IoT opportunities for telecommunications companies

20 Jul 2022

Connected devices are becoming increasingly more common. Smart fridges, wearables capable of measuring our pulse, heaters that connect remotely, and so on. This not only applies at home, but IoT is also useful in companies and factories as it allows greater control in detecting errors and problems.

The telecommunications sector benefits from all this usage because all these devices need an internet connection. And 5G seems to be the best solution to boost their development, as well as technologies such as Edge Computing to deal with the amount of data generated in this type of devices.

Creating new telecommunications solutions for customers

Telecommunications companies can not only provide the network necessary to connect IoT devices but can also offer innovative new products and services to their customers.

For example, and especially in the B2B domain, telecommunications companies could get involved in analysing data from IoT devices for their customers. Thanks to technologies such as AI or Machine Learning, it will be possible to make predictions and facilitate decision-making for companies. Similarly, they could extend their value chain to the storage of this data, both in B2B and B2C, filtering what is important from all the data extracted from the devices.

And, of course, the most common point where telecoms will be involved is as providers of the internet services needed for their customers’ devices. They could provide a complete network for homes, cities, or even businesses with multiple devices distributed across single or multiple locations.

The possibilities of IoT

To understand the scope of the opportunity for telecommunications companies, there are many areas in which the internet of things can play a role:

• Contributing to the smooth functioning of other key sectors such as water or energy.

• Logistics and transport, facilitating the tracking of products. This is especially relevant for groceries, as it can control changes in temperature and other variables that may affect food quality.
• Manufacturing chains can detect faults in the production chain and even carry out predictive maintenance of machines.
• Agriculture and livestock sector, easier controlling irrigation systems, automatic feeders, climatic conditions, etc.

These are just a few examples of the use of IoT in different sectors that will require an Internet connection. But the telecommunications market will not only be able to take advantage of the IoT as a business opportunity but will also be able to implement it in its facilities, monitoring possible damage to lines, network failures, etc. In other words, it will not only become a key supplier for the IoT but will also be able to take advantage of all its benefits internally.