2023年的电信行业：值得关注的趋势

The telecoms industry in 2023: trends to watch INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT Are you ready for 2023? We recently published our 2023 Research Themes – the big topics that will shape the industry and driveour focus throughout the year. To complement these, and help the industry navigate the year ahead,below we share our views on the key trends to watch in 2023 and what they mean for ecosystem players Fixed and pay-TVmarkets Spectrum landscape For more details on our research themes, see2023 Research Themes. 5G and network transformation: five trends to watch in2023 INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT To help navigate the year ahead, we are releasing aseries of reports that highlight the key trends to watchin 2023 and the implications for ecosystem players. Theanalysis covers five key areas: 5G and networktransformation; spectrum; IoT and the wider enterprise Throughout 2022, we have analysed importantdevelopments and innovation spanning all areas of thetelecoms industry and wider digital ecosystem. How willthe industry evolve in 2023? Which trends will continue Analysis The three S’s dominate strategic priorities combined with vendor messaging around 5G-Advanced R&D,could complicate or at least postpone SA plans, as evidenced bythe fact that more than half of operators say they plan to launch Sustainability and security topped operator network transformationpriorities in oursurvey from earlier in the year. As energy costs rise and end users (particularly in enterprise verticals) move increasinglymore activities into the digital realm, the focus on sustainability(energy efficiency) and security will not wane. Meanwhile, spectrumconcerns were seen as much less important, appearing near thebottom of the list when checking on 5G RAN investment priorities.However, with the next World Radiocommunication Conference Cloud solutions get broader, and more confusing Following security and sustainability, the use of cloud and ITtechnologies was the top network transformation priority foroperators. On the cloud front, operators have already establishedmany diverse partnerships and strategies. In doing so, they’veexposed the complexity and breadth of ‘the cloud’: public cloudversus private cloud; edge cloud versus centralised cloud; the Open RAN fervour transitions into realism Open RAN ranked top on 5G RAN investment priorities. This is notsurprising, as the promises being made about open RAN in termsof opex and capex savings, combined with global supply-chainchallenges, virtually ensure that open RAN will command attention.Yet, as trials and deployments move forward, it’s increasingly clearthat open RAN is not necessarily less expensive than competingsolutions. Meanwhile, support from the top echelon of networkinfrastructure suppliers – Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Samsung, ZTE – API exposure stages a comeback The promise of mobile network API exposure is straightforward:allowing third-party developers to tap into network capabilitiesshould scale the use of those capabilities, driving operator profits inthe process. There have been many attempts to expose networkAPIs on a global scale in the past, which have largely failed. Themobile developer ecosystem in 2022, however, is much more 5G standalone and 5G-Advanced compete for the spotlight Since the initial deployments of 5G non-standalone, the industryrecognised that deployment of the standalone (SA) version wouldbe required in order to deliver on the promise of 5G in terms oflatency, slicing and IoT support. But year after year, ‘planned’deployments of SA trailed actual deployments by a wide margin. Implications Mobile operators Network infrastructure suppliers •Align internally on innovation –Moving from the planningstage to the deployment of new innovations is key forunderstanding how they can be put to use at scale, and forworking out any issues with new suppliers. When taking thesetogether, internal issues remain the greatest roadblocks todeployment (including contract administration, technology •Keep innovation grounded in automation –Automationmight not be a standout 2023 network infrastructure trend,but that’s only because it’s foundational to enabling nearlyevery other technology; without the support of automation, itwill be next to impossible to deploy, manage and secure newnetwork innovations and the services they support. This is why •Balance new tech optimism and realism –Whether or notit’s easy for operators to get new technologies deployed, thereis an obvious interest in doing so, as signalled by open RANbeing a top 5G RAN investment priority and optimistic 5G-Advanced deployment plans. These examples, however, •Pay attention to the role of networks in supportingservices –The fact that operators see ‘increasing servicecomplexity’ as the number one driver for network deploymentand operations automation underscores how operators see Mobile device suppliers •Support the 5G monetisation agenda –Many network capabilities are only enabled when supported by the end