Why TelcoTech will be the next great equaliser

THE next big wave of technology disruption is finally reaching the telecom industry.

The greatest irony thus far has been that while telecom connectivity is the key building block for digital transformation across the economy, the value of digitisation has so far eluded the telecom industry. Traditional infrastructure-reliant operators have been dismissed as digital-laggards stuck in a traditional business structure.

Owning telecom last-mile infrastructure - fixed or mobile - is no longer the moat-around-the-castle it used to be. Deregulation and technology advances in network virtualisation can even turn asset ownership from a barrier to entry into an outright liability.