Trends to dominate Telecom Sector in 2019
For many years Artificial Intelligence (AI) was
just a futuristic concept - but with recent progress in Machine Learning
capabilities; the AI sector has been firmly pushed into the spotlight. In 2019
we will see this interest in Artificial Intelligence grow even further. As AI
developments become more and more mainstream, driven by an intense interest in
Smart Technologies - further applications and solutions will emerge.
AI is quickly becoming viewed by the telecoms
industry as a way to gain a competitive advantage. Already we are seeing those
involved in the broader telecoms industry using the term “AI” to promote
various applications and services. The term is beginning to be loosely applied
for promotion purposes and is currently an industry “buzz” word. None the less;
it is encouraging to see so much attention being paid to the AI area as it
offers exciting potential for society and the economy in general.
For the operators – many opportunities may lie in
the applications, services and underlying infrastructure that solutions based
on AI will require.
The emerging 5G technology has attracted intense
interest from the ICT industry and wider community due to its potential to
increase opportunities for developments related to IoT including M2M
communications, virtual reality, Artificial Intelligence and mission critical
communication. It is also expected to enhance overall capacity, speed and
latency of the mobile networks.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
has research underway towards a global 5G standard. While it is expected that
the full standardization process won’t be completed until around early 2020 –
we are beginning to see a clearer picture of what 5G entails and many countries
are beginning to consider spectrum requirements and conduct trials and testing.
Developments relating to the “Internet of Things”
(IoT) and M2M are going to continue to gather pace in 2019. There are a number
of technologies underpinning current IoT developments such as Wide Area
Networks (WAN) and Low Power Wide Area (LPWA). One of the fastest growing M2M
sectors is that relating to its use in the smartphones and the tablets market.
Globally there is a rising need for data management
and cloud services fuelled by the increasing volume of data usage. As a result
we are witnessing a growing number of data centres being built and there is
further growth ahead in 2019. Developments relating to Smart Cities; IoT; M2M
and Blockchain combined with the rising use of mobile data are all contributing
to an enormous growth of data traffic – and there will be opportunities for the
telecoms operators in the area of data management.
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