Appledore Research

Effective and Efficient Telco Operations – Can network automation and AI help create a new normal? Futurenet World Asia returns in 2025 for its fifth edition, bringing together 600+ attendees, 60+ speakers and 30+ sponsors/exhibitors in a high calibre conference of CSP executives, representatives of vendors, Industry organisations and analysts for two intense days, all sharing a single-minded focus – Shaping future networks with AI and Automation.

I’ve just returned from an unforgettable holiday in Namibia. Between big five animal tracks and endless desert horizons, I couldn’t resist sneaking the occasional look at the country’s telecoms networks—cue my wife’s frequent eyerolls. I found a country racing ahead on connectivity, both #fibre and 4G. I saw operators grappling with the same competitive pressures familiar to Europe and North America.

If MWC is one of those “world buffet” style food courts that are virtually impossible to have an enjoyable meal at, FutureNet is the opposite: a well-themed restaurant where everything on the menu is expertly prepared, and the experience is one you positively look forward to. That’s not to say it’s small: the upcoming FutureNet World event in London is an increasingly big affair.

Nokia Bell Labs celebrated its 100 year anniversary with customers, partners, and industry analysts at the Murray Hill headquarters. Appledore analyst Patrick Kelly and Grant Lenahan attended the event. Notable advances made by Bell Labs includes a new generation of intrinsically stable qubits based on topological quantum computing and innovating in the field of radio on glass.

“And a hedgehog in a pear tree…” There was an “epic sweep” vibe to this year’s Great Telco Debate. Speakers invoked everything from the first cultivation of wheat 10,000 years ago (via Yuval Harari), to the Spanish conquistadors’ early encounters with the Aztecs (spoiler alert: it didn’t end too well), Thomas Edison and Andrew Carnegie.

Our major new market share report ranks leading vendors of telecom network automation software, and reports on changes in the nature of spending from operators. In 2022, CSPs spent US$6.21B on software to automate their networks. This represents a CAGR of 20% since 2020 – a sizeable rate of growth, given the prevailing condition of telecom as a whole. In the last two years, telecom has continued to be affected by seismic forces and uncomfortable truths.

Despite the initial perception that cloud-native networks may not suit telcos due to their complexity, the reality is that cloud-native is becoming the backbone of 5G networks—especially 5G Standalone (SA) and Cloud/OpenRAN architectures. The shift to cloud-native is inevitable, and failing to adapt will have significant consequences. In the long term, cloud-native is not something CSPs can afford to opt out of.

Shanthi Ravindran previews the upcoming FutureNet World event in Singapore, 17-18 September 2024. FutureNet Asia is here again in 2024 in its 4th edition, following on the heels of very interesting conferences in London and Dubai. FutureNet has always been unique with its laser sharp focus on how CSPs’ needs can be met by software in its various generations, the latest being GenAI.

At a well-attended event in London, Rakuten and friends offered a perspective on the reinvention of telecom. Rakuten Symphony Managing Director Nastasi Karaiskos started proceedings with a roll-call of the innovations that could all be part of telecom’s reinvention, from 5G to Quantum Computing – but right now, AI trumps them all. While most telcos are getting their arms around what it means to be cloud-native, Rakuten has already created an AI-native telco.

CSPs seeking to provide a new generation of on demand, dynamic services to consumers,  enterprises and through partners need to be able to rethink the design of their networks for flexibility and agility and be able to deal with complexity. “Network as a service” is a big opportunity if we can quickly and cheaply assemble new end-to-end services out of pre-existing components.