What’s up with… Telco B2B prospects, US telco security, AT&T

• Non-core telco B2B opportunities near $1tn by 2030 – report
• US broadband networks targeted by Chinese hackers
• AT&T needs a new head of networks

In today’s industry news roundup: The B2B services sector opportunity for telcos is going to grow significantly during the rest of this decade but competition from beyond the telecom sector will be fierce; AT&T, Verizon and Lumen fall victim to alleged Chinese government-linked hackers; AT&T’s head of network steps down after 22 years; and much more!

The global telecom operator community is currently missing out on a lot of emerging enterprise services/business-to-business (B2B) opportunities beyond basic connectivity services, such as mobile and fixed broadband, Ethernet/MPLS lines and SD-WAN, according to GSMA Intelligence. The research arm of the GSMA estimates that the value of the addressable market for telcos of these emerging B2B services – cloud, cybersecurity, IoT, AI-enabled applications, network APIs, data/analytics and blockchain – was about $426bn in 2023 and that this will increase significantly to be worth $986bn by 2030 (with the vast majority accounted for by cloud and cybersecurity services opportunities). That’s where the big growth opportunity in the enterprise service sector lies, because the value of the addressable B2B connectivity services sector will increase only slightly, from $250bn in 2023 to $300bn in 2030. This will all be music to the ears of telcos, many of which have been shifting their enterprise services focus in recent years to cloud, cybersecurity, IoT and so on, and they’re now getting excited about the network API opportunities. And while these numbers from GSMA Intelligence are for the value of the addressable market, the piece of the overall pie that the telcos can go after and have a chance of winning, that doesn’t mean they’re going to be successful. “Competition is fierce, with hyperscalers, platform players, IT service companies, equipment manufacturers and software startups all jostling for market share,” noted the research firm in a new report, The opportunity for operators in B2B technology services – sizing prospects for growth in financial services, manufacturing, automotive and aviation. Tim Hatt, head of research at GSMA Intelligence, said: “Telcos looking to monetise their investments in 5G need to look beyond consumer-centric and basic connectivity driven use cases. Greater focus is needed on offering advanced network solutions, such as network slicing and private networks in the short term and developing end-to-end solutions to support a variety of enterprise use cases combined with integration capabilities in the longer term. Enterprises are increasingly looking for service providers to integrate a blend of technologies that fit their specific technology environments and business needs. Though the competition is fierce, telcos have assets and capabilities they can leverage to play in over one-third of this trillion-dollar market.”

US broadband network operators AT&T, Verizon and Lumen are among the telcos targeted by spies linked to the Chinese government, according to a Wall Street Journal report (subscription required) that cited multiple informed sources, CNN has reported. “A highly skilled group of Chinese government-linked hackers has, in the last several months, infiltrated multiple US telecommunications firms in a likely search for sensitive information bearing on national security,” noted CNN. Officials have briefed US government intelligence committees on the hacking campaign, undertaken by a Chinese group known as Salt Typhoon, while cybersecurity experts from Microsoft and Google subsidiary Mandiant have been investigating the hacking activity. A Microsoft spokesperson told CNN: “We track Salt Typhoon and have seen activity consistent with public news reports. When we see nation state activity, we provide customers with information to investigate as appropriate.”

US cable operator giant Comcast has also suffered at the hands of hackers, albeit via a third party. Debt collection agency Financial Business and Consumer Solutions (FCBS) reported a data breach of millions of client records following a ransomware attack that included the account details of 237,000 Comcast customers, Comparitech has reported.  

Chris Sambar, head of network at AT&T, is to leave the giant US operator on 11 October after more than 22 years at the company. “Chris has played a crucial role in delivering on our commitment to be the best connectivity provider in the US. His work has been instrumental to advancing 5G, launching FirstNet and expanding fibre to millions of homes and businesses,” AT&T staff were told in an internal note sent last week. There’s no indication where he will work next, though he did join the board of satellite-to-smartphone hopeful AST SpaceMobile, an AT&T partner, in June this year. Sambar is AT&T’s representative on that board so he will be replaced by another representative from the telco, but it’s possible that Sambar, who posted enthusiastically on LinkedIn about the recent launch of the low-earth orbit (LEO) operator’s first five satellites, might transition into an executive role at the company.  

The race to acquire Spain’s fifth-largest telco, Avatel Telecom, is reportedly down to just two contenders, according to El Economista. Telefónica has long been interested in shoring up its presence in areas other than just the country’s major cities by taking a majority stake in the operator. Avatel has bulked up in recent years to pass more than 3.4 million homes in 1,000 small towns with its broadband network following an acquisition spree that saw it spend more than €700m to acquire 155 local network operators nationwide. But after a number of potential bidders pulled out of the process, Spain’s national telco now reportedly faces competition from Inveready, a Barcelona-based investment firm that is gathering support from a consortium of investor partners in order to make a bid, with El Economista reporting that the value of the proposed transaction would be in the region of €700m. Saudi telco STC had previously been cited as an interested bidder but is believed to have withdrawn from the process.  

Like its rival Nokia, Ericsson has confirmed its selection as a supplier of 4G and 5G equipment to Indian operator Vodafone Idea (Vi), India’s third-largest operator, with some 216 million cellular connections and a market share of about 18.5%. Vi announced last month that it has awarded contracts worth almost $3.6bn for its mobile network upgrades and expansion to Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung as it rolls out 5G and replaces 4G equipment previously supplied by Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE: Nokia recently announced that it has nabbed the lion’s share of the business, while Ericsson says it has increased its share of Vi’s radio access network coverage.  

“AI for All” was at the heart of Samsung’s latest Samsung Developer Conference (SDC), which was held at the San Jose McEnery Convention Centre at the end of last week. “Samsung Electronics will continue advancing AI technology to a level where AI automatically recognises each user individually – from their voice to their location – to provide a more personalised experience,” explained Jong-Hee (JH) Han, vice chairman, CEO and head of the device experience (DX) division at Samsung Electronics. “These efforts will create more convenient and secure multi-device experiences by leveraging Samsung’s AI-based software, platform innovation and security technology,” he added. Read more. 

Telecom Italia’s board has tasked its CEO Pietro Labriola with securing a “binding offer under the best terms and conditions” for the telco’s international network and services division Sparkle from Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and Retelit, a provider of communications and IT services to the Italian enterprise sector, which last week jointly tabled a €700m non-binding offer for the business. The Italian telco announced that Labriola has been given a deadline of 30 November to secure a decent deal that will help the Italian national operator further reduce its debt pile, which currently stands at about €8.1bn.  

– The staff, TelecomTV