At the end of this blog, we answer the following frequently asked questions in addition to other topics:
Q1. What is WiFi?
Q2. What is a 5G NR?
What Is the Current Scenario of the Telecommunications Market?
The telecommunications market is more innovative and full of opportunity than ever – the reason being that the market is quickly changing, which can pose challenges for competing operators in the space. The rapid pace of today’s marketplace, combined with a rising number of Over-the-Top (OTT) players, has required all operators to become more responsive and agile in order to keep up and maintain healthy revenue streams. Let’s take a look at some of the most common obstacles that operators face today, as well as some strategies for how to sidestep them.
What Are Common Obstacles Operators Face and How Can They Be Sidestepped?
- Interoperability
Depending on the device, OS and application being used, interoperability can become a major challenge, especially with feature phones and non-IP-based devices, which can result in fragmented communication and billing. To prevent this, consider implementing a billing system that doesn’t require you to do a complete overhaul of your existing legacy billing system but rather one that seamlessly integrates with the equipment. This will enable you to save on costs and avoid a rip-and-replace.
- Creating and Capitalizing on New Services
Consumer preferences and usage patterns are ever-changing, meaning traditional services and products will no longer secure revenue. To help stay ahead of the curve, operators must switch from traditional voice services and cast an eye toward data and revenue opportunities like bundling. Not only this, but you must ensure that you can bring new products and services quickly to market-something that a bleeding-edge, OTT Monetization Platform that helps operators to adopt diverse partnership models for various OTT partners including platform partners, content partners, banks etc opening up new avenues for revenue generation through a faster rollout of OTT services and reaping the benefit out of it.
- Dependency on Operators to Ensure a High Quality of Service (QoS)
A large part of ensuring revenue generation is locking in customer satisfaction. To guarantee that customers are happy, high QoS must be delivered for applications and services. This means rapidly delivering services and accurately charging for those services — something that a fully-featured telecom billing solution can handle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What is WiFi?
Put simply, Wifi is a technology that uses radio waves to create a wireless network through which devices like mobile phones, computers, printers etc., connect to the internet. A wireless router is needed to establish a Wifi hotspot that people in its vicinity may avail to get access to internet services. You’re sure to have encountered such a Wifi hotspot in houses, offices, restaurants, etc.
To get a little more technical, Wifi works by enabling a Wireless Local Area Network or WLAN, that allows for devices connected to it to exchange signals with the internet via a router. The frequencies of these signals are either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bandwidths. These frequencies are much higher than those transmitted to or by radios, mobile phones, and televisions since Wifi signals need to carry significantly greater amounts of data. The networking standards are variants of 802.11, of which there are several (802.11a, 802.11b, 801.11g, etc.).
Q2. What is 5G NR?
5G typically refers to the fifth generation of wireless technology and NR or commonly known as New Radio is a set standard developed by the 3GPP Group (Release 15 being the first version introduced back in 2018) outlining the technology required to harness the newly-available millimetre-wave frequencies. The two frequency bands in which 5GNR operates are Frequency Range 1 ie Sub 6GHz band (410 MHz to 7125 MHz) and Frequency Range 2 ie millimetre-wave (24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz). Over 4G LTE, 5G NR provides better spectrum utilization, faster data rates, hardware efficiency, and improved signal processing.
From a deployment standpoint, we have Non-Standalone Mode(NSA), Dynamic Spectrum Sharing(DSS), and Standalone Mode (SA). The initial deployments of 5G NR are based on NSA standards, meaning the existing 4G LTE network will operate on the control plane, and 5G NR will be introduced to the user plane. This particular standard was introduced by 3GPP keeping in mind the industry’s push to faster 5G services rollout while utilising the existing 4G LTE infrastructure, currently in place. On the other hand, operators are also implementing Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) for accelerating the deployment cycle, reducing costs, and improving spectrum utilisation. In this standard same spectrum is shared between the 5G NR and 4G LTE, while being multiplexed over time as per the user demands. Lastly, we have the Standalone Mode (SA) which is moving towards a complete 5G based network where both signalling and the information transfer are driven by a 5G cell.
Going forward, 5G will enable new services, connect new industries and devices, empower new experiences, and much more, providing mission-critical services, enhanced mobile broadband, and a massive number of things.
a) Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) Applications: High device connectivity, High mobile data rates, and Mobile AR & VR applications
b) Ultra-reliable, low-latency communications (uRLLC)Applications: Autonomous vehicles, Drones, Data monitoring, Smart mfg.
c) Massive machine-type communications (mMTC) Applications: Healthcare, Industry 4.0, Logistics, Environmental monitoring, Smart farming, Smart grids.