International Telecoms Week’s Big Themes & Hot Topics

The world is reopening and International Telecoms Week (ITW) is back at its new home at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, MD, near Washington, DC. The three major themes this year were digital transformation, infrastructure, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).

Digital Transformation in a Changing Telecom Landscape

 Churn in the market has caused declines of traditional telecom revenue (e.g., voice and PSTN) to the tune of 20%. However, cloud-based services are up 30%, outpacing everything. All telecoms will have to deal with this commoditization.

Another recurring theme is simplification. How can we simplify and aggregate our gateway into the Canadian footprint? At Distributel, we know that cover and network reliability are key drivers.

Your wholesale carrier partner provides the secure, reliable, and high-performing network and data centre solutions your customers need and expect, all in the work of extending your reach across Canada. Which providers have a managed service practice that can help organizations manage their technology landscape? Managed services are a game changer for telecommunications.

Infrastructure

Everyone we met wants to aggregate and automate. Regarding international collaboration with carriers who want to connect to Canada, our partners are looking to work with one partner who has one portal to do business in Canada rather than deal with three to five carriers. Remember, the leading carriers deliver a world-class portal. Is your carrier working towards an automated network to support your efficiencies in service delivery?

Environmental, Social, & Corporate Governance

A PricewaterhouseCoopers report has found that ESG reporting is falling short across Canada’s top 150 public companies. They write,

“Although in Canada, ESG disclosures are currently voluntary, there are already signs and trends indicating changes on the horizon, like the Canadian Securities Administrators’ proposed climate-related disclosure requirements. There are several foundational steps that organizations can take to prepare themselves to meet future regulatory requirements as well as create value through their sustainability reporting.”

By considering ESG criteria, telecom operators can leverage standards that investors, customers, and employees will use more and more to evaluate the sustainability of a company. This is important because they will soon start facing hard questions such as their Total Societal Impact (TSI). Operators must establish their ESG credentials if they are to continue to attract investors. Most approaches involve detailing commitments, transparency, performance, and advocacy related to ESG issues.

Our Final Thoughts

We’re beyond pleased that ITW is back, and we can’t wait to attend more in the future. For now, we’re looking forward to continuing the conversation. Book a meeting with us today!