Category: OSS/BSS/CEM

At the heart of any attempt to generate revenues is the need to monetize new services. Our OSS/BSS/CEM coverage addresses this by looking at the billing and operation market dynamics, and the implications for the customer experience.

2021 Predictions: Four Things to Watch in Telco Ecosystems and Operations This Year

by Andy Hicks, posted in Het Nets, Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM
Andy Hicks, Principal Analyst

Summary Bullets:

  • Carriers will increasingly incorporate the public cloud into their infrastructures, requiring their partners to help them with hybrid and multicloud management as well as edge capabilities.
  • Greenfield transformation champions Rakuten, Dish, and Jio will have to show results in 2021.

2020 turned out to be a bye year in the predictions game. Having painstakingly teased out the incipient trends for the year, analysts watched as COVID-19 upturned everything, forcing telcos to reallocate their network CapEx and vendors to scramble to add cloud capacity, develop new analytics, and adjust their deployment services. While 2020 sped up operators’ moves toward cloudification, it also delayed non-essential projects as well as work on the standards that will help mobile carriers to monetize their extensive investments in 5G infrastructure. While the coronavirus will continue to affect telecoms transformation in 2021, it is now baked into telcos’ plans, allowing – we hope – more certainty about the events of the coming year. Continue reading “2021 Predictions: Four Things to Watch in Telco Ecosystems and Operations This Year” →

Telefonica Germany-AWS Affiliation Points to a Much Greater Role for Public Cloud in 5G Mobile Core

by Glen Hunt, posted in OSS/BSS/CEM, Vendor Transformation
Glen Hunt, Principal Analyst

Summary Bullets:

• Telefonica Germany / O2 plans to build its 5G core network in the AWS public cloud, along with a host of 5G network functions to support Industrial Internet applications, beginning in 2021.

• The announcement raises intriguing questions about the future role that AWS and other public cloud platforms may be carving out in telecommunications infrastructure, and who will ultimately succeed in helping operators manage – and profit from – 5G network deployments.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced on September 2 that Telefonica Germany / O2 would become the first German network operator to build a 5G core network in the public cloud, along with a host of 5G network functions to support Industrial Internet applications. Telefónica Germany / O2 will put its cloud-based, Ericsson-supplied 5G core network into commercial use in 2021. Continue reading “Telefonica Germany-AWS Affiliation Points to a Much Greater Role for Public Cloud in 5G Mobile Core” →

TM Forum’s ODA Vision Gains Ground, but Vendor Partner Choices Are Still Critical

by Andy Hicks, posted in OSS/BSS/CEM, Vendor Transformation
Principal Analyst, Global Telecom Technology and Software

Summary Bullets:

  • TM Forum’s ‘Open Digital Architecture’ (ODA) vision has received a major endorsement from several Tier 1 telcos and leading IT vendors.
  • While one of ODA’s goals is to enable best-of-breed procurement on a much more granular level, telcos will need to make a major vendor partnership decision to help them reach that goal.

This week, TM Forum announced that eleven new telcos and vendors had signed on to its ‘Open Digital Architecture,’ which incorporates cloud-native design principles as well as telco-specific processes and a focus on governance. In aggregate, these companies constitute a substantial industry endorsement: the telcos include BT, Chunghwa Telecom, DT, Telefonica, and Telenor; the vendors include major rivals Amdocs, Netcracker, Nokia, and Oracle. Continue reading “TM Forum’s ODA Vision Gains Ground, but Vendor Partner Choices Are Still Critical” →

Looking Into the Crystal Ball: GlobalData’s Most Intriguing Predictions in Telco Technology & Software in 2020

by , posted in Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV, Ultra Broadband, Vendor Transformation

Summary Bullets:

  • GlobalData recently published its comprehensive set of 2020 predictions across mobile and fixed access, transport and routing, and telco software and services.
  • The predictions here represent some of the most intriguing industry trends that vendors and operators will need to track closely in the coming year.

Standalone 5G Rollouts: Mobile operators will begin to deploy standalone 5G, which doesn’t rely on an LTE core. Because the first wave of 5G, non-standalone, heavily incentivizes operators to simply add 5G to their existing 4G infrastructure, some operators will use standalone 5G as an opportunity to trial new suppliers and architectures, including virtual core suppliers and Open RAN architectures. The timing of deployments will depend in part on how quickly operators can transition their voice services, since 5G won’t offer a circuit-switch fallback option, as 4G did.

Proving 5G Value: Mobile operators will continue to struggle with proving the value of 5G mobile broadband to consumers, as indicated by recent reports of unimpressed 5G customers thus far in South Korea. At Mobile World Congress 2020 (the year that has been hailed for most of the previous decade as 5G’s arrival date), vendors will once again, for at least the third year in a row, emphasize that 5G is ‘here’ and ‘real.’ At the same time, they will also concede that the enterprise use cases at the heart of the 5G value story are still at an early stage of development.

Shifting RAN Vendor Landscape: It’s too difficult to predict whether more countries will follow the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Japan in erecting barriers to Huawei and ZTE’s participation in their network infrastructure markets. But in any case, what has already transpired – combined with the cloud of uncertainty it casts over the future – will likely have several near-term effects in 2019. Continue reading “Looking Into the Crystal Ball: GlobalData’s Most Intriguing Predictions in Telco Technology & Software in 2020” →

Artificial Intelligence Playing Larger Role in Preventing Communications Fraud – but Slowly

by , posted in OSS/BSS/CEM
John Byrne – Service Director, Global Technology Telecom and Software

Summary Bullets:

  • A new survey by the Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA) shows communications fraud remains a significant cost to network operators despite steady improvement over the past ten years.
  • A small but growing number of operators have begun implementing machine learning and artificial intelligence as crucial components of their fraud management systems, but most operators have not.

A new survey by the Communications Fraud Control Association (CFCA) shows both good news and bad news in network operators’ efforts to control communications fraud.  Communications fraud happens whenever a person or group uses communications services with no intention of payment.  In order not to encourage even more fraud, operators like Vodafone and AT&T are understandably reticent when it comes to revealing how their own fraud prevention mechanisms and procedures stack up against competitors.  However, these operators are more forthcoming in anonymously responding to the annual survey by the CFCA, which represents operators, security and risk management vendors, and law enforcement authorities. Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence Playing Larger Role in Preventing Communications Fraud – but Slowly” →

Launch of Three New Streaming Services Represents Threat and Opportunity to Broadband Operators

by , posted in Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM
John Byrne – Service Director, Global Technology Telecom and Software

Summary Bullets:

  • Apple, Disney, and Google are all introducing new streaming services in November that are likely to create new levels of network performance challenges for broadband operators due to their use of 4K video and, in the case of Google Stadia, new uplink requirements.
  • Broadband operators should be able to monetize this new network usage in the form of upselling to higher-volume data plans. However, to do so, they will also need to invest in new network technologies to ensure they can stay ahead of demand.

Network operators are bracing for the introduction of a trio of high-profile, well-funded streaming services in November.  The new services are likely to introduce new challenges to network operators already struggling to keep up with growing demand for streaming video services.  This may provide a strong upsell opportunity for network operators, but it may also require a new wave of network investment for operators to stay ahead of the demand curve. Continue reading “Launch of Three New Streaming Services Represents Threat and Opportunity to Broadband Operators” →

DT’s Transport Network Transformation Works on the Harder and Softer Sides of MANO

by Andy Hicks, posted in Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV
Principal Analyst, Global Telecom Technology and Software

• Deutsche Telekom’s recently announced network and service automation project using Netcracker’s Domain Orchestrator demonstrates current best practices in management and orchestration.

• The project’s early success, however, also shows how many things need to go right to execute a true network transformation.

Deutsche Telekom is unifying and automating its German transport network with a state-of-the-art technical architecture. The new approach is already reaping benefits in efficiency and speed, but DT places as much importance on the vendor’s implementation approach as it does on the technology.

Since October 8, Deutsche Telekom and Netcracker have been touting the benefits of their transport digitization. The carrier is already live with IP trunk provisioning using Netcracker’s Domain Orchestrator approach, and says that it sees unprecedented speed in the area. Soon to come are unified network discovery, visualization, and trunk provisioning across the IP and optical domains. Using a real-time active inventory, the solution provides full-lifecycle management of services. The Netcracker orchestrator interfaces directly with the IP core, and all of the IP and optical layers are combined in a common visualization domain. It is also containerized, allowing for quick configuration of services and features.
Continue reading “DT’s Transport Network Transformation Works on the Harder and Softer Sides of MANO” →

Looking Into the Crystal Ball: GlobalData’s Most Intriguing Predictions in Telco Technology & Software in 2019

by , posted in Net Transformation, OSS/BSS/CEM, SDN/NFV, Ultra Broadband, Vendor Transformation
John Byrne – Service Director, Global Technology Telecom and Software

Summary Bullets:

  • GlobalData recently published its comprehensive set of 2019 predictions across mobile and fixed access, transport and routing, and telco software and services.
  • The predictions here represent some of the most intriguing industry trends that vendors and operators will need to track closely in the coming year.

Shifting RAN Vendor Landscape: It’s too difficult to predict whether more countries will follow the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and Japan in erecting barriers to Huawei and ZTE’s participation in their network infrastructure markets. But, in any case, what has already transpired – combined with the cloud of uncertainty it casts over the future – will likely have several near-term effects in 2019. Continue reading “Looking Into the Crystal Ball: GlobalData’s Most Intriguing Predictions in Telco Technology & Software in 2019” →

Nexign and Bubbletone Go Exclusive and Double Down on Telco Blockchain Prospects

by , posted in OSS/BSS/CEM
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Global Technology Telecom and Software

Summary Bullets:

  • Nexign and Bubbletone augmented their relationship, agreeing to exclusive terms across sales, business, and product development to ensure they sustain competitive differentiation in the early stages of the telco blockchain market.
  • As Nexign and Bubbletone double down on their alliance, they must produce operator endorsements to validate their differentiation and first-mover marketing claims.

In October 2018, Nexign and Bubbletone officially unveiled the decision to take their existing partnership to the next level by entering into exclusivity terms across their sales, business, and product development efforts. Forming an exclusive partnership is a rarity in the telecommunications supplier market, and it demonstrates Nexign and Bubbletone’s determination to press their early inroads in the emerging telco blockchain market. Equally important, the new terms remove concerns that the alliance could lose focus if either Nexign or Bubbletone started forming multiple blockchain and BSS partnerships (see: “Nexign and Bubbletone Ready to Turbocharge the BSS Market with Embedded Blockchain Applications,” August 13, 2018).  As a result, Nexign and Bubbletone are on a stronger footing to pursue their joint goal of earning operator trust and accelerating the adoption of blockchain innovations.  The partnership identifies innovations like capturing new revenue streams from roaming visitors and eliminating intermediaries as key reasons for operators to embrace blockchain technology. Continue reading “Nexign and Bubbletone Go Exclusive and Double Down on Telco Blockchain Prospects” →

The Telco Blockchain Bandwagon is Ready for Take Off

by , posted in OSS/BSS/CEM
Ron Westfall – Research Director, Global Technology Telecom and Software

• Blockchain is generating many headlines, mostly related to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and the prospect of a new paradigm for fully secure and trusted transactions.

• Telcos are now getting on board what is being billed as the next $1 billion opportunity but must figure out how to work with their suppliers in building new capabilities, ranging from the elimination of hated roaming fees to new connected device services like drone deliveries.

As telcos continue to struggle across the board with declines in both revenue and profitability, blockchain is emerging as a technology with the potential to radically transform the telecommunications industry as well as many other industries. A recent forecast by ResearchAndMarkets predicts revenue from the telecom blockchain will increase by an 80%+ compound annual growth rate over the next five years to nearly $1 billion, while consulting stalwart Accenture sees the potential for a $1 trillion global telco blockchain ecosystem. Even with the wide variance in market forecasts, there is a broad industry consensus that blockchain will grow significantly and play a powerful role in transforming the telco business model and overall industry. Continue reading “The Telco Blockchain Bandwagon is Ready for Take Off” →