Expert urges telcos to adopt IoT to boost ARPU

By Ihesiulo Grace

25 September 2017

Technology

…To reach $14.6tn global market size by 2020
An expert in the telecommunication industry said that Internet of Things (IoT) has delivered a big growth opportunity for the industry and urged operators in the country invest in IoT services provision in order to increase their Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).

Managing Director for Vodacom Business Nigeria Mr. Lanre Kolade, made this assertion in a keynote speech at just concluded NigeriaCom 2017 organized by Informa Telecoms Group, adding that telecommunications operators are facing a period of flat growth for core services and significant decline in ARPU.

“This drastic change threatens the survival of the telecoms industry, as substantial declines in user spending on voice and text services have caused a decline in telcos revenue.

“IoT has delivered a big growth opportunity for the industry due to the volume of connections expected and experts have projected the market will reach $14.6 trillion global market size by 2020.

It is therefore essential to seize the vast opportunities that this growth presents in transforming businesses,” Kolade said.

According to him, IoT solutions have been adopted across all industries to provide a host of different benefits, from increased Return on Investment (ROI) to developing stronger relationships with customers’, with far reaching benefits projected for the future.

He urged telecom operators to adapt to the changing times and source other revenue streams to replace what is being lost in the continuing revolution of communications.

He added that, “The Internet of Things offers significant growth potential and the opportunity to take a role in new vertical markets, such as automotive, healthcare and smart cities.

As these sectors seek to adopt more IoT services, the opportunities that exist are vast.

“Whether you are a hardware manufacturer or connectivity re-seller, adding IoT solutions to your portfolio will open up new revenue streams from selling hardware, software and connectivity services, to a broad range of value-added services, such as consulting, integration and support.

Telcos will have to look at the Internet of Things as a potential revenue generator to offset the declining revenues from core services.”

He underscored that more than seven billion people and businesses, and over 30 billion devices, will be connected to the Internet by 2020, and so the question is no longer about the adoption of IoT, but rather, its application to drive business success.