How "Work From Home" During Covid-19 Has Transformed The World Of Telecommunications

Ricky Philip
Illustration: © IoT For All

Given the expeditious spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), and an increase in countries imposing constraints on travel, our daily lives have necessitated more time at home and higher usage of data. The increase in bandwidth requirements on networks as millions of employees and students became homebound has significantly impacted the Telecom sector.

Most enterprises already have business continuity plans, but those plans may not adequately address the fast-moving and anonymous variables of an outbreak like COVID-19. As the companies that already implement network connectivity and telecom business solutions to end customers, service providers require to enhance their attention to provide more reliable home-based communication and collaboration solutions.

The Impact Of Coronavirus

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused extensive concern and economic catastrophe for consumers and businesses across the globe. The current scenario has confirmed that telecom infrastructure is critically essential and telecommunications services during the lockdown have enabled many to recommence working, studying, shopping, and access to healthcare.

Policymakers are reconsidering regulation for telecom networks, not only to enhance network bandwidth but also to improve cybersecurity. Telecom companies are considerably focused on assuring that there is adequate network capacity throughout the entire day (not only during peak times) because the progress in static traffic has increased exponentially.

How Have Telecom Companies Prepared For The High Demand

As enterprises around the globe welcome the work-from-home alternative, the necessity for collaboration and communication solutions has testified a notable uptake. To complement that, technologies such as SDN/NFV and SD-WAN provide reliable communication solution possibilities for both large as well as medium companies. Telecom experts predict that this is progressing to be the new norm, even post the pandemic period. 

The core technology such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and RPA will be evolving, enhancing, and becoming more crucial than ever before. These are some of the steps telecom providers should take in order to meet the current work from home network bandwidth and internet usage resilience.

An Innovative Telecom and IT Infrastructure 

The ongoing transition to remote work will encourage the demand for networking infrastructure and connectivity, as never before have businesses been so confined to communicating digitally. However, the demand could additionally overwhelm the connectivity requirement and initiate network concerns if reality doesn’t match expectations.

Telecom, internet service providers, and applications will produce higher value to their customers than ever before.  At the same time, their core services will require to accustom and innovate for better performance, reliability, and customer service. 

Cybersecurity and Secure Network Connectivity 

Remote work and lesser accessibility to antivirus installations on personal digital devices could increase security and infrastructure risks for both telcos as well as customers. 

Therefore, cybersecurity and personal security will become a fundamental component for every business sector, individuals and government investments.

For telecom companies, an integral part of their success about security efforts will be deploying technologies that are efficient and prompt to adopt, such as those that are hosted in the cloud. The cloud-based security solution also lets companies improve the extent of security protection instantaneously depending on the warnings.

Automation Is Introduced Everywhere

Operational, industrial and logistics disruptions will initiate economic reporting implications in the current and prospective reporting periods.

More generally, the demand for automation through innovative IoT services, robotic process automation (RPA), and drone-based solutions will also see growth. The current study from home scenario has also brought another innovative technology into the mix, with the increase in e-learning and online classes; technologies such as AR/VR have also created a greater impact. Augmented and Virtual reality has immense potential in education, remote work, and also leisure.

With all the complexities that COVID-19 has brought upon telecom service providers, the urgency to achieve even better and faster network operations are one of the most crucial aspects faced by the telecom sector. That being said, the ultimate solution is to automate the practice of identifying issues in cellular networks, automate imminent analytical tasks and, as a result, significantly diminish the effort required to maintain the network in a good shape.

Author
Ricky Philip
Ricky Philip
Ricky Philip works with a focus on understanding the implications of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) services, AI, big data, SDN/NFV and cloud analytics.
Ricky Philip works with a focus on understanding the implications of new technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) services, AI, big data, SDN/NFV and cloud analytics.