According to Telecoms.com's annual industry report, the industry is very pleased with the business performance of telecommunications in 2022, with 63 percent voting for an "excellent" or "good" year.
The newly released report takes stock of the industry's performance this year, as well as the views of the professionals surveyed on the outlook for 2023 and beyond. With 63 percent of respondents rating business performance in 2022 as "excellent" or "good," as well as a consensus on a positive outlook for next year, there is a general sense of optimism and accomplishment.
The general consensus is that the pandemic recovery is under control, as the report shows that nearly half of respondents believe the telecommunications industry will rebound more strongly than before Covid-19, driven by pent-up demand or a post-pandemic view of business as usual.
The survey looks at key telecom priority investment areas for next year, noting that security, digital transformation, the Internet of Things and broadband will be the top four areas of telecom business in 2023. Further delving into telecom technology, the 5G independent core was identified as having a materially positive impact on the wider adoption of 5G. Nevertheless, the high cost of network equipment and network deployment is still seen as the biggest key challenge to deploying standalone 5G.
Other challenges identified in the automation of broadband networks and services include legacy infrastructure and siloed operation across technologies. Lack of skills and resources was also flagged as a major barrier to deploying IoT and Open RAN technologies.
In terms of emerging services and technologies, 60 percent of respondents identified the meta-boundary as the most hyped emerging technology, while more than half of respondents also said it "doesn't make business sense. At the same time, the survey reported that more than four in five telecom professionals believe video delivery is key to the telecom business, with a third of them considering it a "top priority.
Overall, the survey results provide a promising and positive backdrop for 2023. While the survey also recognizes some of the technical and operational challenges that remain, it also captures key areas of opportunity for telecom companies to improve. Efficiency is particularly important given the global economic crisis that is now intensifying in many parts of the world.
If you would like to read the full analysis and access the data behind the results, you can download the report here.
