Telecom Gets A Facelift: IoT App Development Becomes The Norm

The number of applications connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) is expected to be a few times greater than the population on Earth. In fact, this number will skyrocket in a short span of time; we could soon see ten or more connected devices for every person on this planet.

In this day and age, we use IoT for practically everything. Most of us have computers, tablets, game consoles, tablets, and so on, and these are obviously called "connected things."

But then who would have thought that managing heating, alarms, or lighting systems of our homes was possible with the click of a button on our smartphones — while we are miles away! IoT app development makes that happen and how.

No wonder many industries such as healthcare, supply chain management, and education are driving digital transformation and innovation through applications — minimizing unnecessary costs, reaching a more extensive customer base, and efficiently handling operations.

A ray of hope in telecommunications

As the use of IoT continues to evolve, telcos see the technology as a ray of hope. Based on excellent connectivity, these devices provide users with new interaction opportunities. In the same way, they also offer revenue-generation opportunities for operators.

Interestingly, telecom organizations have started rethinking their business strategies to prepare for the digital era ahead.

After all, IoT has the potential to help them reduce customer churn rates and use their existing infrastructure to offer advanced services, such as tailored consumer applications.

Data is valuable, and telecom companies have a unique opportunity in their hands to capitalize on their access to vast volumes of data as it flows through their infrastructure. Telecom providers can use IoT to improve their performance and widen their scale of operations.

IoT in telecom: market share and trends one should know about

Gartner predicts that 35% of large organizations will be either sellers or buyers of data by 2022. They will use formal online data marketplaces for the transactions, proving advantageous for telecom companies and adding more revenue streams for them to the mix.

Cellular IoT subscribers are estimated to reach 4.15 billion by 2024, registering a CAGR of 21.6% since 2019. Another report suggests 25 billion connected devices will be by 2025 and 24.1 billion active IoT devices by 2030.

It will create a network that telecom companies can leverage. IoT development services are estimated to generate revenue of US$1.8 trillion for telecom service providers by 2026!

Essential IoT devices and sensors empowering the telcos

The telecom sector utilizes devices such as mobile phones, tablets, and other digital screens for establishing connections through IoT app development. Pre-integrated sensors collect data that can be accessed in real-time through equipment monitoring systems.

Cameras and beacons are also valuable for gathering data and interacting with customers. IoT-enabled smart cameras also offer physical security to the telecom infrastructure. Any thefts or tampering on-site can be avoided by remote monitoring and role-based access.

Beacons and RFID badges can be used to raise alerts for unauthorized access or security breaches. Telecom companies will also need data stream processing tools such as Apache tools (Kafka, Spark) and Amazon tools (Amazon Kinesis, Kinesis Firehose, Kinesis Streams).

More importantly, deploying large-scale IoT solutions and rolling out new services can be done in a fraction of the time it usually takes with legacy tools with cloud-based deployment and container technologies. The future does not complement the traditional workflows anymore.

The new arrangement provides a significant edge to IoT-savvy communications service providers as they can grow beyond just maintaining their communications networks and emerge as big players in the IoT market that stand the test of time.

Five crucial IoT use cases in the telecom industry

Telecom companies have a unique opportunity to monetize their data with IoT. By joining forces with other communications service providers and partnering on projects that require a variety of skill sets from across industries, they can develop more fail-proof IoT development services based on their assets and deliver a better service.

The implementation may be used for intelligent networks or data analytics and platforms that provide billing/CRM info through cloud-based solutions. Integration of user data and existing network infrastructure provides telecom companies capabilities in fields such as energy management, home entertainment systems, and so on.

1. IoT connectivity services

Communications service providers can utilize IoT to provide connectivity services to their customers. Their clients handle data collection and storage, while the service provider ensures connectivity throughout the customer's network.

Smart homes, connected vehicles, and smart city solutions are some excellent examples helpful in better explaining the concept. Telecom companies have access to wide-area networks, and they can boost their potential with 5G services, making them key players in the IoT digital services market.

The immense volume of data collected by IoT devices will also help telecom companies in product improvement. They can use their network and data to identify weak spots and improve connectivity in different usage scenarios.

There are several huge names in the market that specialize in making telecom organizations 5G ready. Their technology allows them to manage all connected IoT devices and develop new ones conveniently and cost-efficiently at scale.

2. Data storage and management

In case clients own IoT devices, telecom organizations can offer the services for storing and processing data gathered by the endpoints. The client collects necessary information on a centralized platform, and the communications service provider performs the backend processes — the task they are undoubtedly good at!

This means that from storage to cleansing and classifying collected data is the responsibility of the telecom company. For example, Orange, a telecom company, offers a cloud-based IoT platform known as Live Objects.

The business offers end-to-end IoT device management, including integration, configuring, and updating of devices. The platform uses standard APIs to collect, sort, and visualize data collected through the devices on the network.

It reports system anomalies and maintains the quality of service by rectifying them. This is possible only because of the advancement in IoT development services.

3. Data analytics

Telecom companies can process large volumes of IoT-generated data to extract valuable insights for their clients. The data can be processed using specialized platforms to develop information pools. In addition, by using advanced AI and ML algorithms, telecoms can provide predictive analytics services.

The analytics will help understand customer usage patterns and forecast demand. It will help their customers make data-backed decisions and identify areas that need improvement.

An example would be Vodafone's telecom IoT platform, applicable across various industries such as retail, manufacturing, and healthcare. The platform generates insights through data analytics for multiple purposes that aid their business decision-making in the long run.

4. Asset monitoring

Telecom operators can play a vital role in successfully integrating IoT in many industries, including transportation and healthcare. They can offer remote asset monitoring services using their extensive networks as well as cloud-based computing power.

Another popular IoT telecom use case addresses the customer's need to track the location of physical assets like vehicles or patients via a mobile app. Telecom companies can take up the responsibility to collect signals from embedded sensors and transmit them over long distances. 

The data can be delivered to industry-specific IoT app development services for storage and processing, thus ensuring that communication happens seamlessly, without disruptions.

5. PaaS and SaaS solutions

The IoT technology offers an excellent way for telecom companies to extend their services from standard connectivity into more specialized end-user applications. And this happens because of the deployment of two different types of technological concepts.

One is Platform as a service (PaaS) which provides telecom companies an opportunity to bring in revenue with cloud-based IoT platforms that can be tailored to meet the needs of their clients. These platforms are equipped with tools for infrastructure management.

It saves time and resources for tasks, such as sensor data collection or managing asset tracking solutions. Vodafone's telecom IoT platform is one such platform. It even allows users to create affordable applications through enhanced IoT development services.

On the other hand, telecom operators can offer Software as a Service (SaaS) applications tailored to various industries. For instance, one can develop mobile healthcare apps with the potential of monitoring blood sugar levels and ensuring remote patient access.

Similarly, fleet tracking applications for providing better control over their transport along with a better insight into drivers' performance data is now a possibility because of leveraging both IoT and SaaS together for the sake of convenience.

The value IoT provides for telecom organizations

IoT has the potential to extend the portfolio of services the telecom companies offer to their consumers. Practical usage of the technology can generate the following values for communications service providers:

1. Low latency

The ability to maintain operations around the clock has become necessary as the world becomes increasingly digitized. The IoT technology helps minimize downtime and proves to be valid for customers with business services dependent on real-time processes. 

2. Higher speed and expanded bandwidth

IoT protocols are being developed to meet the demands of 5G networks for fast connection to multiple users. Integrations ensure data transmission from thousands, or even millions of devices can be sent at a fast and reliable rate. This is only going to improve in years to come.

3. Increased efficiency

As a disruptive technology, IoT has the potential to improve the speed and performance of everyday tasks. By implementing IoT technology in telecom companies, their efficiency can be increased significantly as they become capable of handling millions of connected devices. 

For instance, IoT-enabled energy management and supply chain optimization can save telecom businesses vast amounts of money and enhance operational efficiency. The process of managing a vast number of connected devices would simplify!

4. Increased revenues

Telecom organizations will be able to offer innovative solutions by utilizing IoT to improve revenues. From a customer's perspective, it can help them increase loyalty and improve both short as well as long-term business relationships.

Advanced IoT app development processes can also help attract the 'digitally savvy' audience as new customers looking for services beyond the usual, and want more for whatever they are paying to the telcos.

5. New job opportunities

Developing new solutions for deploying IoT technology and monitoring these systems implies additional job opportunities in the telecom sector. Data management and AI experts will be needed to automate data processing and insight generation. This will result in a much-needed boom for data scientists and analysts in the telecom niche.

6. Improved equipment safety

Expensive communication equipment is exposed to bad weather, fire, rain, and even earthquakes. IoT software development processes help telecom service providers with remote monitoring and preventive maintenance.

Timely alerts can allow them to mitigate risks and control damage to their equipment. This is only going to bring down maintenance costs in the long run for the telcos.

An honest look into the future of IoT in the telecom

Telecom operators, developers, and end-users can take advantage of implementing IoT technologies. The use of IoT in telecom is changing the way people communicate with each other and the use of data by organizations.

The technology has revolutionized the service experience to improve revenue generation and customer retention through intuitive IoT software development services.

In fact, there have been significant developments within the sector over recent years, including edge computing leading towards 5G networks being deployed further. For starters, 5G connections are predicted to reach 1.5 billion globally by 2025.

Integration of IoT data streams into big data analytics will improve the speed of data processing. Artificial IoT is set to transform decision-making by evolving networks and IoT systems into intelligent and experience-based solutions.

AI-powered IoT devices, chipsets, and edge computing systems will use real-time data analytics to generate prediction models for telecom companies and clients.

Deploying AI on the network edge will generate uninterrupted data streams for quicker and more accurate processing. Therefore, IoT is now set to transform the market through expansion and monetization, and that is worth keeping an eye out for in the future!

IoT in telecom is here to stay

Telecom companies are predicted to promote IoT services across domains such as retail, agriculture, and medicine in the future. The IoT technology has proven itself to be of high value — optimizing performance, increasing service quality, and opening new revenue streams.

However, running vast networks of telecom equipment puts enormous pressure on telecom operator budgets. On top of that, many telcos still rely on legacy systems that have highly complicated workflows and have zero scopes to integrate with next-gen cloud apps.

That is where having your IoT application can help create a smooth workflow that supports modern connectivity and integration protocols. Thankfully, we can help you build a custom-tailored application that offers a premium user experience in the telecom industry.

Book a Free 45-minute Consultation with Our IoT Experts Today! Get a customized roadmap and strategies to leverage IoT for telecom business.