B2B Mobile Services: The Future of Telecom with 5G and IoT working as growth levers

The telecom sector is going through an exciting phase. With the upcoming 5G auction (26th July), a lot is at stake for the industry. So far, the fortunes of the sector have been decided by the consumer business as it generates more than 80% of the overall revenues ( maybe even more). But that trend is changing with the b2b or the enterprise business picking up steam.

Think about it, when we speak or hear about 5g, how many times do we discuss consumer use cases? Compare that with the b2b sector. The opportunity clearly lies in this segment. And that might be the big difference as we go forward with established players having a much stronger footing amongst enterprises as compared to newer entrants.

From a service breakout perspective, mobile services are the most significant revenue contributor (upwards of 60%), but the growth levers in this segment are SMS services and M2M connectivity.

The future of enterprise mobile services will pivot around IoT, and we will tell you how. Most of the use cases that we come across 5g are around IoT. The growth of SMS also stems from a significant push of M2M connectivity or A2P (application to person) messaging.

The timing is right for the telecom sector as we step into the future. Advancements in AI, 5G and IoT, in conjunction with their brand and high customer trust, can help telecom companies emerge as Large System Integrators (LSI). They are equipped to provide consulting, advisory, and systems integration (SI) services. Telcos will have a significant coordination role in the value chain. Pivoting the legacy business will require capitalizing on dedicated core networks, developing the right set of ecosystem partners, and fostering IoT agility to build customer trust.