The global growth in telephony, internet, and cable television services slowed down in 2023, reaching $1.504 billion. This deceleration in the telecommunications sector has been attributed to factors such as weak economies and inflation, which have raised prices. Although growth will continue in 2024, the pace will be slower.
According to an IDC study, growth in this market is estimated at 1.4% for the next year, reaching $1.530 billion. The EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) showed the highest growth at 3.3%, followed by Asia-Pacific (3%) and America (0.5%).
Reasons for Slow Growth
The main reasons for this slow growth include economic instability, inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty caused by conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The cooling of the Chinese economy also impacts growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
Despite these challenges, there are positive signs such as growth in India and emerging markets, increased demand for mobile data and M2M applications, as well as the rise of fixed broadband services and the momentum of VoD and OTT services.
How Can AI Help Telcos?
Artificial intelligence (AI) can offer telecommunications companies the opportunity to modernize their operations, improve efficiency, and provide superior customer experiences. In this way, telcos can stay competitive in a changing environment and seize new opportunities to increase their margins.
Kresimir Alic, research director at IDC, states that telecommunications companies are already using AI for use cases such as chatbots, virtual assistants, network traffic management, predictive maintenance, personalized marketing, fraud detection, customer churn prediction, and revenue assurance.
AI can help telcos to:
Modernize Operations: Allows for more effective network management by identifying potential issues before they affect service and optimizing technical resources.
Improve Efficiency: Automating processes and predicting problems helps reduce costs and streamline decision-making.
Offer Superior Customer Experiences: Chatbots and virtual assistants provide more personalized and agile support, improving customer satisfaction.
Maintain Competitiveness: Enables companies to respond to changing customer needs and adjust service offerings to maximize revenue.
In summary, AI can be a powerful ally for telecommunications companies to adapt to the rapidly evolving environment, modernize their operations, and stay relevant as the market evolves.