Software is the only path forward: Introducing Mobile as a Software

The brutal truth:?Telecom has never changed the way its built mobile networks. They are expensive to deliver and expensive to maintain.

What needs to happen:?Operators must reduce costs and become efficient. It’s as simple as that.

Our perspective:?We are an internet software company that understands the power of a software-first mindset and the impact it can have on telecom.

We embrace?the disaggregation of hardware-software network systems across all network layers to maximize efficiency.

The bottom line:?Software is the only way to go.

Introduction

Telecom is an essential industry generating 1.3 trillion USD per year, but it is also unwieldy and slow-moving, with 70-90% of all top-line revenue spent on cost of delivery.

At MWC BCN 2023, we'll make the case for telecom's total departure from hardware centric limitations with roots in the 1990s to an internet software mindset aligned with the latest technology progress from outside the industry.

Through the show and beyond I will release chapters of a paper we have written describing how we approached the modernization of each layer of the business and the outcomes achievable with this approach.

Telecom’s business fundamentals have become unhealthy. We need to become more fit by losing 30-50% of the weight of operation we carry every day. That savings can then be focused on becoming what we can and should be to compete in an era prepared to move on without us. Rakuten's success proves that end-to-end disaggregation, software-centric operations, and 100% digitalization can reduce cost of delivery by 30-50%.

By adopting a "Mobile as a Software" mindset, telecom companies can move the center of gravity from hardware to software, as Rakuten Mobile did. Disaggregating all layers of the network business and maximizing efficiency can lead to cost reduction, increased agility, and accelerated delivery speed.

We will release a paper that presents the Rakuten experience of applying internet software thinking to the total telecom business and explains how radical cost savings can be achieved while increasing speed, agility, and competitive market positioning. It is a pivotal time for all in telecom, with significant opportunities to transform and become active participants in the next generation of the internet, which is simultaneously being reinvented through localization, regulation, and governance requirements.

In short, telecom companies must start changing now and embrace a software-driven approach to reap the proven benefits seen in internet and IT companies. Winning the race requires hard work and training, not just great running shoes, regardless of whatever promises are made by the shoe vendor.

By rapidly adopting a software mindset and radical transformation, telecom can become a true technology leader in enabling the next era for businesses, societies, and countries.