and mobile edge computing (MEC) in leveraging this transformation. IoT has the potential to impact the economy substantially, and Cisco predicts there will be 50 billion devices connected to the internet by 2020. The significance of the IoT is further enhanced by its ability to support, boost and coexist with the “smart” ideas, from smart homes to smart cities, which will change consumers’ lifestyles in the 21st century. MEC, meanwhile, is a striking illustration of network performance optimization and improving the quality of experience by distributing the services, functions and contents throughout the network, more toward the edge than at a central location. Furthermore, it is an enhancer for IoT and it creates novel avenues for operators to reach new customer segments, including locals as well as tourists, based on their interest in location-based customized services.

With IoT and MEC, any digital service provider that wants to maximize revenues while achieving a significant growth in its market share must have a well-directed strategy focusing four main areas: innovation, adaptation, customization and monetization.

Innovation will keep DSPs ahead of competitors and help create a “blue ocean” scenario, where they can make moves without hassle. The billions of connected devices  that will be designed and manufactured by different makers will seek connectivity using multiple protocols, and it is a challenging task to connect them, but DSPs must adapt to the situation or risk losing customers. They also have to provide solutions customized by industry, location and other requirements. With proper analytics and market research, DSPs should be able to monetize their solutions effectively.

The fate of these companies – the traditional telcos transitioning to DSPs – lies in their own hands, in the actions they take, the way they foresee the future, how they face novel challenges and the degree of success in the transformation. How soon they achieve it will determine the future composition of the market, the change in lifestyle for the people who live there and financial position of the companies themselves.

Tags: Article Architecture Technologies

Related


  • Jetting to the Stars Using Containers for Development
    The Department of Defense develops for space travel, bombers and jets. It turned to containers for development to build and battle-test its mission-critical systems.
  • AT CES 2021, Verizon Touts 5G Connectivity as Enabler in Pandemic Times
    Verizon touts 5G as a present-day reality for improved network speed and performance, but most enterprises are still waiting for 5G benefits.
  • Private LTE Market Projected to Grow to $13 Billion
    The private LTE market may reach $13 billion by 2026, according to Global Market Insights, driven the need for greater network performance and productivity.
  • Network Machine Learning Offers Refuge for Taxed Managers
    Network management has gotten overwhelmingly complex. Tools such as network machine learning and automation can help.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Content

  • MindSphere Predictive Maintenance
  • Will 5G Buildout Slow or Accelerate in the COVID-19 Era?
  • Edge Computing Benefits for AI Crystallizing
  • It’s Time to Rethink Distributed Ledger Technologies for IoT

News

View all

Private LTE Market Projected to Grow to $13 Billion

12th January 2021

IoT World Announces 2021 IoT World Advisory Board

9th December 2020

White Papers

View all

Zero Trust Manufacturing: Navigating Complex Supply Chains to Build Trusted IoT Devices

27th January 2021

IoTConnect and How to Get Started

27th January 2021

Special Reports

View all

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

Webinars

View all

Weber’s Journey: How a Top Grill Maker Serves Up Connected Cooking

25th February 2021

From Insights to Action: Best Practices for Implementing Connected Device Security

15th December 2020

Galleries

View all

Top IoT Trends to Watch in 2020

26th January 2020

Five of the Most Promising Digital Health Technologies

14th January 2020

Industry Perspectives

View all

IoT Spending Holds Firm — Tempered by Dose of ‘IoT Pragmatism’

1st December 2020

The Great IoT Connectivity Lockdown

11th May 2020

Events

View all

IoT at the Edge

17th March 2021

Embedded IoT World 2021

28th April 2021 - 29th April 2021

IoT World 2021

2nd November 2021 - 4th November 2021

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

#IoTpentesting is critical as #IoTdevices proliferate and #edgecomputing becomes the norm. dlvr.it/RrWr0Y https://t.co/LsMH1VJJFk

28th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Zero Trust Manufacturing: Navigating Complex Supply Chains to Build Trusted IoT Devices dlvr.it/RrTDP4 https://t.co/fuH0GrHJrX

27th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

PKI: The Solution for Designing Secure IoT Devices dlvr.it/RrTDNF https://t.co/KBWcsksAQi

27th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

Five Guiding Tenets for IoT Security dlvr.it/RrTDGS https://t.co/Ss17Vn4sFw

27th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

📢 Announcing #EIOTWORLD Silver Sponsor @ONETech_AI! 💡 Learn more about sponsoring Embedded IoT World here:… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

27th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

IoTConnect and How to Get Started dlvr.it/RrT1gl https://t.co/6Vci1hvOV2

27th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

RT @IoTWorldToday: #IoTsecuritytrends in 2021 will feature new threats given #remotework, #digitalhealth and #edgecomputing. https://t.co/S…

27th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

#IoTsecuritytrends in 2021 will feature new threats given #remotework, #digitalhealth and #edgecomputing.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

25th January 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X