Page 86 - SAMENA Trends - March-April 2023

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

Artificial Intelligence For CSPs, this growth is going to drive At the early stages of IoT adoption, mobile
As with cloud, AI is a meta-trend that demand from end customers for IoT ca- operators filled the conventional role of
is shaping all forms of technology pabilities. Based on IoT 2020 report, 39% connectivity provider by adding LPWA
innovation. Analytics and Machine of enterprises plan to support 5G for their technologies (i.e., NB-IoT, LoRa). With
Learning in particular will be vital to IoT IoT projects before 2021. Supporting fast- the promise of 5G on the horizon, mobile
in several ways. One will be for efficiently er throughput, lower latency, and high operators saw new doors opening to take
processing massive volumes of data volumes of data, 5G makes IoT attractive an expanded role within the value chain.
in real time, and another would be the across a range of sectors that CSPs would This would entail a shift from solely
learning and continuous improvement that not otherwise have anything to offer. 5G focusing on connectivity to enabling
will make IoT applications more valuable can and will easily support industrial auto- new capabilities such as billing, device
for enterprise customers. These new mation with IoT—and with the right partner management, and providing end-to-end
value-added applications mean that, for ecosystem, CSPs will soon offer similar IoT solutions for diverse vertical markets.
the CSP player, AI could be a key vector of solutions in many industrial settings.
IoT monetization. Evolving into New Roles
iSIM/eSIM Getting beyond connectivity requires
Supporting faster throu- This brings the focus down from large to CSPs to take a more strategic approach
small, where device-level technology plays
for the new value chain that comes with
ghput, lower latency, and a distinct role in driving IoT adoption. IoT. Connectivity is foundational, and
high volumes of data, 5G These two innovations – Integrated supports existing business models, but

makes IoT attractive across and Embedded SIM - address the new revenues will only come by moving up
the IoT value chain. Above connectivity are
shortcomings of legacy SIM technology,
a wide range of sectors that at least related to IoT. First is form factor, two layers of new value that CSPs could
CSPs would not otherwise and being smaller, they can support a provide, and each would require a distinct
strategy.
broader range of IoT devices, and hence a
have anything to offer. 5G wider range of applications that CSPs can
can and will easily support monetize. Secondly, they are less costly, Horizontal strategy. CSPs would build on
industrial automation with making it easier to justify large-scale IoT top of their connectivity and offer a suite
of services, such as handset management,
deployments. For CSPs, however, this adds
IoT—and with the right some risk, as this reduces the barriers to end-to-end application management, data
partner ecosystem. churn than with legacy SIMs – all the more monitoring, analysis and visualization, and
reason to differentiate with IoT.
convergent billing. Since all IoT customers
require these capabilities, this horizontal
layer can scale cost-effectively, and
help CSPs transition from connectivity
providers to service enablers.
Vertical strategy. This takes CSPs to
the top of the value chain by offering
tailored solutions to support these
verticals, such as consultancy services
and integration expertise. This is where
partner ecosystems drive the new value
since CSPs lack vertical market expertise.
The requirements at this level are more
complex, but the returns will be more
5G Expanding the Mobile Operator’s lucrative as the CSP takes on yet another
While 5G is not a necessary condition Role Beyond Connectivity role, that of the service creator.
for IoT, the adoption of IoT will drive Shifting from the technologies to the CSPs,
investment decisions in 5G. While costly the IoT opportunity can only be realized CSP Value Chain Opportunity with IoT
to build, these networks will drive the next by taking on an expanded role with end In terms of a broader strategy, CSPs can
generation for IoT applications, especially customers. We have already established enter the IoT space backstage, so to speak,
as both businesses and end users become that IoT presents new opportunities for and based on each opportunity, decide how
more mobile-centric. As the forecast mobile carriers, but the space is rapidly much of the value chain they want to own.
below from Markets and Markets shows, evolving, and so too must their role. This largely depends on how far their IoT
the 5G IoT market will grow nine-fold from
2020 to 2025, reaching $6.3B US, and to
capitalize on that, CSPs will need an IoT
strategy.

86 MARCH-APRIL 2023