Differentiating products and services in a market where multiple providers are offering similar solutions can be challenging but this is exactly what TPG Telecom’s head of products Amin Javed has to do. Both enterprise and residential customers increasingly also expect more flexible, reliable, and scalable solutions, so meeting these expectations while maintaining profitability requires continuous innovation and investment.
Innovation & Growth
For TPG, which operates several retail brands including Vodafone, iiNet, AAPT, Internode, Lebara and Felix – in addition to wholesaler Vision Networks, 5G has become critical to its product roadmap despite that fact operators have struggled to monetise it. April’s agreement with Optus Mobile to create a regional Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) essentially extended the telco’s 4G and 5G mobile network to reach 98.4 percent of the Australian population. As a result, TPG can finally address Australia’s population at large – its network increased from around 755 to 2,444 network sites in regional Australia, more than doubling its national coverage from around 400,000 km2 to around 1,000,000 km2.
“Our proposed regional network sharing arrangement will double our geographic reach across Australia and enable us to deliver these innovative solutions to more businesses and industries than ever before,” Javed told W.Media.
“5G will increase the adoption of enhanced data analytics and artificial intelligence by providing higher bandwidth, ultra-low latency, connectivity and compute capability closer to the application or the edge,” he said. “As an innovative leader, TPG will continue to roll out the latest mobile and fixed networks, enabling bespoke solutions in the IoT and Mobile Private Networks domain. This will help boost digital transformation in key sectors such as healthcare, resources and utilities.”
He added: “Faster, secure and reliable connectivity is essential for enabling Industry 4.0. It is critical that connectivity is not limited to dense population areas but expanded to regional and remote areas as well. These regions will benefit from uptake of IoT, data analytics and we are already seeing this play out in industries such as agriculture.”
Javed pointed to a relatively recent service the operator has been ramping to show how it has been looking to innovate its service portfolio – private LTE/5G networks. “Our Mobile Private Network solution provides a dedicated, secure and edge processing capability for critical mining operations,” he said. “This is an in-demand technology that provides network connectivity for industries requiring secure, low latency networks with processing capability at the operational facility.”
“We first rolled this out with Yancoal, where it has been successfully deployed to provide connectivity across its mine sites, improving connectivity and enabling it to enhance automated fleet management while improving safety of its workers,” he added.
“Private networks for enterprise customers are mission critical for their operations,” he said. “This dependency on the private networks continues to increase as organisations go through digital transformations and look to consolidate and simplify their various communication networks as well.”
Javed said private networks also provide dedicated or priority resources with high mission critical availability, lower latency and edge compute capability. “A combination of these features coupled with tailored design of the network for specific operational requirements and coverage ensures mission critical and business critical systems, processes and applications are not compromised,” he said. “It is critical for enterprises to invest in private network technology and to partner with experienced operators to manage the day-to-day running and ongoing life cycle of the private network.”
Managed IoT opportunities
Beyond private networks, Javed said 5G was enabling smart city initiatives like IoT services, where TPG claims to be the leading MNO when it comes to enabling IoT with water utilities. “Communication technologies continue to play a major part in improving safety, increasing efficiency and enhancing sustainability when it comes to smart cities,” he said. “Our IoT solutions currently enable various smart city solutions for water and gas utilities and smart parking for councils.”
And here, TPG still has access to Vodafone Group’s wider service portfolio to help it push out innovative products. In January, Vodafone and Microsoft announced a decade-long strategic partnership for cloud and AI but also, to help expand Vodafone’s IoT platform. As part of the partnership, Microsoft agreed to invest in Vodafone’s managed IoT connectivity platform, which is becoming an independent business entity. Vodafone in return joined the Azure ecosystem to provide open API access to the IoT platform for developers and third-party communities.
“Our relationship with Vodafone Group allows us to leverage its global expertise and reach as and when required to benefit our customers,” said Javed. “As an example, our Managed IoT offering leverages Vodafone’s Global IoT expertise and platforms with global connectivity allowing our customers to benefit from latest IoT technology, platforms, solutions and global connectivity.”
Sydney Interconnect World 2024
TPG Telecom’s head of products Amin Javed will be part of a panel discussion titled “Accelerating digital transformation with 5G: The challenges, opportunities & success stories” at Interconnect World Sydney at the Hilton Hotel on 7 August 2024.
The inaugural event brings together the industry’s leading telcos, ISPs, IXs, TMT investors, government agencies along with key enterprise decision makers. These stakeholders will consider key technology and investment trends and address best practices in terms of the connectivity of digital infrastructure. To find out more and to register please visit: https://interconnectworld.com/events/sydney-interconnect-world-2024/
[Author: Simon Dux]
This post was originally published on the 3rd party mentioned in the title ofthis site
