Telecom industry witnesses' new trends amid disruptive technologies and an ever-rising demand from residences and enterprises.

In 2020, the pandemic induced lockdown came impacted the telecom industry by increasing mobile data consumption, voice traffic, and residential broadband. The telecom companies took many initiatives and to enhance customer experience and generate revenue consistently. But many technology experts believe the telecom industry is transforming by a slew of disruptive technologies in 2021. The disruptive technologies will make many existing telecom industry trends obsolete and boost new telecom trends. Few of the trends observed in the industry are as follows:

OpenRAN Architecture
Unlike conventional radio access network (RAN), open radio access network (OpenRAN) architecture enables network operators to style and implement 4G and 5G networks by integrating vendor-neutral software and hardware components. In 2020, leading telecom companies adopted the new-generation technology to hurry up network expansion and reduce network cost. OpenRAN creates a chance for telecom operators to urge software and hardware components from many equipment vendors. In 2021, OpenRAN will transform the telecom industry by becoming the new normal. Here is a stimulating blog on benefits of OpenRAN.

5G Networks
In 2021, the telecom companies will implement 5G networks and offer 5G services gradually. 5G will transform the network experience of consumers by delivering ultrafast speed and ultralow latency. At an equivalent time, 5G also will boost Internet of Things (IoT) by facilitating massive machine-type communication. Telecom companies across the planet have already started creating new and innovative use cases for 5G.

AI And ML
5G will act as a medium to drive integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) into the network edge. The next-generation wireless networks will leverage AI and ML to forecast end-user distribution, predict peak traffic, and enhance network capability. The ML algorithms will make it easier for telecom companies to implement network slicing and beamforming. AI-driven tools such as chatbots and virtual assistants can be used to ensure that the customer support services run seamlessly. These tools aid in providing personalized customer engagement services based on customer history. In addition to customer service, AI/ML also enables to optimize the network quality by predictive maintenance and smart impact analysis. AI-based analytics enables DSPs/telcos to predict future industry trends and continuously assess their services for bugs or pitfalls.

Mobile Edge Computing
Many telecom companies have already launched projects to implement mobile edge computing to cater to the exponential growth of smartphones and IoT devices. Many tech analysts believe that mobile edge computing will transform the telecom industry in 2021 as a disruptive technology. The telecom companies will leverage edge computing to bring data storage and computing closer to the end-user’s devices. Additionally, to reducing latency, edge computing will speed up the processing of real-time data collected and transmitted through connected devices.

Next-Generation IoT
The disruptions caused by COVID-19 pandemic made enterprises from various industries invest in IoT. Also, the demand for smart home devices surged in 2020. The ultrafast speed and ultralow latency enabled by 5G will boost IoT by making connected devices exchange real-time data almost instantly. The demand for home and industrial IoT devices and applications will increase consistently within the post-pandemic world. The telecom companies need to expand and upgrade networks to cater to the info usage needs of latest IoT solutions and applications employed by enterprises across industries.

Network Footprint Expansion
In 2021, many enterprises and organization will allow employees to work from home. Likewise, many students prefer online live classes or eLearning to standard classrooms. Also, 5G is predicted to extend mobile data usage by 400% within the near future. To cater to the huge demand from the enterprise and residential consumers, the telecom companies will expand network footprints.

Diversified Ecosystem     
In 2020, leading network operators, device manufacturers, and chip-manufacturers formed the Open RAN Policy Coalition with the aim to stay wireless technologies like 5G open and interoperable. The members of the coalition have already launched projects and announced plans to facilitate designing and implementation of modular telecom networks that don't depend on one vendor. In 2021, more network operators are expected to return together, join such alliances, and form new alliances to adopt disruptive technologies.

DevOps
DevOps is not a new term in the telecom ecosystem. However, it is becoming an important model as the telecom space is rapidly shifting towards virtualization platforms. By implementing virtual network functions (VNF), telecom operators are continually delivering new services and functionality. Now, the stability of the network should be preserved while accommodating these changes. Here is where DevOps comes into the picture and helps these disparate groups to operate efficiently in a synchronized way. Being one of the top telecom trends, the efficient DevOps implementation can have benefits such as efficient control over the network, reduced CAPEX, elimination of manual configuration, network scalability and resilience, real-time orchestration of network resources, and reduced time to market for new apps, solutions, etc.