Telecom wholesale business to play a pivotal role in future: Etisalat Chief
Successful telecom wholesalers of the future must have the infrastructure, says Ali Amiri
Dubai: The telecom wholesale business will continue to play a pivotal role in the future just as how it has been evident during the pandemic, said Ali Amiri, Group Chief Carrier and Wholesale Officer, Etisalat, during the second day of the Telecoms World Middle East 2021.
“During COVID-19, the telecom wholesale business played a critical role in making things work for the world. We witnessed its ability to accommodate the surge in data and SMS traffic, which was triggered by a huge increase of all kinds of online activities. All these were made possible with a well- established carrier wholesale ecosystem,” said Amiri.
Amiri, who participated in a keynote panel on ‘A post-pandemic market: innovation and technology remain key for wholesale success’, said successful telecom wholesalers of the future must have the infrastructure or ecosystem that enables a customer experience that matches the digital players. This can be enabled by automation, virtualisation, and on demand services that are delivered in near real-time.
He also shared his insights into digitalisation, automation, and standardisation, which are essential for carrier wholesalers to be more agile and open.
“Digital wholesalers will be able to provide services on demand using easy to use customer portals or applications, enabled by the virtualisation of the network. This requirement is vital to be able to serve new types of customers in addition to telcos such as Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) platform providers, content providers, gaming and financial services sectors,” Amiri said.
The panel also delved into harnessing virtualised communications, business intelligence, machine learning and blockchain in their products, and wholesale delivery architecture; and dramatically advancing digital wholesale opportunities and replacing legacy systems for future agility.
The two-day virtual event, which concluded on 16th June, focused on the strategies, technologies and big ideas that will be essential for telecommunication companies in 2021.