Continuously developing this infrastructure is critical to further unlocking opportunities for economic and societal benefit. It will also ensure the UK is well positioned to lead global scientific and technological advancement, as outlined in the government’s Science and Technology Framework.

Formed in 2022, the UKTIN is delivered by a consortium of four partners that draw on distinct strengths in a collaborative approach: Digital Catapult, Cambridge Wireless, University of Bristol, and WM5G.

Yet, the sector is riddled with complexity. It’s highly fragmented, competitive, and comprises intricate supply chains, which means turning innovative ideas into tangible, commercial outcomes is tough.

Opening the front door to the telecoms ecosystem

The problem for companies looking to innovate is that they don’t always know where to go for support. Or who to ask for help to differentiate their intellectual property in a way that is relevant to their business and customers.

Ideas that originate in academia, for example, have to be translated into a business context before being made profitable.

This issue is particularly widespread among smaller companies, such as spinouts and start-ups, who don’t yet have personal connections or customer insights to rely on to inform their R&D. Start-ups also need to reach significant scale or partner with established businesses for their innovations to make an impact.

Larger companies are also contributing to the distributed market. While they may have an edge over spinouts and start-ups, those who don’t have their foot firmly in the telecom sector can also face significant barriers when looking to productize their innovations. Even the established UK telecoms players tell us navigating this complexity and fragmentation is a challenge.

A solution is needed to align the UK telecoms sector and transform the innovation ecosystem. This needs to enable the country to build on its strengths in technology, academia, and entrepreneurialism while positioning us for growth as new opportunities emerge in the industry. It must signpost relevant pools of funding, talent, resources, and expertise. It requires bringing academia and business together so companies can access and learn from experts who have seen success in establishing themselves and maximising opportunities in the telecoms market. All to provide a front door into the UK telecoms market.

It was on this basis that the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN) was established.

A collective vision for the UK to thrive

UKTIN brings together industry, academia, and government to catalyse telecom R&D investment, cooperation, and commercialization. With a vision to create a thriving, resilient, and diversified telecoms ecosystem, we have over 6,000 individuals in our network who can interact in a neutral environment and on a level playing field.

But we do more than just provide a platform. We have a range of services designed to help support companies in identifying, capturing, and capitalizing on new opportunities in telecoms:

Our Innovation Platform provides a framework for research translation and supports the transition of early-stage technology solutions into commercial products through tailored support, innovation, and investment workouts. It’s particularly designed to enable spin-outs, start-ups, and scale-ups to accelerate their growth, helping the UK to develop a more competitive and dynamic market.

Our Supplier Specialist Guidance Service comprises national and international specialist advisers who have deep expertise in the telecoms sector and can provide tailored guidance and support to national and international organizations. We help organizations identify possible funding routes, benefit from new partners and innovative opportunities, and build necessary skills and capabilities.

Expert Working Groups that represent all aspects of the UK’s rich and diverse R&D&I ecosystem to help forge connections across the sector. Most significantly, they are busy exploring opportunities, gaps, and challenges facing the UK in areas from wireless networking technologies to AI, network management, and optical communications. The outputs from these groups help to inform government policy and interventions.

Talent and Clusters programs that are shining a light on the capabilities that exist across our regions and nations, as well as actively tackling industry skills gaps.

A Standards Working Group is currently being established to support SMEs – a recognized engine for growth – looking to innovate within the supply chain and help crystallize the economic value of that innovation in intellectual property related to telecoms standards.

Adoption Working Groups, working with the private and public sector to promote the deployment of advanced telecoms solutions in key industry verticals.

An R&D Capability Discovery Service in development that will help players join the dots across the fragmented sector.

By consulting widely across the ecosystem, we strive to understand the needs of all parties, enabling us to provide a coherent and informed voice into government – helping support the development of a UK telecoms R&D policy and shaping a regulatory and political environment conducive to a thriving and resilient telecoms industry.

Ultimately, UKTIN is creating a strong identity for the UK telecoms ecosystem, positioning us as a hub for innovation that attracts international attention and inward investment to help the UK thrive.”

There are s six steps that can be taken to keep costs down during development. These include using third-party APIs, keeping the design simple and optimising for scalability.

More than ever, consumers want to interact with businesses via mobile applications. Consumers prefer brands which offer their own mobile apps, rather than just shopping on their website.

For modern enterprises, having a slick mobile app has become a must. Along with providing another touchpoint for users and customers to interact with a business, mobile apps help to raise brand awareness, facilitate an omni-channel sales approach, and differentiate organisations from the competition.

Yet despite this widespread appetite, developing apps can be expensive. The chronic shortage of developers in the UK sees almost 1,000 software jobs advertised daily. As an in-demand skill, hiring the top developer talent doesn’t come cheap. However, staffing costs are just one of many contributors to the significant overall financial commitment of business app development.

What’s driving the price?

Businesses looking to develop new mobile apps need to anticipate a range of factors that can drive app development costs. As well as the type of app being developed, they also need to price in the cost of backend infrastructure, app store fees, integration with third-party services, and the ongoing support required to update and maintain the app.

With these factors in mind, here are several ways to keep costs down:

 Choose the right platform:

Though it might be tempting to commit to building an app for all platforms, it’s best to be selective where possible. Analyse your target audience and the nature of your app to determine which platforms to prioritise. Tools like React Native or Flutter can help build cross-platform apps without overspending, as they let you reach a wider audience with a single codebase.

 Keep the design simple:

Adding too many complex design elements to your app can see cost surge – along with having to take more time to build, more design assets also will demand additional bandwidth and infrastructure to host. If costs are a priority, it’s best to opt for as simple a design as possible, but one that still meets your audience’s needs. Using pre-built design templates can work well here.

Use third-party APIs

There’s no need to build custom solutions for every feature of your app. Third-party APIs or services can help you save time and money on development, without cutting corners in terms of solidity and functionality. Do a deep dive into all available third-party solutions to ensure they meet your needs, are well-documented, and have a strong developer community for ongoing support.

 Optimise for scalability

An app that can easily scale to handle more users and features will keep long-term costs low, as major rewrites or updates won’t be needed as often. Using scalable technologies and infrastructure, like cloud-based solutions or microservices architecture, can help your app avoid ‘growing pains’ if its popularity surges.

 Work with an experienced development team

Experienced developers don’t always come cheap. But the best ones can offset this by sharing their own expertise on reducing development costs and optimising apps. Without exceeding your budget, it’s best to source a development team with a proven track record of building successful apps in your area (whether that’s e-commerce, gaming, or something else). Consider hiring a team that offers end-to-end services – from initial design to ongoing maintenance.

Plan for updates and maintenance

To ensure your app stays functional over time, businesses must also factor in ongoing updates and maintenance. Although this may incur some up-front costs, this can be offset by taking a modular approach to app development. This means your app is developed in such a way that individual features can be updated or replaced without affecting the entire app, making future updates more cost-effective.

Stay app-happy

App development is a complex process. But the impact of cost overruns can be hugely damaging for enterprises and should be avoided. Not only can this result in lacklustre apps that fail to meet the needs of users, but a budget from elsewhere within the business might be required to complete the development project. Key business functions could suffer as a result.

With a clear focus on finances right now due to ongoing economic uncertainty, enterprises must take control of these factors to minimise going over budget, while still aiming to develop innovative, groundbreaking apps. This will deliver an app on a budget that works for the business and for users.

Due to the incompatibility , anyone looking to USE 400Gbps will need to consider replacing their transceivers.

One of the biggest hurdles for the UK’s step towards digital transformation is the upgrade of its digital infrastructure says Rob Pocock, Technical Director, of cyber security consultants Red Helix

Last year, the UK government published its digital strategy with a heavy focus on positioning the country as a ‘Global Science and Tech Superpower’. Not a bad idea when you consider that, according to a report by Public First, digital technology could carry the potential to grow the UK economy to over £413 billion by 2030. There is, however, a lot of work that needs to be completed before reaching that point.

One of the biggest hurdles for the UK’s step towards digital transformation is the upgrade of its digital infrastructure – which is needed to accommodate ever-increasing data demands.

New technological advancements – such as 5G, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) – are being incorporated into the likes of smart networks, advanced manufacturing and autonomous transport, with almost limitless potential. But for these technologies to work efficiently, high-speed connectivity must be available across the country.

These demands, amongst other factors, have led to a jump from a 100Gbps infrastructure to a 400Gbps infrastructure, somewhat bypassing the 200Gbps milestone. The issue here is that the previous speeds all used Non-Return-To-Zero (NRZ) modulation and this isn’t capable of processing a 400Gbps network speed. As a result, this means that an entirely different form of modulation will be required in order to make this speed function within the network.

The incompatibility issue

In order to achieve the faster data speeds of 400Gbps, more data needs to be transmitted down the cable at the same time, which is where Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4 Level (PAM4) comes into play. While NRZ modulation uses two levels to represent binary data (with one level representing a ‘0’ and the other representing a ‘1’), PAM4 uses four different levels (representing ‘0-0’ ‘0-1’ ‘1-0’ and ‘1-1’). This allows PAM4 to transmit twice as much data in each clock cycle, with each level representing two pieces of data instead of one, effectively doubling the rate of data being passed over the same physical medium.

Having these two distinct modulation schemes in place, however, means that they aren’t capable of interoperating. PAM4’s four-level system will not be understood by equipment designed to read the two-level system of NRZ, and vice versa, the NRZ two-level system will not be understood by the PAM4 four-level system. Therefore, for network operators looking to upgrade to 400Gbps, they need to ensure that both ends of a link are using the same modulation.

This issue really comes into effect when using breakout cables; (for example, breaking out 400Gbps into 4 x 100Gbps links) as most of the 100Gbps optics in today’s networks are running NRZ modulation and are therefore incompatible. Users would, therefore, need to change their 100Gbps optics to ones using PAM4 modulation. This is assuming the device the optics are inserted to has been certified to work with PAM4-100Gbps optics.

It must be noted that not all of these issues are insurmountable; however, it is another factor that network architects and engineers need to consider on top of everything else before jumping in and upgrading their networks.

The true cost of moving to 400Gbps

Due to the incompatibility between PAM4 and NRZ, anyone looking to start using 400Gbps will need to consider replacing their existing transceivers. 400Gbps transceivers are expensive, as is often the case with new technology, and whilst it is true that the price will eventually come down after a period of time, customers need to be aware that they won’t be as cost-effective as the older transceivers which were previously used.

There are two reasons for this. Firstly, these new transceivers need to maintain compatibility with existing Quad Small Form-factor Pluggable (QSFP) form factors and, as such, they need to fit into the same physical space as the previous, NRZ-based transceivers. Developing a transceiver that is able to transmit and receive PAM4 signals, while keeping the size the same as previous transceivers, involves considerable costs in development– making the new transceivers more expensive.

Secondly, because the 400Gbps transceivers generate more heat than their 100Gbps counterparts, there will need to be improved methods of cooling and heat transfer. As the size of a transceiver is the same, there is more heat to disperse, increasing the risk of the transceiver becoming distorted as a consequence. Not only does this add to the cost of research and development, with additional testing required to understand the temperature thresholds, but it also means that further investment is needed in cooling and power infrastructures.

Understanding the requirements before upgrading

If we look back at the moves from 10Gbps to 40Gbps and from 40Gbps to 100Gbps respectively, it was relatively easy due to the fact they all, for the most part, used the same modulation. This means that the use of breakout cables to split or combine different speeds worked well, providing us with a simple route to move between speeds which eased the migration. Now, with the move to PAM4, we just need to work out what can and can’t interoperate within the newly expanded limits.

There is, of course, an eagerness to upgrade to 400Gbps networks. But before starting, it is important to understand exactly what is required for a 400Gbps transmission to work and how much it is going to cost. As we transition to higher speeds, it is no longer just about considering the type of fibres being used (single mode or multimode) and the transmission length of a particular technology. We must also consider how devices capable of running at these faster speeds are going to interoperate with existing networks. It is important to note that interoperability is key as it enables consistent, smooth and efficient performance when transferring data across a company.

Network operators who recognise these challenges can avoid costly mistakes and make the most efficient use of the resources, not only now, but also during future upgrades – as it is highly likely we will run into similar challenges when upgrading to 800Gbps, or even 1.6Tbps, networks.

Vodafone and Three have agreed their marriage. But they still require regulatory approval and there is already precedent for the authorities rejecting such massive consolidation.

In 2016 The European Commission blocked the proposed acquisition of O2 by Hutchison under the EU Merger Regulation. The EC had strong concerns that UK mobile customers would have had less choice and paid higher prices as a result of the takeover, and that the deal would have harmed innovation in the mobile sector.

However the launch of 5G does mean regulators are mindful that carriers lack the scale to generate sufficient returns on their capital. However there is also government pushback against any ownership of telecoms infrastructure by Chinese companies. The National Security and Investment Act, gives the state the authority to intervene and reject the deal

CCS Insights Kester Mann says the deal is “poised on a knife edge and is too difficult to call either way”

“It’s a huge decision for Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s new CEO, who in a recent speech rejected the idea that her body has been overly interventionist in blocking deals”

Erhan Gurses Equity Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said: “The push for consolidation is seen as positive for the broader industry, although the question remains whether it will receive antitrust approval. The odds of approval have improved. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) may also consider striking a delicate balance between the sector’s investment requirements for 5G roll-outs and consumer welfare. It is worth noting that mobile prices in the UK have remained relatively low compared to other major European markets like Spain or Germany.

But PP Insight analyst Paolo Pescatore believes the deal will “be a hard sale given that both companies have been outperforming the market for the last year or so

“Let’s see if the authorities have a change of heart. Both parties need to demonstrate that this is genuinely in the interest of UK plc, the economy, and consumers for it to have a chance of getting over the line. Ofcom recognises the challenges of the UK mobile market and the need for scale. Convincing the CMA will be the real test. Current investment levels are not sustainable in the longer term.”

“Vodafone and Three may have shot themselves in the foot by recently hiking tariffs by up to 14.4 per cent but the deal should be approved. It is better to have three strong providers than two that are dominant and two that are sub-scale. Blocking it could thwart the long-term development of the UK’s telecoms infrastructure.”

CCS Insight’s Kester Mann believes getting approval will be a challenge.

““This represents the biggest shake-up in the UK mobile market for over a decade. The deal makes plenty of sense as both providers are sub-scale. As separate entities, it would have been near impossible for either to grow enough organically to come close to challenging BT or Virgin Media O2 for size. Inevitably however, there will be widespread fears over job cuts..

“An £11 billion network investment plan will seek to allay regulatory concerns. But this deal will still face a major challenge to win approval. At this stage, I believe it is too difficult to call either way.

“The prospect the deal leads to higher prices will be a major concern for the CMA. Vodafone and Three may have shot themselves in the foot by recently hiking tariffs by up to 14.4 per cent . The deal should be approved. It is better to have three strong providers than two that are dominant and two that are sub-scale. Blocking it could thwart the long-term development of the UK’s telecoms infrastructure.”

“The recent appointment of Margherita Della Valle as Vodafone group CEO will give added impetus to the deal. She has shown clear intent to make changes at Vodafone as she bids to turn the embattled company’s performance around. Securing approval for a tie-up with Three would be a major boost to her early tenure.”

Pescatore thinks the security issues regarding China will be dealt with and overcome .

“Hutchison already has an extensive presence in the UK, but this should be seen as a gradual exit from the telco market. Having the current Vodafone UK CEO heading up the new operation is a testament to this belief. His considered approach will resonate with key stakeholders and improve any chance of getting the deal over the line.”

Dan Ridsdale, Director of Technology Media and Telecoms, at Edison Group, said Vodafone’s statement g read like an overt pitch to convince the CMA, Ofcom, press etc that there would be benefits for customers, country and competition, before looking at deal synergies.

“Management will have a good level of insight into the opinions of key investors regarding the deal, whereas regulators play their cards much closer to their chest. For the CMA, the equation is likely to come down to how much they take into account the consumer benefits from the promised acceleration to the roll out of 5G, gained through economies of scale versus the competitive risks from concentrating market power.

“They will almost certainly consult Ofcom as part of the process who have already highlighted that Vodafone and Three’s poor return on capital under the current market structure presented a risk to future investment in the UK’s networks.”

]]> https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/analysis/article/vodafone-three-deal-poised-knife-edge-analyst/feed/ 0 https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/analysis/article/satellites-esims-can-help-close-digital-divide-least-developed-countries/ https://mobilenewscwp.co.uk/analysis/article/satellites-esims-can-help-close-digital-divide-least-developed-countries/#respond Tue, 16 May 2023 13:03:28 +0000 https://mncwp.tailrd.cloud/satellites-esims-can-help-close-digital-divide-least-developed-countries/ Around a 64 per cent of people in the world’s least developed countries (LDC) are still offline in least developed countries writes Hamish White, CEO of SaaS solutions provider Mobilise This equates to 720 million people , or 27 per cent of the global offline population, even though the these countries population makes up just 14

Around a 64 per cent of people in the world’s least developed countries (LDC) are still offline in least developed countries writes Hamish White, CEO of SaaS solutions provider Mobilise

This equates to 720 million people , or 27 per cent of the global offline population, even though the these countries population makes up just 14 per cent of the world’s population. The UN classifies 46 countries tas least developed. Of these, 33 are in Africa, nine are in Asia, one is in the Caribbean and three are located in the Pacific, he writes.

According to ITU data, 58 per cent of people in these countries owned a mobile phone in 2022. This is close to the global average, which sits at 73 per cent. Data for mobile cellular subscriptions paints a similar picture. The average of 79 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants isn’t too far from to the world average of 108. Where we really see a gap, however, is with mobile broadband with 42 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants in the LDCs compared with 87 for the world. In part, this is because the necessary infrastructure to access a mobile broadband network is missing.

The internet can be accessed via fixed broadband and mobile access. Mobile access provides deployment and coverage flexibility that cannot be matched using fixed broadband, which is typically unaffordable or completely unavailable in rural areas. Therefore, mobile connectivity is the only feasible pathway to internet access. However, simply having a mobile phone is no good if the area has no network coverage, and this is where the problem with rural connectivity lies.

The benefits of connectivity

As a society, we should help close the digital divide because it’s the right thing to do. But additionally, there are several other benefits to bridging the divide that impact both LDCs and the wider, global society.

The digital economy makes up over 15 per cent of global GDP, growing two and a half times faster than total GDP over the past 15 years. It is considered one of the most important drivers of innovation, growth and job creation in today’s society. Closing the gap, therefore, will add significant value. According to research from the UN, a 10 per cent increase in the penetration of mobile broadband services increases GDP by 1.5 per cent.

It’s widely cited that 92 per cent of jobs today require some form of digital competency. In an increasingly digital world, access to the internet means access to opportunity. Implementing a digital economy creates opportunities for nations to increase productivity, promote innovation and participate in global trade. The entire world experienced a reliance on digital tools during the pandemic. In a post-pandemic world, we can see how the increase in digitalisation has driven a permanent shift in behaviour as individuals with internet access make use of digital services widening the gap for those that do not.

Closing the gap

But why hasn’t the digital divide been fixed yet? Solving it is a complex, layered challenge as telcos work to expand coverage in a profitable way while navigating a challenging regulatory environment.

Areas with little coverage, such as those in rural areas, tend to lack the infrastructure required to build a network in the first place, making expansion difficult for mobile operators. Tough terrain, like areas with dense forest and vast mountain ranges, can add further implications. Additionally, when we consider the number of people living in their areas, it’s easy to see why operators struggle to see a return on investment from such an expansion.

A big challenge lies in backhaul connectivity, which refers to the portion of the network that links a base station to the core network. Traditional backhaul connectivity is achieved through microwave technology or physical full fibre cables, but in rural areas, where there may just be a handful of people, the distance, terrain and cost of implementation make these strategies unviable.

Mobile operators also have the obstacles of hampering regulation. Many regulatory policies are actually negatively impacting the growth of the telecoms market, such as spectrum auctions where governments sell parts of the spectrum to the highest bidding operator.

Spectrum auctions hinder innovation. Since operators heavily invest in their spectrum, they are more likely to implement a protectionist strategy to safeguard profits, rather than opting for a riskier but more innovative strategy that could promote greater levels of rural connectivity.

But regulations don’t have to act as blockades. Throughout the pandemic, we saw the positive effects that more supportive regulations can have on the telecoms landscape. For example, in Ghana and Jordan network operators were granted temporary access to spectrum and in Tunisia spectrum bands were made technology neutral, which helped to maintain 2G, 3G and 4G connectivity while also rolling out 5G.

Connecting with Low Eerth Orbit satellotes

With regulatory and economic barriers in mind, operators must consider other ways of reaching LDCs and other areas without sufficient connectivity. Rather than relying on traditional backhaul connectivity methods, the solution could lie in a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.

Instead of connecting each individual small village with microwave or fibre, a LEO satellite network allows blanket global coverage for backhaul purposes. LEO satellites consist of many thousands of satellites orbiting at altitudes between 160 and 1,600 kilometres above Earth, which allows them to offer bandwidth and latency that can compete with existing fixed broadband technologies like fibreoptic cables, in certain environments.

In recent years, we’ve seen companies around the world compete in the LEO “space race”. In fact, Space X’s Starlink is already functional and offering internet service. Amazon’s Project Kuiper also plans to make connectivity possible for underserved communities in the next few years, with its first set of satellites planned to launch in 2024.

Enter eSIM

It’s also worth considering how digital tools can in turn support rural connectivity with LEO. Onboarding remote customers is not a simple task — going to a store to collect a device and SIM card, or even arranging delivery isn’t always viable. However, an eSIM solution enables service providers to establish a remote onboarding process to connect their customers without the need for any physical interactions.

eSIMs are growing in popularity, particularly following the launch of the eSIM-only iPhone 14 in the US in 2022. Rumours are already swirling that the iPhone 15, due to launch in September, will be eSIM-only across the globe and, while the iPhone is a premium device, the shift will certainly set a precedent for more widely affordable handset manufacturers to produce eSIM-compatible devices.

Mobile connectivity is becoming available to more and more people every day. However, in a world increasingly dependent on digital technologies, enabling connectivity across LDCs has become a pressing issue. We are all responsible.

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e-SIMs provide many consumer benefits, such as increasing security on handheld devices and making global data roaming easier with fairer prices. e-SIMs also have a great impact on the environment, helping operators to reduce their carbon footprints by reducing physical SIM card production and the supply chain attached to it.

They will eventually negate the need for a physical SIM card and its tray. Smartphone manufacturers could use this space to increase a phone’s battery size or add more features to a handset. Fewer holes in a handset also mean more protection from moisture and dust, so fewer breakdowns, which we would welcome with open arms.

However, they aren’t yet popular in the UK, though their availability is growing rapidly. And with the physical SIM card already being removed on USA iPhone 14 models, it would seem we are well on track to see eSIMS become the primary way we connect to networks very soon.

The flexibility provided to consumers by eSIMs may have a significant impact on the networks.

Alternative and more disruptive e-SIM scenarios could arise from the broader adoption of devices with non-GSMA standard e-SIM technologies. This model is similar to the Apple SIM in which an intermediary, be it an OTT or OEM, aggregates all carrier offers and allows customers to select plans from a list to rapidly change carriers. Such a model means increased direct competition due to greater price transparency and the partial loss of the customer relationship for MNOs.

There’s also a possibility that other players might replace the operator’s role, taking ownership of the customer relationship. In this model, an OEM can provide its telecom offering to consumers, acting as an MVNO and wholesaling connectivity from MNOs. Similarly, it could encourage more competition among operators. The ability to switch almost instantly between operators may affect consumer loyalty and increase turnover.

Consumers will be easily lured away by lower-cost subscription plans, many also offered by MVNOs who don’t have to manage the overheads traditional players do. The ease of switching operators could also result in a fall in roaming revenues. Subscribers with an eSIM-enabled device may switch to a virtual profile with a local operator when travelling abroad instead of choosing a roaming package provided by their primary operator.

Embracing the opportunity

So far, mobile operators have chosen to pursue a hybrid model of SIM and eSIM environments, but with that, resources are split, and development efforts move more slowly. With 5G launches happening now, and as handsets move towards eSIM exclusively, mobile operators will find change headed their way and be forced to embrace it.

Mobile operators will find change headed their way and be forced to embrace it

The introduction of e-SIMs will significantly impact carriers as they need to adjust their billing solutions to incorporate the potential of e-Sim. Billing providers need to be agile and ensure they can provide efficient and accurate billing data. They will need help to merge the old sims and e-SIMs, and the transition to most users using e-SIMs will take years.

At the same time, e-SIMS are an incredible opportunity – they eliminate physical supply chain costs and make the onboarding process fully digital and faster than ever.

Operators need to leverage this opportunity and excel of the seamless customer experience eSims offer, with a clean, digital onboarding process. Unfortunately competing on price and connectivity is just not enough these days, consumers crave a smooth and personalised experience – and those operators that take advantage of maximising customer experience are the ones that will have a competitive advantage. Providing digital journeys with great experiences is essential to promote loyalty and to grow the subscriber base.

Operators must understand this industry shift: new and untapped use cases are waiting to be discovered, and possibilities for acquisition tactics. 

Kelvin Chaffer is Chief Operating Officer at Lifecycle Software, the global OCS, billing, and BSS solution provider.

Consumers are growing more hesitant to £1,000 every time the latest Apple or Samsung phone launches. In fact, 22 million phone users (nearly 35%) would buy a refurbished phone over a new one says Jess Morris, head European marketplace manager at B-Stock.

With new mobile launches each year, used mobiles are a more affordable way to keep up. The IDC predicts that sales of used smartphones will increase total market value from $25 billion in 2019 to $65 billion by 2024. Why should mobile network operators (MNOs) care that consumers are open to the idea of pre-owned tech? Less money left on the table! Longer upgrade cycles, meaning consumers are upgrading less often – about every three years instead of every two – creates a market for carriers to explore.

Phones are more reliable than ever. More importantly, they retain their resale value for longer. Reports say the average price for a secondary market phone is £340 for a Grade A model. Used phones make money still because they are an everyday necessity. Even though new iterations add performance upgrades and fresh features, last year’s model will remain usable and desirable for years to come. Consumers know they don’t necessarily have to pay top dollar for a great device and will often opt for a pre-owned model to save money.

There is an opportunity to capture this additional revenue stream via resellers on the secondary market. Top US carriers are already utilising B2B online auctions as a way to get excess or trade-in products into the hands of qualified business buyers – who then go on to sell directly to consumers or negotiate wholesale prices.

Combatting the problem of e-waste by introducing impactful sustainable practices

By keeping more phones in the secondary market, and out of landfill, carriers and mobile phone manufacturers can help combat the problem of e-waste. Thanks to resale, mobile phones can have second, third, or more lives. 

Not only are the economic benefits of secondary mobile phones top of mind, but also the environmental implications. Improperly recycled or discarded electronics pose environmental threats.

Consumers are more conscious of the need to recycle. Meanwhile, law makers are launching regulations to make it easier for customers to repair products. But there is still more progress that needs to be made. This year, 5.3 billion mobile phones will be thrown away, the international waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) forum says. 

Maximising re-sale margins on traded-in phones

Trade-in phone schemes increase the supply of used phones. Consumers can get hundreds of pounds in exchange for recent model trades. Thanks to trade-ins and returns, MNOs and other sellers have to manage a constant turnover of stock. Luckily, with an auction set-up, sellers are virtually guaranteed to move inventory – regardless of volume, time of year, or product category. They make it as easy to accept bids from thousands of buyers as from a small handful. And do so at a pace that suits the seller.

Standardised conditions also help with resale margins as buyers can quickly determine what inventory they’re buying and how much they’re willing to pay for it. Currently, there is no official grading system for devices in the UK. Creating an industry standard is a large undertaking dependent on various stakeholders coming together. However, by standardising an often-subjective system, consumers can more easily trust sellers of refurbished devices. In the US, the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) lays out a set of codes to define condition grades for used mobile devices. Wireless device grading scales criteria published by CTIA Certification helps standardise the buying and selling of used smartphones. 

Insurance and warranty phones are another revenue source for MNOs. Mobile phones that come back damaged or defective are another cause for returns and replacements. Damaged phones are less expensive to acquire by mobile buyers looking to harvest parts, sell inventory to repair shops, or refurbish and resell themselves. Therefore, there is still a demand for insurance and warranty replacement phones on online auction sites.

How to move inventory fast to a global audience while still commanding high prices

MNOs are moving away from the ‘old school’ techniques of getting these devices into the secondary market. ‘Old school’ techniques involve manually prepared spreadsheets, back-and-forth negotiations, phone calls, and emails to small cohorts of existing buyers. These methods are time-consuming, not to mention limit the reach of potential buyers for used smartphone inventory. Relying on these old methods can also place the seller at a disadvantage in terms of reaching the highest recovery possible. 

The more efficient way to move inventory fast and to a global audience, while still maintaining competitive prices, is B2B auctions. When more buyers are interested in a product, the price goes up.

This is what an online auction does. Auctions require no offline negotiating. Instead, sellers extract a buyer’s highest willingness to pay. Ultimately, this makes auctions more reflective of the true value of a product. It delivers the true market price, thereby maximising return for the seller.

MNOs can find interested buyers all in one place by regularly listing inventory online. Buyers far and wide, from major exporters and refurbishment companies to businesses selling directly to consumers, can compete for inventory during the fixed duration of an auction. And once they win, arrange their inventory shipment. Quite a step up from manually updating spreadsheets and issuing purchase orders and invoices. 

Expanding into overseas markets and navigating compliance risks

One way to drive up demand (and prices) is to reach buyers in overseas markets. There is a rising demand for recycled phones from developing countries. However, sellers must be careful to meet local regulations and navigate compliance risks accordingly. Sellers must take care to data wipe all devices prior to resale – and do so in a trusted and transparent manner.

To standardise this process, the industry created the R2 (Responsible Recycling) Standard. R2 identifies and monitors best practices in electronics repair, reuse, and recycling. It takes months for a business to become R2 certified. But obviously, there are rewards. For sellers, the certification provides a framework for safely trading in the mobile secondary market; for buyers, it can help them access more products.

MNOs should find that the secondary mobile market is more accessible than ever before. By leaving the traditional methods of selling used or trade-in stock behind, the possibilities of B2B online auctions are limitless. Sellers can command higher prices, gain more channel control, and speed up the sales process in a more automated and efficient way. All while extending the life of mobile phones and keeping them out of landfill. 

The UK’s e-commerce market, already the world’s third largest, is predicted to grow by nearly 26% by 2025 to reach over £260 billion in transaction value, according to a recent study carried out by Finextra, with internet retail accounting for a third of this. In 2020, internet retail sales grew by a staggering 47% – driven primarily by the pandemic – and in 2021 online sales constituted nearly 30 percent of overall UK retail sales. Whilst this booming industry is great news for the country’s economy, the growth of new ecommerce customers has also led to a corresponding rise in payments fraud. To give some perspective to the seriousness of the situation more than £16m lost to online shopping fraud during lockdown alone.

Online theft has resulted in FCA tightening the ecommerce payment regulations (PSD2) with the introduction of SCA (strong customer authentication) for certain ecommerce transactions, a process designed to add an extra layer of fraud protection when cardholders make a payment by means of a one-time pass code or in App verification before an online transaction can be completed. 

SCA is only starting to take effect due to technology shortfalls 

Although these tighter controls officially became law in the EEA and UK in 2019, many national regulators did not start actively enforcing them until this year due to the sheer magnitude of technology overhauls needed for compliance to be practically achievable. However, apart from impacting card not present transactions (CNP), SCA also applies to retailers offering financial lending or interest free credit for the sale of high value ticket items such as furniture, cars, electronics etc. In bygone days applications could be made manually or at the discretion of the retailer. But under the new regulations, all financial agreements and assessments must be undertaken online, and an authentication code must be subsequently generated before applications can be processed further for authentication purposes to offer fairness and transparency to consumers.

One time pass codes are delivered via SMS or MMS

Unfortunately applying for interest credit is not always a seamless process in large retail stores because of a mobile connectivity short fall as the required pass codes are delivered via txt message, for proof of possession reasons. To take applications to the next level retailers are increasingly obliged to ask their customers to move around the store, or even go outside in search of a mobile signal. Not only does this make for a poor purchasing experience, once your customer has left the store there is no guarantee they will return which ultimately leads to a loss of revenue thus impacting the bottom line.  

Although some retailers have invested in sophisticated Wi-Fi systems to ensure high speed data services and to enable smart building applications such as access control, lighting and CCTV, Wi-Fi is data driven and does not support texting. SMS messages are transmitted via cellular services and therefore require connectivity to a mobile network

Modern shoppers are mobile first

Poor instore mobile connectivity doesn’t just impact lending agreements either.  Contactless payment systems often require cellular coverage. Additionally, modern shoppers have low attention spans, shop mobile first, follow peer recommendations more often than not, and research the best deals online before making a final purchase. If your customers have to go outside to make a price comparison because your instore mobile signal is poor to non-existent, chances are those customers will not re-enter. More than two thirds of purchases are made at the point of decision, so not only have you lost the opportunity to make a sale on a specific item, you’ve also lost other spontaneous spending opportunities.  

Ensuring reliable mobile coverage is no longer an arduous task

Providing seamless mobile coverage in retail environments has historically been challenging due to shop fitouts, basement locations and the materials used, with glass and metal being the ultimate mobile signal blockers. The only way around the problem is to take the outdoor signal indoors via third party equipment such as mobile signal boosters, but this has historically been expensive to deploy and shrouded in strict licensing regulation. 

Fortunately, now that Ofcom has relaxed the rules pertaining to said repeater, retailers can for a modest investment improve shopping experiences whilst providing adequate coverage needed to be compliant with SCA regulation. Seamless instore connectivity allows them to enhance the customer purchasing journey enabling smartphone interaction with other instore technologies.  

Connective enhancements not only help brands strengthen their online presence; it also allows them to maintain a physical presence fit for purpose for tech savvy shoppers.  With inflation levels at their highest in 40 years the retail industry continues to grapple with uncertainty and every single purchase counts.

By providing customers with reliable instore mobile coverage, retailers can capitalise on changing shopping trends by delivering the ultimate shopping experience through interaction with other instore technologies. Wi-Fi networks alone do not deliver wow factor shopping experiences and retailers failing to realise this could see turnover eroded further as customers go elsewhere.

It’s important to note that with all that is going on between Russia and Ukraine, security is also becoming more of a focus for consumers. According to our survey of utility users in March of this year, hackers bringing down internal systems, was identified as a potential risk to utility supply by 46.9% of recipients.

However, there are other communities besides nation states seeking to immobilise civil and economic order by attacking utilities infrastructure.

The digital battlefield

Cybercriminals and ransomware gangs are looking for increasingly innovative ways to exploit the economic value of the utilities sector. Meanwhile, hacktivists seek ways to publicly leverage their opposition to political or environmental agendas by disabling facilities through, for example, a distributed denial of service (DDOS).

This digital battlefield is being fought in myriad ways – from disruption to enterprise systems that underpin a utility company’s commercial and human operations, to more malign intervention of operational technology, designed to inflict severe disruption to civil society.

The ‘AcidRain’ malware attack in February this year, caused severe, prolonged disruption to operations on a mass scale. The attack wiped out Viasat’s KA-SAT broadband service’s satellite modems, impacting thousands in Ukraine and further across Europe.

Ultimately in the age of IoT, where machines in the home, commerce and throughout industry are given an identity and the ability to communicate, this risk is only set to increase.

Countering the threat

According to IBM, the Energy industry ranked fifth in overall data breach costs in 2021, and security in the utilities sector brings with it additional considerations: it is a highly regulated industry where breaches can be prohibitively costly by any other industry’s standards.

Moreover, costs associated with ransomware or cyber attacks can quickly escalate. Between 2020 and 2021, there was a reported 10% increase from $3.86 million to $4.24 million per data breach incident. Then there is the length of time it takes to discover a breach; often the longer the breach goes unnoticed, the more expensive and/or disruptive the incident.

And finally, there are the fines incurred from regulatory bodies, both in the EU and USA. All that, before we get on to reputational damage.

However, it’s not all bad news. Cyber security is already top of mind for many utility firms and there are many ways to counter these threats; starting with recognising this inherent vulnerability and embedding a culture of awareness that shapes more secure behaviour, processes, and system design.

This is especially true of the operational technology (OT) side of a utilities company’s systems, focusing on telemetry which measures and identifies trends across the utility network, and/or SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) which controls the system architecture.

In practice, this might be the opening of a dam’s sluice gates or the direction and distribution of gas or electricity on a grid. Our technical team are in contact with clients regarding how to implement more secure solutions, in light of the changing nature of the technological landscape. We review vulnerabilities with clients, both in terms of installation and maintenance; ensuring we also highlight potential vulnerabilities within the wider network.

The importance of private networks

Risk increases when or if data is exposed to the open internet, which is why utilities must leverage control using the latest IP technology – securely operating within public networks or operating via secure, private networks.

Private networks, and dedicated hubs, such as those within a TSAT satellite system, maintain a vital air gap between telemetry and control, and open public networks.

Enterprise systems on the other hand are often routed through internet protocols, are inherently more visible and therefore exposed. Simply, in an ideal world SCADA and telemetry data will not be mixed with enterprise traffic. Secure separation helps ensure this data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

After all, a sub-station with limited security can be disabled leading to regional power-loss, or worse still, large-scale disconnection at a grid’s source. If a hacker has knowledge of how a grid is being used and can interrupt the control of grid assets at the same time, they have all the power they need for a checkmate.

If a first principle of security is to separate the data’s carrier and storage, nowhere is this more important than on the Cloud where the superficially attractive proposition of cost-savings can lure one into holding telemetry data along with all other data used across the organisation’s operations.

Paradoxically perhaps, some of the legacy technology still widely used, carrying data between microcontrollers and small peripherals at the coalface of telemetry – such as Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) – are more secure, being insulated by virtue of a physical connection. Although, new IP-enabled technologies can and are currently deployed, albeit only when protected within a private network or software-defined trusted network.

There are plenty of examples, in the UK and further afield to illustrate the level of disruption water and energy supplies are prone to. The 1997 UK floods caused wholesale loss of clean water supply in a number of regions, in the US there was the Colonial pipeline attack and recently in Ukraine, hostile intervention has led to the disabling of energy – in this case wind farms.

In addition, the control of water flow becomes more critical with the increasing impact of Climate Change. Extremes necessitate accurate prediction and timely response to rapidly changing conditions. This must be controlled using the latest IP technology, all of which must be securely operated within public networks or operated via secure private networks.

Imagine the damage that could be done if the data-controlling process fell into the wrong hand and control of monitoring of pollution, reservoirs, removal of sewage in the networks was uncontrolled.

In the same way, managing diminished supplies of energy between, and within countries, depends on intelligent, smart technology, automatically distributing supply to wherever it is required.

All of this being done through controls and networks that are vulnerable to hostile forces. It is essential, therefore, that in addition to the protection of static data, the means by which data moves is equally resilient, and that in turn means having backup systems in place.

The here and the now

As IoT becomes more embedded in industry day-to-day, it becomes vital that all devices and local networks associated with a grid carry technology and software to protect them. One such way is SD WAN technology (software defined, WAN) which keeps data locked down and secure from the outside world.

At the same time, the technology ensures consistent application performance and resilience by automatically steering traffic in an application-driven manner based on business intent, security protocols and WAN architecture.

Primary bearers and platforms need to have alternatives in place, which means satellite, LTE, 4g/5g solutions. One of the benefits of telemetry data is its relative size.

Because telemetry data requires less bandwidth than much of the traffic going over an enterprise system, it can also be more difficult to trace, though we advise all our clients to have these backup solutions in place, and if necessary, back-ups to back-ups.

Utilities looking to embed and maintain a strategic threat intelligence programme should constantly review their systems and technology alongside their connectivity partners. This is necessary to identify gaps and opportunities based on whatever threat intelligence protocols they have in place to increase situational awareness across teams.

At Ground Control, as a cyber-accredited business, we are responsible for the provision worldwide of connectivity solutions to utilities and other sectors and we advise clients of risks and trends facing their operations and ways to combat this and build better resilience within their networks. This includes satellite as well as terrestrial networks, which transmit and receive data vital to the monitoring and performance of systems.

In our recent paper, ‘Data’s journey in shaping digital transformation in Utilities, and what it all means’, we examine how data has been a catalyst for digitalisation among companies within the utilities sector, and how such disruption, outages and supply interruptions result in huge financial burden and penalties for the supplier, and severe (often prolonged) disruption for consumers.

Which brings us back to the beginning; being aware of the risks, including an acceptance that they may come from closer to home than one might at first think, is as critical as the data that needs protecting.

Why conditions are ripe for eSIM adoption

5G and cloud have created the perfect backdrop for widespread eSIM adoption and the convenience and cost-saving benefits of eSIM go beyond mobile phones. The technology will change how we interact with other electronic devices too, says Yuval Mayron, general manager for IoT at Amdocs.

The eSIM makes it possible to apply cellular connectivity to all consumer electronic devices. eSIM supported by 5G and private networks will make the leap into the mainstream. eSIM is a revolutionary technology and telcos must consider its adoption in the context of the entire ecosystem.

Supporting its implementation requires new strategies and processes. Everyone knows how SIM cards work, but the logistics of changing a tiny piece of plastic every time you want to switch mobile network provider, especially when you travel, is cumbersome and frustrating.  

The same can be said for waiting for a new SIM card to arrive. Not many digital services require the user to wait days between order and activation- so why can’t we put the SIM experience on a par with the frictionless digital processes that today’s consumer expects? 

An eSIM allows the user to change their service provider in an instant.  eSIM is the key to modernising the telecoms user experience to meet consumer expectations. 

5G allows cellular data to be handled in new and exciting ways. It means the cost of connectivity is no longer a barrier and the same can be said for battery life. Indeed, using 5G, an IoT device can work continuously for almost a decade without the battery being replaced. Cloud technologies allow vast amounts of data to be managed and monetised cost-effectively.

With eSIM, the manufacturer can add services and features remotely and instantly. Customers can change their subscriptions quickly without handling hardware,  just like they can with services like video streaming. Users can access multiple digital profiles and service plans and switch instantly with the same device.

There is a real consumer appetite for eSIM, too. Amdocs research found that 81 per cent of consumers are either actively in favour or open to an eSIM-only future for smartphones. Only compared to just 19 per cent who said they aren’t ready. Consumers who want their mobile provider to integrate eSIM into their offering outnumber those who don’t by nearly four to one. 

Consumers like the ability to switch providers and plans in an instant. A third of the 2,500 consumers surveyed across the US, UK and Australia describing this as the biggest benefit of eSIM technology.

What eSIM adoption means for telcos

eSIM allows telcos to deliver the instant digital experiences consumers expect. By removing the logistics of handling physical SIM cards, a telco can reach its customers worldwide through digital channels at a lower cost.

Standards on manufacturers, device types, or operating systems no longer matter. New considerations will revolve around how we transfer digital profiles among different devices to create a seamless user flow. Operators must deliver capabilities on par with plastic SIM cards while creating an intuitive, simple, flexible, and functional experience. 

While Apple and Google work side by side with operators, telcos are ultimately responsible for the customer relationships. Service providers must develop their own experiences in parallel to differentiate their offerings. 

Consumers want to manage their communications with a network with a phone call or chat conversation. They don’t want visit a store to install and activate a SIM card. Call centres must be equipped to push updates and features to customers’ devices over the air just like other digital services.

Connecting the dots among all the networks, providers, devices and touch points is easier said than done. Telcos must navigate a legacy infrastructure, complexities, processes, and experiences to support eSIM adoption with new business processes. They need to deliver ‘one-click’ activation, not 25 clicks. 

eSIM: the time is now

We’re just scratching the surface of eSIM’s potential. Subscription has become fluid, and access can be adjusted on the fly to deliver the best experience at the right time. It has the flexibility to be updated with capabilities to support endless use cases.

We all know what happens when Apple makes a move. The anouncement of an eSIM-only variant of the iPhone 14 has the potential to turbo-charge the rise of eSIM. 

If you want to control customer relationships, deliver the best end-to-end experience, drive revenue with value-added services, and differentiate yourself in the market now is the time to jump on the eSIM bandwagon.