Category: Blog

Despite the rush of excitement with all the virtual ribbon-cutting for 5G services, being a telecoms operator these days is not a joyful affair – especially when compared to the glory times of 20 years ago.

Accelerating cycles of investment in ever new Gs, coupled with the thirst of many governments for money from spectrum auctions to fill holes in their stretched budgets, make CAPEX management impossible. Better speeds and quality of service, ironically, increasingly open more opportunities for over-the-top digital players to substitute managed telco services (think IPTV). Raging price wars (think India), largely a self-inflicted pain but also a reflection of supreme commoditization, together with a slowing growth in penetration as industry inches closer to saturation and reduced pricing flexibility through net neutrality policies, put enormous pressure on the top line.

The industry value chain, once largely in the integrated control of powerful operators, is being gradually chipped away at both ends. The drive to increase infrastructure cost efficiency (admittedly, a very rational objective in the current state of affairs) through tower companies and government-supported wholesale networks is pushing from the upstream. Mobile operating systems, device manufacturers and digital platforms are taking over the relationship with customers. 

For many, forays into the promised land of digital failed to deliver an expected salvation. Despite some brave attempts at creating all-singing, all-dancing digital platforms, operators seem to have had to accept that they will never be as good as Facebook, WeChat or even Grab in serving all-encompassing digital user needs. Even partnership with Google has not turned around the fortunes of RCS (never heard of the latter? – exactly!). As if market pressures were not enough, geopolitics throws an additional spanner or two in the works at times, with CTOs spending more and more time with their General Counsel figuring out how to keep their networks running, and some vendors spending more time on the US Department of Commerce than on their clients.

Admittedly, certain operators, especially in some countries in Africa – with Safaricom being a shining example – have managed to capitalize on the opportunity to expand financial inclusion through mobile financial services. However, for many this promise has never translated into more than low single digit percentages in their revenues – especially with the strengthening headwind from cautious central banks. And with such developments as Facebook’s (ok, ok – the association’s) Libra, it seems that the industry might be approaching another WhatsApp moment.

The picture is pretty bleak. If share prices with their negative returns in the recent years are any indication, investors seem to share this view, unchanged by operators’ attempts to entice them with higher dividend pay-outs. However, it clearly cannot be the end of the road – telecoms infrastructure is the backbone for all the digital goodies that we have grown to enjoy. As with that sun that we only miss “when it starts to snow” (© Passenger), the decreasing interest in the industry only shows how much we have got used to being connected.

So what’s next for ageing telcos? What will the role of telecoms operators be in the future digital ecosystem? Can they still try to squeeze into the club of cool digital boys and girls? Or will they have to accept the future of reliable “wise” utilities (more respectful than “dumb pipes”, I gather), underpinning the “smart” infrastructure of future cities, industries and homes?

Will market structure change – possibly with more consolidations or more government stakes, or, to the contrary, with new competitors or private networks further fragmenting the market? Will network slicing in 5G open new opportunities for differentiation and innovative connectivity products? Will operators be able to leverage machine learning and AI to improve management of their networks, as well as to get to know their customers better and use that knowledge for mutual benefit? How will cloud and anything-as-a-service change their operations? Will increasing political and regulatory pressures on global tech giants enable telcos to better leverage their local presence? These are some of the questions that ITU Telecom World 2019 panel debate on “The network operator of 2025”, which I will have the honour of moderating, will aim to explore. I am very much looking forward to it!

There is no doubt that the near-instant ability to access or process data is completely changing the way we work, consume, organise and socialise. More and more of the global population are becoming connected to the internet, giving them access to goods, services and information on demand. Whilst the growth of connected users has been rapid, corresponding efforts to understand the data and security landscape has been slower. In addition, where easier access to data, goods and services is good for users and customers, it also makes it easier for those who want to steal data, disrupt services or commit other types of criminal activity online. The more innovation and technology is enabled, the more risks that are posed to customers, businesses and organisations.

One of the ways to tackle this is at the national/international level. The European Union has been active in recent years with two initiatives aimed at making its citizens more secure. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) aims to ensure that personal data is allocated sufficient protections with significant financial penalties for organisations failing to comply. One of the benefits to consumers of this regulation is that it has raised awareness that their personal data belongs to them, and that they have certain rights about how that data is stored and processed. It has also introduced a burden on companies and organisations to comply with the GDPR. This means that regulation design must closely balance data protection with limiting the implementation and operating burdens on companies and organisations.

The Directive on security of network and information systems (NIS Directive) is the first piece of EU-wide legislation on cybersecurity. It provides legal measures to boost the overall level of cybersecurity in the EU and targets critical national infrastructure in two areas: Operators of Essential Services, which are established within the EU, and Digital Service Providers that offer services to people within the EU. This is successfully raising the profile of what constitutes critical national infrastructure and is both compelling and assisting those affected in improving security as society becomes more connected.

Another option is to target selected industries by demonstrating the benefits of solving these issues through a common approach, and as long as the benefits can be demonstrated to outweigh the challenges then buy-in from companies and organisations should be much less complicated. The normal challenges of different appetites, working cultures and even time zones can be overcome with a clear strategy. More difficult challenges may be as follows:

• Building relationships between organisations that may well be in direct commercial competition with each other.
• Understanding and absorbing different regional regulations.
• Demonstrating a return on time and cost.
• Avoiding breaches of regulation, such as anti-competition rules.

However, the benefits for organisations that collaborate in order to build models that can address and implement regulations and standards can include:

• A shared cost burden
• Efficiency in ensuring that organisations that use similar business and operating models reduce friction when interacting – this is particularly important in international supply chains, or where different companies are involved in delivering one product.
• Strength in numbers whereby organisations and companies can effectively communicate challenges to regulators as a single unified voice.
• Identifying common risks and addressing them in a uniform manner.

During the panel session on “Regulating the future: safe, inclusive, connected” at ITU Telecom World 2019 in Budapest this September, I will address these challenges and opportunities in more detail and talk through some of the ways to effectively enable industries to solve these issues. I look forward to a lively and interesting discussion!

Digital technologies are all too often seen as being neutral and value free, and with a power of their own to transform the world.  However, even a brief reflection indicates that this taken-for-granted assumption is fundamentally flawed.  Technologies are created by people, who have very specific interests, and they construct or craft them for particular purposes, more often than not to generate profit.  These technologies therefore carry within them the biases and prejudices of the people who create them.

This is as true of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it is of other digital technologies, such as mobile devices and robots.  Gender, with all of its diversity, is one of the most important categories through which most people seek to understand the world, and we frequently assign gender categories to non-human objects such as technologies.  This is evident even in the languages that we use, especially in the context of technology.  It should not therefore be surprising that AI is gendered.  Yet, until recently few people appreciated the implication of this.

The AI and machine learning underlying an increasing number of decision-making processes, from recruitment to medical diagnostics, from surveillance technologies to e-commerce, is indeed gendered, and will therefore reproduce existing gender biases in society unless specific actions are taken to counter it.  Three issues seem to be of particular importance here:

• AI is generally used to manipulate very large data sets.  If these data sets themselves are a manifestation of gender bias, then the conclusions reached through the algorithms will also be biased.
• Most professionals working in the AI field are male; the World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Gender Gap Report thus reports that only 22% of AI professionals globally are women. The algorithms themselves are therefore being shaped primarily from a male perspective, and ignore the potential contributions that women can make to their design.
• AI, rather than being neutral, is serving to reproduce, and indeed accelerate, existing gender biases and stereotypes.  This is typified in the use of female voices in digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri, which often suggest negative or subservient associations with women.  A recent report by UNESCO for EQUALS, for example, emphasises the point that those in the field therefore need to work together to “prevent digital assistant technologies from perpetuating existing gender biases and creating new forms of gender inequality”.

These issues highlight the growing importance of binary biases in AI.  However, it must also be recognised that they have ramifications for its intersection with the nuanced and diverse definitions of gender associated with those who identify as LGBTIQ.  In 2017, for example, HRC and Glaad thus criticised a study claiming to show that deep neural networks could correctly differentiate between gay and straight men 81% of the time, and women 74% of the time, on the grounds that it could put gay people at risk and made overly broad assumptions about gender and sexuality.

The panel session on Diversity by Design: mitigating gender bias in AI at this year’s ITU Telecom World in Budapest (11 September, 14.00-15.15) is designed specifically to address these complex issues.  As moderator, I will be encouraging the distinguished panel of speakers, drawn from industry, academia and civil society, not only to tease out these challenging issues in more depth, but also to suggest how we can design AI with diversity in mind.  This is of critical importance if we are collectively to prevent AI from increasing inequalities at all scales, and to ensure that in the future it more broadly represents the rich diversity of humanity.

How does a South African startup providing Internet of Things (IoT) solutions for smart homes, factories and cities find funding, scale up its business and establish itself internationally?

How does a team of young tech entrepreneurs make good on their dream of solving issues such as water and energy efficiency, security and connectivity, to improve life not just in South Africa, but in all developing nations?

One major opportunity is the ITU Telecom World Awards, as Sabelo Sibanda, co-founder and CEO of Tuse Applications, discovered last September. Based in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Tuse makes use of Industry 4.0 technologies, such as IoT, Artificial Intelligence and predictive data analytics to bring the benefits of connectivity to as many people as possible, through a range of solutions and products in industrial, agricultural and domestic settings.

This commitment to delivering social and economic development through connectivity is a key international priority, involving the collaboration of public and private sectors, large corporate entities and smaller tech companies, throughout the world. And these are precisely the players who gather each year at ITU Telecom World, the leading global tech event organized by ITU, the UN agency for ICT issues.An international platform

For Tuse, the chance to take part in the 2018 event in Durban, South Africa, was too good to miss.

Applying to the ITU Telecom World Awards meant entering a pool of over a hundred small and medium enterprise (SME) applicants seeking recognition for their innovative solutions with real-life social impact. It provided access to the event’s SME Progamme of pitching sessions, mentorship, capacity-building and skills workshops, and extensive peer networking. And it was a platform for Tuse in front of an audience of influential tech leaders, policy-makers and decision-takers from South Africa, across the continent and beyond.

“The SME programme gave us unparalleled exposure, access to markets, finance and new opportunities. And winning the Award has given us all of that on an exponential scale.” — Sabelo Sibanda, Tuse

“We attended ITU Telecom to launch our products, and to gain access to markets, finance and skilled staff,” explains Sibanda. And the experience was, in his words, “phenomenal”.

Highlights included networking with like-minded entrepreneurs, policy-makers and corporates, “meeting incredible people from whom we have learnt so much,” and participating in an SME Growth Opportunities and Challenges roundtable session with a panel of experts including ministers from most of the African continent and influential business leaders from around the world.

Being handed the ITU Telecom World Global SME Award for Best Business Model by ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao in a high-profile ceremony on the final day of the event was the icing on the cake.

In an ever-more interconnected world, public and private sectors are working together to deliver on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – and tech SMEs such as Tuse have a very important role to play.

Supporting SME growth through access to markets, capital and skills development is critical, and platforms such as ITU Telecom World offer valuable access to the international exposure, networking and partnership opportunities small tech companies need to take their businesses to the next level.

So, six months on from winning the award, what’s different? After all the fun of the showfloor, the SME programme and social events, the intense and diverse networking, the inspirational, promising conversations and connections with industry and government leaders from around the world – and the excitement of winning the Global SME Award itself, of course – after those heady four days in Durban, what’s changed?‘A game-changer for our business’

“It’s truly been a game changer for our business,” says Sibanda. “The SME programme gave us unparalleled exposure, access to markets, finance and new opportunities. And winning the Award has given us all of that on an exponential scale.”

In practical terms, this translates to so much new business that Tuse had to move, within weeks of winning, to bigger offices, with enough space for the 67% growth in staff needed to work on the new leads and projects generated.

Coming together at the event with Standard Bank, in particular, has opened up a whole range of opportunities – and the capacity to deliver on ever-larger projects throughout the world.

And Sibanda himself has been accepted into the Harambe Entrepreneurial Alliance, a prestigious network of African entrepreneurs who have pledged to work together to unlock the potential of the continent. “Our goal was always to be the most impactful African unicorn,” Sibanda says,“ and winning the ITU Award has propelled us so much closer to achieving it.”

ITU Telecom World 2019 takes place in Budapest, Hungary, on 9 – 12 September – and applications are open now for the ITU Telecom World Awards 2019.

This blog was originally posted on ITU News.

ITU Telecom World events are focused on the power of meaningful technology to improve lives everywhere, making life better, sooner – by working together across sectors, regions and international boundaries.

Technology, and innovation in technology, has always driven human development. With the advent of the digital age, the pace of innovation and the technological change it brings is advancing at unprecedented speed. The impact on businesses and societies, on nations and individuals, is proving revolutionary. The potential to change lives for the better is greater than ever before.

But there is a very real danger that not everyone will benefit from the growing digital era. The digital divide – between those who are connected, empowered and enriched by technology and those who are excluded – may deepen further as new developments in areas such as 5G, IoT, AI and smart cities take hold and spread in developed markets.

So ensuring universal access to high-speed internet, and the services, applications and products it enables, is of paramount importance. But to really make a difference, that connectivity has to be meaningful. It needs to be affordable, fit-for-purpose and relevant to local contexts – which means local content in local languages, supported by digital literacy and skills programmes, and accessible to those who are currently digitally disenfranchised, such as rural populations, women, and young people.

Making sure that the digital society is inclusive, diverse, beneficial and sustainable also means addressing the issue of trust – or lack of trust – in technology. This involves respectful data management, privacy initiatives and education, and cybersecurity measures to ensure a safe global cyberspace. And technological developments need to respect and develop environmental policies to secure the planet and preserve the current climate.

These are ambitious goals, goals that can only be achieved through innovative thinking and collaborative efforts. Which is exactly the platform that ITU Telecom World 2019 offers.

Held in Budapest, Hungary, from 9-12 September, ITU Telecom World brings together public and private sectors, international organizations, academia, media and tech consultants from emerging and developed markets to debate the issues shaping the technology industry and our digital societies. Innovation in policy, strategy and regulatory approaches will be high on the agenda, as well as innovation in technology – from 5G deployment to IoT breakthroughs, the status, potential and risks of AI, new satellite connectivity solutions, delivering smart cities and spectrum management.

Innovation will be in evidence across the event, with the best tech solutions, products and projects on display from around the world in a series of National and Thematic Pavilions in the exhibition. It’s a chance for countries from both emerging and developed markets to shine an international spotlight on local, regional and national talent, technological advancements and partnership and investment opportunities.

Innovation is also critical to another key element of the event: the SME Programme and ITU Telecom World Awards. Recognizing the vital role of tech small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in driving economic and social development, creating jobs and building the digital age in all markets, ITU Telecom World events provide a range of international services to foster and support SME growth. The SME Programme offers workshops, mentorship, important networking opportunities, and capacity-building sessions alongside pitching and showcasing; the ITU Telecom World Awards – now open for applications – reward innovative tech solutions working to create real, positive social impact from SMEs and corporate alike.

Collaboration is innovation’s main partner in making technology meaningful, beneficial and inclusive. Partnerships are the cornerstone of ITU Telecom World events, whether between public and private sectors, policy-makers and industry, SMEs and big business or government, or across ministries, regions and nations. Making progress means working together, never more so than in a digital age where data and technology know no boundaries, respect no geographies.

ITU Telecom World 2019 is focused on connectivity, innovation and digital principles, to ensure that technology benefits everyone, everywhere. Only through international and cross-sectoral collaboration can we achieve these aims – and prepare and adapt to the digital society, maximizing the potential of the tech revolution. Events such as ITU Telecom World 2019 are an important step on that journey.

From a world-first in-ear sound tracking solution letting you enjoy music safely, to a citizens’ engagement platform in Southern Africa, an app helping healthcare teams monitor sick children and innovative solutions in education, agriculture, virtual reality and automotive repair – technological ingenuity and business acumen address real-world social issues at the ITU Telecom World Awards.

Open to all exhibiting or sponsoring small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large companies at ITU Telecom World 2019, the leading UN tech event for governments, corporates and SMEs,  the Awards recognize ICT applications, products and solutions meeting developmental challenges, whether on a local, smaller scale or through global outreach.  

An opportunity to encounter, engage with and celebrate the best in innovative tech solutions changing the world for the better, the Awards platform offers participants a unique mixture of UN credibility, international visibility and access to networking, investment potential and partnerships. It’s a launching pad which has proved highly valuable since the programme’s inception in 2015 – as some of the winners from ITU Telecom World 2018 confirm.

“By winning this award, we have gained greater marketing exposure to the product, which will bring more awareness to this growing issue and significant weight in the market in recognising that there is a solution available,” said dbTrack, inventors of certified earphones with patented sound senor technology to protect hearing.

Mulweli Rebelo of Ologa Sistemas from Mozambique, developers of the Sure Track healthcare app to collect and store patient information, agreed: “(The Award) took Ologa to a new level, with many invitations to participate at events, talk about our product and speak at various panels – and we’ve been approached by several entities who would like to pilot the solution with a view to becoming a client.”

“ITU Telecom World was a great platform for us as an SME to showcase our solution to an international audience. We were able to generate leads, we have built confidence in our business, our team is motivated to work harder… to grow our business to create more jobs and contribute to enabling smart cities that are responsive and safe for citizens,” affirmed Tshepo Thlaku, founder and CEO of business services enterprise Pulego Communications.

All SMEs taking part in the ITU Telecom World Awards can access the event’s SME Programme, a full four days of activities focused on supporting and fostering the growth of small businesses in the ICT sector around the world – in recognition of the critical importance of SMEs in driving industry growth, creating jobs and accelerating social and economic development.

The SME Programme includes skills development and capacity-building workshops, interactive debates with government and industry experts, pitching sessions, and targeted matchmaking with peers, mentors and potential investors. It provides powerful access to ministers, regulators and influential business leaders, opening up partnership opportunities and boosting growth.

“It’s truly been a game changer for our business,” says Sabelo Sibanda of South African Award winner Tuse, “The SME programme gave us unparalleled exposure, access to markets, finance and new opportunities. And winning the Award has given us all of that on an exponential scale.”

Selected by expert juries onsite at ITU Telecom World 2019 in Budapest, Hungary, all winners and finalists will be presented with trophies and certificates by the ITU Secretary-General in a high-profile ceremony during the event.

It’s an opportunity to showcase tech innovation for good on a truly global stage, with all the visibility, partnership and investment potential it brings with it. It’s an opportunity not to be missed. Step it up – apply to the ITU Telecom World Awards now.

ITU Telecom World 2019 takes place at Hungexpo, Budapest, from 9 – 12 September 2019.

What a year it’s been for us here at ITU Telecom! 2018 saw us heading to the vibrant coastal city of Durban, in South Africa’s beautiful KwaZulu Natal. Here we welcomed 3 100 participants from 94 countries for ITU Telecom World 2018. Top government representatives and influential industry leaders including established players and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) -from emerging and developed markets alike- joined consultants, academics, representatives of global media and international organisations to explore innovation for smarter digital development, and experience the best of South African hospitality!

With 300 exhibitors, sponsors and partners, the Exhibition featured big names, countries and SMEs from across the world, showcasing innovative smart digital solutions, services and technologies to improve lives in fields such as e-health, e-agriculture, e-education, digital government services, digital finance and more. Meanwhile, 157 speakers from 47 countries covered areas such as technological developments and impacts in 5G, IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), smart cities, digital literacy, supporting tech SME growth, and the challenges and opportunities of the digital age. Top names including CSAIA, GTI, China Mobile, TDIA, GSMA, Huawei and SITA shared insights in partner and co-hosted sessions. A number of great networking events and activities took place, including a dedicated business matchmaking service. And key announcements were made, partnerships forged, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed and high profile reports launched.

In keeping with ITU Telecom World’s focus on SMEs and their critical role within the broader ICT ecosystem, this year’s ITU Telecom World Awards recognized excellence and innovation in ICT solutions with social impact from SMEs and corporations alike. From digital agriculture, mobile learning, education and healthcare, to virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), satellite, automotive repair and more, the Awards celebrated creativity and innovation in digital solutions meeting real-world social needs. Participants took part in an adrenaline-filled live pitching session during the award ceremony itself, during which they shared the innovative approach of their entry, and the social impact that it’s capable of creating. You can see a full line up of our winners and finalists here, or watch the Award winners talking about their experiences at the Event here.

Now, as the year comes to a close, we’re busy planning the next steps for ITU Telecom World 2019, whichwill take placeat the heart of Europe in Budapest, Hungary, from 9-12 September. We’re putting together an exciting programme of forum debates which will explorethe innovations in policy, strategy and technology shaping our digital future. We’ve just launched our call for speakers,so if you would like to share your expert insight, ideas and experiences, helping discover solutions to major societal challenges, then we’d love to hear from you!

Don’t forget, there are a number of different ways you can join us at ITU Telecom World 2019, be it showcasing your tech innovation in the exhibition or joining the SME programme, to engaging with our audiences through forum sessions, sponsorships, advertising, networking and visibility. Or entering our acclaimed ITU Telecom World Awards to win UN recognition, global visibility and enjoy incredible networking opportunities! We’ll keep you posted about all the great ways you can join us!

Looking beyond 2019, a call for bids has been issued to ITU member states, with regard to future ITU Telecom World events, launching the bidding process to host ITU Telecom in the years 2020, 2021 and/or 2022.Be sure to watch this space to find out more ….

And in the meantime, our warmest greetings for this festive season. We’re looking forward to building a great 2019 event, focusing on the power of technology to make lives better, sooner. We hope you’ll join us in Budapest so together we can make this happen!

The huge potential of digital innovation across a range of new technologies is undeniable – as is the central role of entrepreneurs, innovators and the investors supporting them, in exploiting these opportunities.

The Opportunity

Enabled by the digital economy, the start-ups proliferating globally will account for more than 60% of GDP (US $90+ trillion, 2018 $87.5 trillion) within a few years. The US $50,000 start-up funding which was needed in 2010 is under $5,000 today. Underpinning all of this innovation is the Unlimited generation, the nearly 2 billion young people aged between 10 and 24.

Innovation is the biggest enabler for global equity, represented by ‘A Triple C’ or hyper Automation; time Compression in new innovations; Convergence in biological and digital existences; and ubiquitous Connectivity

This means a tremendous opportunity for sustainable investment with high returns, as well as accelerating and realizing the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Investment trends for technology adoption and skills

There are technologies to explore due to their high adoption rates. Moreover, there are job and skill trends to plan for when making investments.

To gain insight, it’s good to examine a number of job and technology trend reports released in 2018 with interesting findings, including those of Deloitte, ITU, OECD, PwC, , and more. One of particular interest is the World Economic Forum (WEF) Jobs Report 2018. Its highlights cover 2018-22, spanning 12 industries, and forecast a 58 million net gain in employment.

Job roles that are stable or new include organisational development specialists, innovation professionals, user experience and human-machine interaction designers, people and culture specialists, data analysts/scientists/AI and machine learning specialists. Redundant roles are forecast to include lawyers, bank tellers, accountants, insurance clerks, and financial analysts.

Trending skills will be in analytical thinking and innovation, creativity/originality/initiative, emotional intelligence and reasoning/problem-solving/ideation; whilst skills in manual dexterity/endurance/precision, management of financial and material resources, and memory/verbal/auditory/spatial abilities will decline

The in-demand job roles and skills very much align with successful entrepreneurship.

This brings into focus the areas of technology adoption in the near term – areas of concentration for entrepreneurs.

WEF give examples of technology adoption in the financial services sector including app-web markets, big data, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, cloud, AR/VR, wearable tech, quantum computing and robots, humanoid, non-human and stationary. What is noteworthy is the high adoption of blockchain at 73%, quantum computing at 43%, and humanoid robots at 35%.  The list is similar in the global health and healthcare sector, focusing on big data 87%, biotech 87%, app-web markets 80%, machine learning 80%, cloud 73%, wearable tech 73%, blockchain 67%, IoT 67%, AR/VR 67%, new materials 60% and 3D printing 53%.

As a backdrop, the financial services industry is more than US $130 trillion (according to CBInsights) and the healthcare sector is nearly US $9 trillion (according to Deloitte).

AI an important area for investment

It’s clear that AI and blockchain are having significant impact. Since AI can produce nearly US $16 trillion in wealth creation by 2030 (according to PwC), a number of initiatives are underway to guide the safe and accelerated adoption such as AI Pioneers,  the WHO/ITU Focus Group AI for Health,  and the UN ITU ACM XPRIZE AI for Good Global Summit, which I have outlined in articles for Forbes “$9T Global healthcare strengthened by ITU Focus Group AI for Health” (FG-AI4H) and IDG-IT World “Three global initiatives accelerating the face of AI”.

There is also increased interest in Artificial General Intelligence or AGI, which is more human-like.  Mind.ai, with its inductive, abductive, deductive reasoning capabilities, is a prime example.

Telecom World Global SME Awards are the hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, investment

The next four years provide an extraordinary opening to engage with and support global innovation. One of the finest ways to get involved and participate is with the UN ITU Telecom World Global SME Awards. The success stories are compelling, representing the best in the Unlimited revolution in start-up investments. I recommend entrepreneurs globally to engage in the Global SME Awards – including investors who are looking to gain high returns on investments plus actionable SDG impact.

Critical to the continued success of the ICT sector is the need to narrow the trust deficit between the four critical stakeholders of the sector – the policy maker, the regulator, the private sector and civil society. In an ideal world, these stakeholders work harmoniously to ensure that the sector continues to invest to extend network coverage where it is most required.

Particularly when one considers that the mobile telecommunications sector represents one of the most significant success stories of the modern African economy over the last 20 to 25 years. Through mobile connectivity, Africa has witnessed significant development.

Considering the noticeable progress that has been made in the quest to provide access to all – first for voice and now for data and other services – it would be reasonable to conclude that the current funding and business models have worked well. The funding and business models have fostered partnerships that have incentivised the investment of billions into ICT sectors across Africa and the rest of the world.

But what may have worked in the past is not necessarily the blueprint for the future.

It is for this reason that the third session of the Ministerial Roundtable at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conference ITU Telecom World 2018 in Durban will explore new financing and business models required to advance digital transformation and move towards smarter societies throughout the world.

During the session, we will ask: what can we learn from the initiatives and recommendations presented in other platforms such as the OECD roadmap for digitalization, or the Broadband Commission discussion paper “A New deal: investing in our common future. Policy recommendations to close the broadband gap”? What successful case studies and best practice in public private partnership can we draw on? How can governments provide a healthy investment climate through transparent, fair and stable initiatives in areas such as regulation, licencing, taxation and spectrum?

The easy conclusion that one can likely draw in advance is that partnerships are the solution. Given the fact that each critical stakeholder will have vastly differing vested interests, actively working towards narrowing the various trust deficits has never been more critical in the context of a 4thIndustrial Revolution that threatens to widen inequality in markets that lag behind.

Closing the rural coverage gap, for example, cannot be achieved by the industry alone. Governments should play their part by implementing policies and regulations that eliminate unnecessary costs, enhance flexibility, and increase investor confidence.

The options available to connect rural populations include amongst other things, prescribing rural coverage obligations as part of spectrum licence conditions, effective utilisation of Universal Service Funds and providing subsidies to drive appetite.

Subsidies which can be direct monetary grants to indirect incentives, such as tax rebates can spur operators’ moves to extend coverage and ensure sustainable financing models.

An example of a well-targeted subsidy, noted by the GSMA, is the tax rebate system introduced in Malaysia in 2014. This, which gave corporate income tax rebates (up to 70%) on capital investment in rural areas, and exemptions on import duties for last mile connectivity equipment, giving a direct incentive for operators to increase their investments in rural coverage. It’s a prime example of an innovative solution premised on a collaborative effort.

We need innovative solutions to this and many other issues that will be widely debated at this year’s ITU. From a Vodacom perspective, we are proud to be one of the sponsors of this year’s conference as it brings together leading experts from all over the world to discuss Sustainable Development Goals within ICT. Look forward to seeing you there!

Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) play an increasingly important role in the telecommunications industry. ITU News recently caught up with Sasaki Futoshi, Deputy General Manager, Strategy and Business Development, MVNO at Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ), about the opportunities for MVNOs in Asia and beyond. Mr. Futoshi will speak at ITU’s “Rise of the MVNOs – Leveraging MVNOs in an ‘everything connected’ world” event on 12 September in Durban, South Africa.

What are the opportunities of expanding MVNOs in Asia?

Asian MVNOs have established or are establishing strong domestic market positions to deliver unique and cost-efficient services to their customers. Adding to this, from the international point of view, there are a lot of opportunities for Asian MVNOs as the trans-Asian movement of people and products increases.

Learn more about the ‘Rise of the MVNOs’ workshop at ITU Telecom World

Asian mobile markets are quite huge and are full of variation. Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries all have different mobile market landscapes.

This variation and diversity could not be supported by the effort of mobile network operators (MNOs), which are essentially domestic beings, contrary to MVNOs, which have a little asset binding to land.

We Asian MVNOs have new opportunities to provide international services, both for people and for the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as to provide existing domestic services.

What are the benefits of increased connectivity?

Mobile phones are already in the hands of people, and people are always connected. But mobile phones, even smartphones, are merely for connecting people; phone calls, e-mails, etc. are only connecting one person to another.

But low-power wide-area (LPWA) and fifth-generation wireless (5G) technologies enable the connection of ‘things’ to each other. Those technologies have the potential power to change people’s lives, thinking and even culture.

RELATED: One world, one global SIM: How ITU-allocated ‘global IMSI ranges’ support IoT and M2M connectivity

Also, it has to be noted that it is very hard for the telecom sector to accomplish these makeovers by itself. Despite telecom operators’ increased use of the Internet, telcos’ nature to connect one person to another has changed little from the age of Graham Bell.

In the upcoming Internet of Things (IoT) era, the cooperation between telcos, including MVNOs, and the companies that have a fundamentally different mindset from telcos is the only way to make innovation possible.

What are the challenges of the 5G era for MVNOs and how might they be overcome?

Before 5G, MVNO’s typical distinction is in how much the network facilities are operated by MVNOs. If they operate none of the network facilities, they are called “Light MVNOs” or “Wholesalers.” If they operate much of the network, they are called “Full MVNOs.”

5G network architecture, however, is characterized by virtualization and all will go beyond the horizon of virtualization. Like a cloud, one MVNO might operate all networks figuratively, while at the same time they might operate none of networks literally.

‘The best regulations could vary not only by country or region, but also by the stage of the MVNO industry’s development.’

In the 5G era, MVNOs could utilize the host operator’s mobile network to build their own business, same as before 4G, however, it might be the virtualized core network, called the “slice.” Network functions virtualization (NFV) and “Slicing” could be inevitable for many MVNOs in the 5G era.

From this perspective, we also have to look for new and unprecedented relationships with our host operators.

What would you like to see out of regulatory environments?

The role of regulation is quite sensitive for fostering a healthy MVNO industry.

In some markets like Japan, unfortunately, MVNOs are not spontaneous businesses that can be easily created. So a clear and decisive will of regulators to introduce competition to the telecom market might be necessary.

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At the same time, the most important thing is encouraging innovation and strict regulation often suppresses imagination.

The best regulations could vary not only by country or region, but also by the stage of the MVNO industry’s development.

How has Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) contributed to the mobile market?

Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ) was founded in 1992 as the first Japanese Internet Service Provider. Today IIJ is one of the leading telecommunication service providers in Japan.

IIJ provides comprehensive network services – not only fixed Internet access, but also data centers, cloud services, outsourcing, applications and mobile business as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).

IIJ’s MVNO was the first Japanese MVNO to support the 3G network in 2008, the first MVNO to support the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) network in 2012, and the first full MVNO, which is a virtual operator with its own mobile core network and own mobile network code (MNC).

‘We have always been looking for the path to new and innovative MVNO business…’ – Sasaki Futoshi, Deputy General Manager, Strategy and Business Development, MVNO at Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ)

IIJ has three different customer segments: consumers, business customers, including machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications, and partner MVNOs, in which IIJ plays the role of a mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE), which provide network infrastructure and related services to MVNOs.

IIJ is hosted by NTTdocomo and the KDDI mobile network, and its total number of subscribers exceeded 2 million in 2017.

We have always been looking for the path to new and innovative MVNO business and have brought healthy competition into the Japanese mobile market so that Japanese customers could have the benefit of diverse options.