In a recent RCR Wireless News article, a 20-year professional in the telecom industry gives their take on the top trending telecom topics for 2024. According to the article, the following trends are expected to have a significant impact on the telecom industry:
Telecom Cloud
As the shift toward cloud computing moves forward, the telecom cloud industry is expected to reach US$125B by 2030. Multi-cloud brings access to the best-in-class capabilities needed to streamline innovation, create competitive advantage, and build resilience for the future. Key drivers for the future include network modernization, the expansion of a cloudified network, and hybrid cloud network strategies and opportunities.
Silicon Expansion
To meet the growing demand for mobile data and 5G services, mobile operators must upgrade their networks with powerful, flexible equipment that can handle higher bandwidth and lower latency. Communication service providers (CSPs)should invest in platforms that can continue to evolve with the network and participate in the telecom open ecosystem to learn from other providers.
Network Traffic
Traffic over mobile and fixed access networks is expected to rise sixfold by 2030. As network traffic increases, the location where the data is processed becomes more critical. By 2030, on-premises and cloud processing will account for 70% of enterprise traffic. Operators can prepare for this explosive network traffic growth by learning about disaggregated cloud-based architectures and how to deploy purpose-built telecom hardware capable of handling the expected workloads.
Sustainability
A GSMA Intelligence survey indicates nearly 85% of telecom operators worldwide have made net-zero commitments. Furthermore, two-thirds have committed to do so by 2040, well before the generally accepted guidance of 2050. Providers should research, learn, and implement automated moving workloads and energy-efficient hardware.
Artificial Intelligence
With AI’s promising emergence in the telecom industry, seizing the opportunity to stay ahead of the curve is imperative. 95% of CSPs say that they are currently engaged with AI. Navigating and positioning businesses for the growth of AI will be critical for 2024 and beyond. This will include optimizing, predicting, and automating network performance to invest in upskilling companies’ expertise and monetizing AI use cases.
Stay Current
Communications professionals must keep up with telecom trends. IEEE DiscoveryPoint for Communications contains hundreds of eLearning courses related to the telecom cloud, silicon technology, network traffic, sustainability, and artificial intelligence. These courses cover a wide range of topics, from basic concepts to advanced strategies, and are designed to help professionals stay up to date with the latest trends and developments in the industry. 
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