The Future of Telecom Part 3: Navigating the Evolving Regulatory Landscape and the Push Toward Sustainability

The telecom industry is on the precipice of enormous upheaval thanks to disruptive technologies, shifting consumer behavior, and other industry-wide changes, opening the doors for new entrants and potentially shaking up established hierarchies. The two previous installments in this three-part series discussed how telecommunication companies (telcos) can succeed in this new era of telecom by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and monetizing 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT). This last installment will provide insights to help telcos navigate today’s evolving regulatory landscape and the more significant push toward sustainability.

What the evolving regulatory landscape means for telcos

Data security and privacy are among the principal focuses of new laws and regulations. While there has yet to be one comprehensive federal law for the U.S., individual states continue to pass consumer data protection laws. This complex assortment of rules and regulations affects many industries, including telecommunications.

Data security is also a top priority across the Atlantic, with the EU’s Data Act (which entered force last year) ensuring the protection of people’s data, among other objectives. Likewise, there are mounting concerns in the UK around data protection and user rights, resulting in efforts to replace all Huawei equipment within radio networks.

These new laws and regulations, which focus on protecting people’s data and enabling them to own their data, present several challenges for telcos. Firstly, telcos must ensure they select the right partners to work with within their ecosystem, i.e., partners that will adapt to these various regulations. The second challenge is figuring out how to leverage customer data to create new propositions to enhance revenue growth while considering privacy and anonymity.

Read the full article here.

Read Part 1: The Transformative Role of AI and Adjacent Technologies

Read Part 2: Proactive 5G and IoT Monetization Strategies

Discover how EPAM is empowering telcos in their journey to TechCos – building future-ready intelligent connectivity solutions: https://www.epam.com/industries/telecom-media-and-entertainment/telecommunications