In this mega-trends to 2030 report, we at twimbit uncover forces that have been shaping the telecoms industry for two decades.

What impacted telecoms over the last decade?

Disruptions.

Disruptions at all the layers of digital infrastructure: communications infrastructure, connectivity, services and applications, and terminal devices. As a result, value creation shifted away from connectivity to services and applications via the network.

Platform-based business models and open innovation resulted in a new line of disruptors. They leveraged cloud platforms to build web-scale apps, where telcos were still battling proprietary systems, which came with multiple restrictions.

Operators identify these new tech giants as their potential competitors and collaborators of today and tomorrow. Hence, there is an imminent need for telecom operators to transform and innovate at the same speed as their co-opetitors. This represents crucial learning that has emerged from the last decade of disruptions.

How are telcos preparing for this decade of disruptions?

Operator business decisions for this decade is guided clearly by the following chart summarising the shifts in the internet value chain. This new report on Innovation opportunities from two decades of disruptions in telecoms is our effort to present the critical transformations telcos must go through at each layer over the coming years.

5 highlights from the next ten years of telco disruptions

• Hyperconnectivity merges with hyperscale computing to manage overloads in network traffic
• Delivery of outcomes will drive value in connectivity services
• Implementing automation and virtualisation on a widespread scale across all telco assets and systems
• Driving success from new products that have much lower profit margins
• Pitching growth stories with a refined understanding of new assets and the value they produce

4 priorities of successful telcos in 2030

Focus on outcome: from the selling of network to orchestrating outcomes – cloud, security, payments, etc

Digital measures of success: Acquire, transact, engage, and measure the digital footprint

Integrated network and IT: With a single team, innovate and reduce the cost to serve by 30 to 50%

Organization structure, talent, stakeholder: build tech expertise, reorganise teams around customer journeys, flat organisation structures

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