INFOGRAPHIC
Top challenges faced by African , global telecom service providers
There is no other industry today characterised by hyper-competition and massive disruption as much as telecommunications . At the forefront of unprecedented technology advancements like the metaverse , 5G , fibre optic , the Internet of Things , and more , telecoms sit poised to help drive new revenue streams not only for their own organisations , but also for many other industries .
While companies across industries face common challenges when it comes to field service management , such as legacy technology systems , the global skills shortage , economic uncertainty and increasing customer demands , telco leaders ranked these pressures among the top three that will have the biggest impact on their service organisations in 2023 :
• Increased regulatory requirements
• Outdated or insufficient service technologies
• Skilled labour shortage and high turnover
Oversight by government , industry and other regulators requires strict protocols and workflows across most business areas . Considerations include complying with public authorities that regulate the telecommunications industry , maintaining defined service levels with customers , the health and safety of workers , and environmental protection . These regulations force telcos to deploy customer engagement solutions , workflow automation , and data consolidation for realtime oversight and easier proof of compliance .
As a result , telecoms are in a rush to deliver a richer customer experience , capitalise on new innovations , and gain more market share , all while seamlessly balancing varying types of work projects and activities despite a lack of skilled workers .
While this was ranked number one in our survey , the recent trend towards shared , open RAN , Radio Access Networks , and open API initiatives will certainly cause major shifts in industry regulations . Open RAN aims to achieve interoperability and standardisation of radio access network elements across various software and hardware providers . This new shift towards collaboration among telecom operators is meant to help drive innovation , lower costs and build resilience against supply chain disruptions , all of which will help CSPs deliver more services to more B2B industries and to more of the world ’ s population . It will also help ensure that rural customers have access to the same services and network performance as urban customers .
Two of the lowest-ranking service management pressures faced by telcos were increased complexity of assets and service delivery . With the integration of cloud computing , artificial intelligence and machine learning in wireless cellular networks , complexity will rapidly increase , so these challenges could be heightened in the near future . Yet , the open RAN initiative that is being supported
22 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com