Expanded footprint now gives the operator group a presence in 38 countries as it promises to “transform the telecom landscape in the central and eastern Europe”
e& has closed the acquisition of a controlling stake in PPF Telecom Group’s operations in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. It now owns 50% plus one economic share in those opcos.
In a press statement, e& said of the completed deal, “This acquisition marks a significant step in e&’s ongoing global expansion ambitions, diversifying and growing its geographical presence to 38 countries.
“This milestone is poised to transform the telecom landscape in the central and eastern Europe (CEE) region and deliver enhanced value to over 10 million customers across the four markets. The partnership will provide them access to cutting-edge technologies, expanded product offerings, and innovative digital services to accelerate digital growth and empower businesses and communities alike.”
e& says the deal will enable it to “leverage synergies in network operations, procurement and customer service, driving increased operational efficiency and unlocking new opportunities for growth, innovation and enhanced customer experiences across the region.”
And added, “e&’s expertise in digital services, AI and IoT will further enhance PPF Telecom’s offerings, ensuring a seamless transition and continued access to best-in-class services. Customers will benefit from an expanded portfolio of world-class products and services, including advanced B2B and IoT solutions.”
Operator raises its full-year guidance for the second time this year after another successful quarter with its fibre strategy paying off
Proximus has agreed to sell its datacentres to the Belgium-based Datacenter United for an enterprise value of €128 million. It expects to close the transation in Q1 of 2025, subject to all the necessary agreements and approvals being obtained.
Proximus says it will “continue to pursue its hybrid cloud strategy and further sharpen its focus on delivering value added services to customers as an IT integrator”.
New entity
The transaction is structured “as a transfer of branch of activity into a newly incorporated entity owned by Datacenter United”. Proximus intends to transfer the employees and subcontractors involved in datacentre activities to this new entity.
The sale covers the datacentre infrastructure in Evere, Mechelen and Machelen, including the Proximus-owned property on the former two locations, the supplier contracts and part of the housing customer contracts.
The datacentres provide a total capacity of about 11MW, serving Proximus’ internal IT applications and B2B housing and hosting services for enterprise customers.
After the transaction, Proximus will enter into a 10-year master service agreement (MSA) with the new entity to secure the provision of datacentre services, along with a separate multi-year lease agreement for office and telco spaces in Evere and Mechelen.
The colocation and rental fees paid by Proximus will be partly offset by opex savings for the operations and maintenance, and reduced capex investment related to the ongoing modernisation of the datacentres’ infrastructure and activities.
Specialist support
Proximus reckons that by joining forces with a specialised operational partner like Datacenter United it will be able to focus more on “delivering top-notch integrated IT services” and its hybrid cloud strategy.
It says it will continue to offer an end-to-end service, integrating public and private cloud with on-premise solutions, naturally with AI in the mix, plus security and managed service capabilities.
Datacenter United was founded in 2010 and operates nine datacentres in Belgium, ensuing that data remains hosted in Belgium.
The sale of the datacentre business is part of Proximus’ bold2025 strategy to optimise its assets to focus on core activities, including by divesting itself of €500 million-worth of assets by 2027.
Guillaume Boutin, CEO of Proximus Group (pictured) said, “The decision to cooperate with an external partner on our datacentre housing and infrastructure business is a key milestone in our asset divestment plan. By partnering with Datacenter United, we ensure that Proximus and our customers will continue to benefit from state-of-the-art infrastructure while we concentrate on delivering excellent IT integration services.”
Earnings report
The CEO was also celebrating the operator’s Q3 results, raising full-year guidance for the second time this year. Boutin said about the Q3 results, “Domestically, our Residential unit continues to perform very well in spite of an intense competitive market, with B-brands adjusting mobile pricing in anticipation of the newcomer on the Belgian market. Thanks to our top-tier gigabit networks, and our multi-branded competitive offering, we successfully expanded our postpaid customer base by 44,000 over the third quarter.
“At the same time, we further grew our residential internet base in a seasonally slower quarter, adding 9,000 subscriptions. For our Business unit, we achieved further growth in IT and Fixed Data services, partially offsetting the headwind from some IT product volatility and the contract loss of the Vlaamse Overheid in 2023.
During the quarter, Proximus also gained more than 47,000 mobile postpaid customers. The consolidation of Proximus’ and Orange Belgium’s mobile infrastructure, managed by Mwingz, continues.
In the quarter is signed up more than 9,000 fixed broadband subscribers and some 13,000 converged service customers. It has passed more than 2.1 home with fibre and has a total of 1,814,000 active residential fibre lines. This a 2.5% in a year, helped by Proximus’ expanding fibre footprint and its multi-brand approach.
Proximus is expanding its fibre network, now reaching 35% of Belgian premises (2.08 million), with its FTTC footprint hitting 40%. Domestic revenue was up 1.5%, with residential services’ revenue up by 3% and its business unit revenues increased 0.5% year-on-year.
This is thought be part of CEO Allison Kirkby’s plan to simplify the business and operations
According to the FT, BT Group is working with investment bankers Citigroup, on a possible sale of its financial services unit, Radianz. This is seen as part of CEO Allison Kirkby’s plan to simplify the group. The Radianz service is used by financial institutions to link banks, brokers, exchanges and clearing houses.
Kirkby (pictured) is looking to overhaul the telecoms company “by cutting costs and simplifying its products, platforms and processes,” the report says. Kirkby became CEO in February but has sat on BT’s board since 2019.
BT acquired Radianz from Reuters for $175 millon in 2005, alongside a $3 billion contract to supply the media and financial information group with all its network services.
The unit is said to earn £60 million to £70 million a year, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation, the report says, suggesting its sale value could be “in the low hundreds of millions of pounds”.
Neither BT not Citi would comment on the report.
Radianz is part of BT’s beleaguered business division, formed from merging BT’s enterprise and global units in 2022. The division – and before the merger, its constituent parts – have been struggling for some years.
There was a 5% fall in adjusted revenue to £1.9 billion for the quarter to the end of June, and a 2% drop in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation year on year to £378 million.
In November 2023 while setting out his strategy, Bas Burger, CEO of BT Business, acknowledged that previous promises of growth had “not all materialised”.
Still, shares in BT Group rose more than 17% after the full-year results were announced in May when Kirkby announced an additional £3 billion cost-cutting initiative, an increase to its dividend and new cash flow guidance.
BT is believed to be exploring the sale of its Irish and Italian units: in July there were reports of the possible sale of the rump of its scandal-hit Italian business being sold to investment groups. Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim and India’s Sunil Bharti Mittal have both become shareholders since Kirkby took up the reins. BT Grop’s
IDC says Huawei has roared back in its domestic market as the vendor divorces itself from Android with latest OS
China smartphone shipments grew 3.2% year over year (YoY) to 68.8 million units in 3Q24, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of expansion, fuelled by a surge in device upgrades driven by sustained pent-up demand. The results for the world’s largest smartphone market came in analysts International Data Corporation’s (IDC) latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.
Meanwhile, Apple re-entered the Top 5 smartphone companies at second place with the launch of its new iPhone 16 series. Initial sales figures are on par with its predecessor, and the company anticipates that upcoming promotions and the anticipated launch of Apple Intelligence will drive future demand.
“A significant wave of device upgrades is propelling the sustained recovery of the Chinese smartphone market,” said IDC China senior research analyst Arthur Guo. “Despite ongoing economic challenges, consumers are highly motivated to purchase new smartphones after three years of pent-up demand.”
Chinese OEMs – vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi – contributed to the 3.8% growth in the Android market, each achieving robust double-digit growth. vivo maintained its leadership position in the Chinese market in 3Q24, leveraging its effective strategy of distinct product positioning across its main and sub-brands.
Huawei kicks on globally
Huawei has staged an impressive comeback, according to IDC, recording four consecutive quarters of at least double-digit growth in China’s market. The launch of the world’s first tri-foldable phone is expected to further drive the foldable market development.
The company has had to be creative in the wake of the US chip ban and the emerging details around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company suspending shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo after a chip it made was found on a Huawei AI processor is just the latest twist. As Reuters reports, Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B after a tear down of the handset, according to people familiar with the matter. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security but despite this, it wants to achieve full autonomy in chips, operating systems and applications.
Last week, Huawei launched what some dubbed a “pure blood” beta version of HarmonyOS called Next, which the vendor said will no longer support Android-based applications – effectively binning Android on its devices and ecosystem.
At the launch, Huawei consumer business group chairman Richard Yu said HarmonyOS was now used on 1 billion devices. The Middle East will be a key market for Huawei’s OS. Emirates, one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates, has already launched an app on HarmonyOS.
Currently, HarmonyOS Next is available on a number of devices including Huawei’s Mate 60 and Huawei Pura 70 series, among others, and will be available on more handsets next year, including its latest trifold Mate XT smartphone and mid-range Nova models.
Other Chinese vendors
IDC said Xiaomi delivered its fifth straight quarter of growth by continuing to cater to budget-conscious consumers while also pushing boundaries in the high-end segment. Last week, reports emerged that Xiaomi had designed the country’s first 3-nanometre chip for smartphones, confounding experts who had been saying China was unlikely to do this for some years. No sooner than it was reported by state broadcaster Beijing Radio and Television Station (BRTV) and multiple other outlets, the reports were removed, adding to intrigue on the innovation.
Last month, we reported that Xiaomi had captured second place globally in terms of global smartphone sell-through volumes in August 2024, the first time after August 2021, even as its sales volumes remained flat MoM, compared to Apple’s seasonal decline during the same period according to preliminary numbers from Counterpoint Research’s Smartphone 360 Monthly Tracker. While this result was pre iPhone16 launch, it shows just how much progress Chinese vendors are making at the top end smartphone end and not just to commodity end.
IDC said Honor secured the fifth position in Top 5 driven by popular models like X50, that made Honor number one in the $100-$200 price segment. Additionally, new models like Magic Flip and Magic V3 propelled Honor to second place in the foldable market this quarter.
“We anticipate the positive growth trajectory to continue into the fourth quarter,” said IDC Asia/Pacific client devices research analyst Jacob Zhu. “This momentum will be bolstered by the early release of flagship models from leading brands, as well as the early kick-off of the Singles Day shopping festival.”
The company has broad ambitions to deploy secure, high-performance private networks to critical industries
Boldyn Networks has launched what it calls Private 5G as a Service, a new service offering for enterprise customers which offers four tiers of service levels, allowing organisations to customise services to align with their needs, while paying in monthly instalments. The tiers, quirkily named Innovation, Digitalisation, Automation, and Mission-Critical, range from using wireless technology to test 5G use cases to achieve maximum control over mission-critical objectives. Services include network operations, monitoring, maintenance, annual health checks, and spare parts management.
The shared infrastructure company, which says it has more than 60 private network deployments announced it was also investing €300 million to support the broader adoption of private networks worldwide.
Boldyn has been actively involved in several significant mobile infrastructure rollouts across Europe. Its acquisition of Finnish Edzcom – Cellnex’s private network unit – in March added over 50 private 4G and 5G networks to its portfolio. Spread around Finland, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden and the UK, these networks serve various industries, including manufacturing, transport, and energy.
The company claims Europe’s first private 5G network at a hospital – Oulu University Hospital in Finland and in keeping with the critical industry theme, Boldyn is intent on targeting the energy industry including providing the wireless network for the Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm in the UK.
Why the outsourcing?
While private 5G makes all the claims of classic 5G with AR/VR, V2X and robotics always thrown into the mix, it has a big advantage over wi-fi in that it is not a “best-effort” technology like the latter. So while it isn’t going to replace wi-fi – and particularly the much improved WiFi 7 – it can certainly complement that technology is is is good for outdoor coverage, currently has a better handover for moving assets, and it features increased capacity for data from sensors and cameras, ensuring high uptime for critical devices.
This, said Boldyn, enhances operational efficiency through remote and predictive management and improves safety by reducing the need for physical presence in hazardous locations. Its argument is that outsourcing private 5G allows teams to mitigate large initial costs and focus on core business activities instead of network management.
Boldyn said its tiered service model simplifies the selection of private 5G service packages. The service tiers match technology with enterprise needs. Private 5G restricts unauthorised access increasing cybersecurity and significantly reducing the risk of external threats. It facilitates device-to-cloud communication and enhances environmental compliance through automated climate and lighting control.
With enterprise wallets in mind Boldyn claimed that once attainable only through significant upfront investment, Private 5G as a Service now broadens access to these benefits for more enterprises, paying in manageable monthly instalments.
“This service has revolutionised our value proposition, enabling clients to benefit from a reliable network without the need for significant technology investments upfront. This dedicated service offers substantial savings in terms of time, resources, and finances,” said Private Networks Europe CEO Mikko Uusitalo. “We handle network operations, maintenance, and cybersecurity, eliminating the need for in-house capabilities and resources.”
“With decades of experience in designing and deploying private networks, we understand our customers’ desired business outcomes. We’ve seen a significant demand for services that align technology with customers’ specific use case needs,” he said. “With many customers already opting for monthly payment instalments, we have identified a growing demand for an ‘as a Service’ solution that matches technology with their needs, rather than just pushing 5G to enterprises.”
He added: “We are committed to making private networks more accessible by funding digital transformation enterprise projects. This commitment, combined with our range of service levels, now makes private 5G accessible to a wide array of organisations.”
The Port of Kemi in Finland (above) is among the first European organisations to utilise Private 5G as a Service for various use case scenarios. Markku Rautio, CEO at the Port of Kemi, said: “Boldyn has played a crucial role in driving digital transformation at our port. Their solutions have enabled us to address real-time vessel and cargo management challenges, particularly those posed by extreme weather conditions.”
He added: “This has significantly optimised the movements and wait times of vessels coming into the port. By opting for a service-based subscription, we have seamlessly integrated this technology, benefiting from Boldyn’s expert consultancy, management, and maintenance, with complete peace of mind.”
Operator looks to reduce energy consumption and increase B2B capabilities, as well as customer experience
du is to extend its strategic partnership with Nokia to expand its 5G network. The new agreement will support technologies such as enhanced mobile broadband, advanced 5G carrier aggregation, network slicing, massive IoT connectivity through reduced capability (RedCAP) and edge computing.
du will deploy Nokia’s 5G AirScale RAN portfolio, including baseband, Massive MIMO Habrok radios, and remote radio head products for even “the most challenging environments”. The new 5G infrastructure will be more energy efficient, helping du towards its goal of being net-zero carbon by 2030.
Saleem AlBlooshi (pictured), Chief Technology Officer at du comments, “Our collaboration with Nokia represents a major leap forward in du’s mission to deliver exceptional network performance and innovative services. Leveraging Nokia’s 5G portfolio will not only enhance our network’s efficiency and flexibility but also enable us to explore new opportunities and services that can deliver genuine value to our customers and society at large.
Mohamed Samir, VP, Mobile Networks at Nokia Middle East, added, “By leveraging Nokia’s cutting-edge technology, du will be positioned as a frontrunner in the 5G services. Our shared vision is to redefine network performance with scalable, energy-efficient solutions, unlocking new avenues for 5G monetization and paving the way for future innovations that will transform connectivity across the region.”
“A billing migration with 0 faults in it. A billing migration is like an open-heart surgery, on a marathon runner, while they run”
Dutch operator Odido has shifted its direct mobile customers to the cloud-native Ericsson Billing platform. It is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This will allow Odido “to offer innovative 5G services” including its newly launched Klik&Klaar fixed-wireless access (FWA), with greater operational efficiency and customer experience.
The migration was completed in August 2024, but has only just been announced by Ericsson and its end-to-end system integration partner Wipro. Some 5 million customers were transitioned over a single weekend. The migration to Ericsson Billing followed the earlier transition of 700,000 Ben MVNO users in November 2023, which was a milestone in Odido’s modernisation.
The latest migration means all Odido’s mobile customers, B2B and B2C, are served by Ericsson Billing, hosted on AWS. The project was carried out by Wipro in close collaboration with Ericsson and Odido to design and implement the solution. The integration into Odido’s IT landscape is intended to lower Odido’s technical debt, simplify the customer journey and reduce operating costs.
Søren Abildgaard, CEO of Odido, commented on the August migration, “We’ve just done a billing migration with 0 faults in it. A billing migration is like an open-heart surgery, on a marathon runner, while they run. And we managed to do that.”
Monetising 5G
Robert Purdy, the operator’s CIO, stressed, “This migration is a key step in our strategy to deliver exceptional customer experience. Partnering with Ericsson and Wipro has allowed us to modernise our billing infrastructure, ensuring we are ready to monetise the growing demand for 5G services.”
Mats Karlsson, Head of Solution Area Business & Operations Support Systems at Ericsson, added: “Our cloud-native billing platform offers the flexibility and scalability needed to meet the demands of 5G and beyond. It positions Odido for future growth, as it continues to innovate and expand its offerings.”
Sarat Chand, MD Northern Europe at Wipro comments, “This milestone enables Odido to embrace fully automated billing capabilities and state-of-the-art operations on a fully scalable cloud infrastructure.…This initiative underscores our deep partnership with Ericsson and Odido and reaffirms our commitment to continuously simplifying and future-proofing our customers’ IT.”
The site, in the Shropshire Hills, supports 4G and 5G services and will be 70% powered by wind and sun – a prototype for more to follow
BT Group has switched on its first partly self-powered mobile site which is in the Shropshire Hills. It is expected that about 70% of the energy it needs will be generated by the on-site solar panels and wind turbine. This green energy charges the batteries which power the equipment on the mast.
When there is insufficient renewable energy and the batteries are flat, the site will switch to a generator that runs on hydrotreated vegetable Oil (HVO) for back-up power to the mast and to charge to the batteries. HVO is itself classed as a green fuel as it is produced from various waste and residual oils.
BT Group expects the site to deliver about 17,000kWh of wind and solar energy per year, the equivalent of 100,000 hot showers. It will also save the operator more than £10,000 annually.
The Shropshire Hills site is trial, but BT Group has already identified hundreds more locations that could derive much of their power from on-site renewable sources, in particular in coastal or hilly locations.
BT wants to be a net zero business by 2031, in large part by improving the energy efficiency of its networks which account for around 89% of its total energy consumption.
Experimentation with the self-powering site follows the roll-out of energy-saving cell-sleep technology across its RAN estate earlier this year, as well as shutting down its 3G network.
Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer, BT Group, said, “Delivering ubiquitous coverage is critically important in an age where connectivity has never been so central to everyday life, but it absolutely must be done in a responsible and sustainable manner.
“It’s paramount that we increase the energy-efficiency of our networks, and so we’re really excited about the potential of self-powering sites in enabling us to meet both our sustainability and connectivity ambitions.”
Their demo showcases a secure, managed connection between the in-car gateway board and the cloud-side gateway
Global IoT company Soracom has chosen this week’s Automotive Edge Computing Consortium (AECC) in Berlin to unveil a collaboration with the world’s largest car manufacturer Toyota that demonstrates a next-generation network architecture for connected cars to securely connect with its OEM cloud.
Soracom’s IoT OEM cloud for connected cars provides a platform that enables car manufacturers to integrate and manage IoT services across a variety of vehicles, regardless of the underlying hardware or communication standards. It simplifies the process of connecting cars to the cloud by offering a unified system to handle connectivity, data transmission and device management. In addition, the platform supports flexible integration with different telecom carriers and hardware, making it adaptable to various international markets and standards.
Earlier this month, the company unveiled its global strategy for the connected car industry and claims it is on a mission to help address the numerous connectivity and cloud management challenges the sector faces. The company is well positioned to do so given it is a connectivity solution that offers a global IoT platform with full MVNO capability. Its cloud-native cellular core supports global multicarrier coverage, private fibre peering, VPNs and integration with various cloud services without the need for SDKs.
In the fragmented world of connected car standards, where each manufacturer or region might use different systems for connectivity, navigation, or safety, this kind of technology is crucial. Car manufacturers can use the same IoT platform across different regions without needing to redesign their systems for each country or telecom provider. At the same time, Soracom’s platform supports multiple connectivity options (e.g., 4G, 5G, LPWAN), which is critical as connected car standards and networks differ from one region to another.
Competition for cars
Soracom is not alone in this space. For example, through its Azure IoT Central platform, Microsoft provides cloud-based solutions for connected cars, focusing on data management, analytics and seamless integration with existing vehicle systems. It also offers connectivity management and AI-driven services to improve vehicle performance and customer experience, competing directly with Soracom’s global connectivity features. As part of Vodafone’s broader IoT solutions, Vodafone Automotive offered telematics and connected car services tailored for OEMs. Given its global presence, it will also directly compete with Soracom in this space after its mega-IoT deal with Microsoft.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a suite of IoT solutions for connected cars, including connectivity management, data processing and integration with other AWS services. Like Soracom, AWS offers global scalability and security. Cisco offers its IoT Control Center (formerly Jasper), which provides connectivity management for IoT devices, including connected vehicles. It enables car manufacturers to manage cellular connections across global networks, offering scalability and flexibility similar to Soracom, particularly in the areas of eSIM management and global connectivity.
In addition, Telit offers IoT solutions for connected cars, focusing on data collection, connectivity management, and real-time monitoring. Its global network partnerships and support for various communication protocols make it a competitor in providing scalable and flexible cloud-based services to car manufacturers.
Partnerships matter
To ramp up its connected car presence, Soracom joined the AECC in May 2024. As a member organisation, it now works alongside mobile network operators, automobile manufacturers, communications and cloud service providers, and other related technology standards organisations and technical communities to establish new technologies and standards that advance the connected car industry.
Working in collaboration with Toyota Motor Corporation, a fellow AECC member, the company is conducting phased testing of its connected car authentication and secure network solution. Soracom is also collaborating with AECC’s global members on advanced R&D of next-generation solutions that enable connected cars to connect to the cloud securely.
“We are thrilled to work with Toyota Motor Company on this PoC,” said Soracom co-founder and CTO Kenta Yasukawa. “This collaboration represents a major step forward in enabling a seamless, secure, and long-lasting connectivity solution for automotive ecosystems that should help make the next generation of connected cars maintain a secure connection with their OEM cloud backend.”
Partner content: Award winner of Outstanding Catalyst for Application of AI and Automation at TM Forum’s DTW24
Why it matters?
While personalisation is not an entirely new topic, it is now experiencing a significant surge in attention. This hype is driven by Communication Service Providers (CSPs) realising the need to engage customers more effectively and cost-efficiently, coupled with a growing customer demand for individualised experiences.
Additionally, CSPs have a unique opportunity to harness the potential of emerging technologies – such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Generative AI (GenAI) – which have witnessed remarkable advancements in recent months. While the adoption of these technologies is not mandatory, analysts suggest that organisations that hesitate to embrace them, risk being outpaced by their competitors.
Numerous studies highlight the transformative benefits these emerging technologies can offer, and they consistently affirm the competitive edge gained through their implementation.
Market challenges
CSPs are under increasing pressure to deliver the next best experience to their customers. However, the offerings – products, services and pricing – across different providers have become less distinctive and increasingly homogenised. When competition is fierce and options are equivalent, the key differentiator becomes the customer experience. The lack of differentiation not only presents challenges for CSPs in retaining customers but also expands customers’ selection options. The heightened competition exacerbates the urgency for CSPs to enhance customer satisfaction and trust, which are vital for securing long-term loyalty.
Moreover, CSPs are being pushed to continuously increase revenue while facing several challenges in a saturated market. There is a strong demand for high revenues and stable margins, which places considerable pressure on CSPs to optimise marketing investments and reach customers more effectively. Unfortunately, traditional mass marketing strategies often yield disappointing returns, necessitating a shift towards more targeted and efficient engagement strategies.
Another significant challenge is the ongoing pressure to reduce operational costs. Chief Operating Officers (COOs) and their teams face the imperative to innovate each year, seeking avenues for further improvements. These efficiencies can be achieved either through direct cost reductions or by optimising existing operations. A crucial part of this strategy involves promoting proactive care experiences that empower customers to utilise unassisted channels. By automating customers interactions and streamlining processes, CSPs can manage operational costs more effectively while still enhancing the customer experience.
Solution
To address these different challenges, a Catalyst consortium was formed, bridging the ambitions of both CSPs and technology vendors. The Catalyst champions included notable CSPs like Bell Canada, Jawwy from Saudi Telecom Company Group, and Vodafone represented by teams from both Vodafone Group and Vodafone UK. Participating in the consortium were system integrators and product vendors such as Celfocus, MATRIXX, and Qeema.
The primary objective of this Catalyst consortium was to deliver value through advanced analytics and cognitive solutions, tapping into the vast reservoir of data available to CSPs with three main ambitions:
Enhanced Customer Engagement – to foster truly hyper-personalised experiences tailored to individual customers.
Data Monetisation – to leverage existing data to create new revenue streams and promote revenue growth.
Operational Efficiency Improvement – to focus on enhancing customer support activities, reducing operational costs, and increasing overall productivity.
Data is critical to achieving these ambitions. Fortunately, CSPs hold a significant advantage over many other industries – they not only have access to a vast customer base but also collect a substantial amount of data on each customer interaction. Therefore, the challenge lies not in the deficit of data but in extracting relevant and actionable insights from it.
The Catalyst initiative has unlocked several innovative use cases, organised into three key modules, leveraging AI, ML and Gen AI models:
Real-Time Usage Prediction and Bill Forecasting – this use case aims to enhance customer satisfaction by proactively addressing and efficiently resolving customer expectations.
Personalised Plan Recommendations – by utilizing AI-enabled recommendation engines in real-time, this module aims to drive revenue growth through tailored recommendations of products and services.
Augmented Customer Support – leveraging Gen AI, this use case focuses on boosting agent productivity and efficiency while empowering customers to autonomously resolve their issues.
To enable these use cases, a suite of foundational platforms was integrated into the overall solution:
Digital Monetisation Platform – serves as the source for real-time usage and monetisation data.
Customer Data Platform – acts as the backbone, ingesting customer profiles through an event broker.
Data Insights Platform – houses the AI, ML and Gen AI models that generate relevant and actionable insights.
Digital Experience Platforms – these platforms facilitate the activation and delivery of enhanced customer experiences across digital channels, particularly selfcare and call centre interfaces.
Core Systems – from the foundation of the end-to-end solution, encompassing crucial components such as the Digital Billing Platform, Order Management System, and Product Catalogue.
The Catalyst project achieved remarkable accuracy levels across various models, evidenced by:
Prediction and Forecasting Models – error levels ranged between 3% and 6%.
Augmented Customer Support Metrics – accuracy rates reached between 85% and 93%.
To attain these high accuracy levels, access to real, anonymised data from the champions was essential for training and fine-tuning the models.
Differentiators
This Catalyst distinguished itself through four main differentiators that contributed significantly to the successful outcomes:
Data-Enabled Approach – the methodology employed facilitated a paradigm shift in data consumption by enabling a push model, allowing data to be shared proactively with relevant stakeholders instead of relying on a pull model.
Real-Time Capabilities – in today’s fast-paced environment, immediacy is crucial. The approach transitioned from a reactive framework to a proactive model underpinned by event-driven architecture, ensuring that valid insights remain relevant.
AI-Driven Insights – by leveraging AI, ML, and GenAI models, the Catalyst moved from rule-based strategies to those generating unique, context-sensitive insights, thus enhancing decision-making capabilities.
Hyper-Personalisation – the initiative emphasized a move from a generalised, segmented approach to one that focuses on individual needs, fostering one-to-one personalised experiences.
Benefits
This project demonstrated how automation, AI, and a robust platform of rich telecommunications data could be seamlessly integrated into business processes to enhance customer experiences and improve satisfaction scores by up to 10%[1]. Additionally, the project enabled faster revenue growth, with estimations suggesting increases of up to 15%[2] and market share expansion through accelerated innovation by 90%. Operational costs related to call centre operations were also reduced, notably by achieving call deflection rates of up to 50%[3] and decreasing call handling times by up to 40%[4].
Furthermore, the project aimed to quantify the tangible impacts of these digital solutions on business outcomes. Through testing AI-driven forecasting, recommendations, and support models with anonymised customer data, the project validated the solution’s accuracy and efficiency. The project team estimated potential annual gains for CSPs, presenting a range from pessimistic to optimistic scenarios influenced by various factors (geography, digitalisation maturity, call duration, labour costs, call volume, etc): €4.3M to €17.2M in Europe, €5.1M to €41.2M in North America, and €1.4M to €4.3M in the Middle East.
It is important to notice that in certain scenarios, CSPs may not yield a positive business case. This led to a crucial conclusion: always begin with a thorough analysis of the business case to inform the implementation roadmap and guide subsequent growth.
Industry recognition
This project received accolades from TM Forum at its DTW24 edition, securing one of the most coveted awards among 50 catalysts, 72 service providers, and 125 vendors, specifically for Outstanding Catalyst for Application of AI and Automation. This recognition highlights the innovative and sustainable use cases developed through this initiative.
For more information on Realtime Intelligent Customer Experience Catalyst and its implementation, please visit the TM Forum Catalyst Projects.
About the author
Luís Coelho is the Head of Hyper-Personalisation Offer at Celfocus. He brings over 20 years of comprehensive experience in delivering IT projects and pre-sales activities for the telecommunications and financial services sectors. Luís focuses on developing business and technical solutions that harness data to enable successful digital transformations. He bridges data, cognitive and digital capabilities to provide unique and highly relevant customer experiences, allowing service providers to connect with customers more effectively.
With a passion for the field, Luís’ unique value lies in his ability to combine business acumen with technology insights through a human-centric approach. He holds a master’s degree in Computer Science Engineering from Lisbon Technical University, along with several certifications in Agile, Project Management and relevant technical areas.
