INNOVATION
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Telecoms – the perfect storm MTN Group is taking on the challenge of turbulent and uncertain environments, write Paul Norman and Sharmla Chetty
Arguably, the telecoms industry is seeing more change than any other. There are four major forces for change: technology, regulation, increased competition and heightened customer expectations. On the technology side, there has been a huge shift from voice revenue to digital and data over the last five years. Over the coming five years the next big shift will be automation, to streamline processes that currently rely on multiple and often incompatible data sources from network providers, engineers, sales representatives and customers. Telcos are placing great emphasis on developing analytics skills to gain a better understanding of the huge amounts of data they collect daily. The industry is beginning to see significant investments in customer and business analysis, to understand revenue and net promoter score (NPS) drivers and to improve customer value management. Dialogue Q4 2018
Each market shift requires new skills, new ways of working, a new operating model and a new culture. Transforming your business every five years is no easy task. Moving on to regulatory changes: these are frequent, inconsistent and region or countryspecific, often a challenge for an international company operating in dierent geographies. Regulators are also struggling to keep up with the pace of technological advancement. In some markets, industry taxes can be a hefty source of revenue. Some governments continue to issue new operator licences, while other regulators are reducing the number of licences in markets where only one or perhaps two operators are viable. Other governments are keeping a close eye on customer demands and acting on their behalf. In South Africa, for example, the regulator is seeking to change the rules, so that unused data cannot be sold again to