With more network providers announcing their deployment of the fifth-generation mobile network, it is almost impossible to believe that 4G has only been around for 10 years. However, in the telecom industry, a decade is not a ten-year time frame, but the time it takes to develop the next generation mobile network.
5G is already on its way to transform industries beyond telecom and communication, touching upon our lifestyles and reality fully from generating energy, communicating with advanced technologies to operating machinery and performing surgery using robots.
Inheriting the same security as the previous generation, 5G promises improvement and potential with its ultra-low latency and massive capacity where users can experience the higher speed in downloading content, gaming, performance, reliability, and connectivity.
This profound advancement does not only mean that you can download a whole movie in a matter of seconds, but it brings along a dramatic change in the quality of operations and a new revenue stream for operators by providing augmented reality, video-on-demand, content streaming, and the Internet of Things.
The low latency offered by 5G matching almost 100 times lower than 4G and its improved bandwidth facilitate the collection of real-time network data, which can be used in return to be analyzed with the identification of patterns detected by the network with the goal of improving efficiency and technical data influx such as connectivity and quality of network connection.
While the benchmark for 4G is 10 milliseconds, the standard for 5G is as small as 1 millisecond. This makes a huge impact when it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT), which refers to the billions of physical activities worldwide that are linked to the internet and are all gathering and exchanging data.
5G will enable this massive IoT ecosystem where networks can serve billions of connected devices with the right trade-offs between speed, latency, and cost. This will also enable operators to receive the data they need without having to go through an ocean of useless data.
Recent technology upgrades and wireless switching have revolutionized the existing revenue streams previously used by mobile operators for wired services such as VoLTE, VoWiFi, and others. For many years, mobile telecommunications networks have dealt primarily with voice calls. Mobile data traffic grew slowly at first but exceeded voice traffic in 2010. The mobile network is now dominated by data, especially video downloads, and the level of traffic is expected to increase further.
As wired service revenues declined, operators had no choice but to adopt wireless alternatives. However, in order to sustain revenue growth, telecommunication businesses have often focused on modernized but costly services to consumers.
“The industry is eager to develop the technologies needed for the new revenue streams provided by 5G. Operators are currently in an extraordinary position to unleash the great potential of the fifth-generation network to customers,” explained Mountasser Hachem, CEO and chairman of Monty Mobile.
Monty Mobile, founded in 1998, has been looking to make the change in the telecommunication sector as easy and profitable to operators as possible. As one of the leading mobile VAS providers, roaming broker, and international SMS hub providing SMS monetization, roaming solutions, enterprise, BSS solutions, Monty Mobile holds the highest value and priority of the relationship with operators.
As the biggest value-added services provider in the world, Monty Mobile has mastered the art of going above and beyond with its innovation, whether in creating services, applications, platforms, and more. Most recently, the company’s CEO announced its current project “My Monty”, which according to Hachem is on its way to becoming the world’s largest digital bank.
Based in the UK, with 11 operating offices around the world, Monty Mobile has taken bold steps to lead in a competitive industry. Even though mobile network operators (MNOs) often lean towards Western companies in favor of Middle Eastern alternatives.
Monty Mobile has managed to break this cycle and compete vigorously through its product catalog and eligible personalized services. Its products are developed not only to meet the needs of the industry, but also to improve the performance of MNOs, helping them find new prospects and have a positive impact on the end customer experience.
“In recent years, with the digital wave reshaping the industry structure, the telecommunications industry has entered a period of slow decline,” Hachem explained while pointing out that traditional communication services are witnessing the rise of digital communication over the top (OTT) applications. “Our internal solutions designed and developed to meet the dynamic needs of today's market, ranging from finance and revenue growth services to big data analysis, have proven to be a source of successful revenue that operators cannot ignore,” He added.
An example of Monty Mobile’s operator-based thinking was the launch of SMS A2P (application to peer), which is a key product helping mobile operators monetize their revenues. Operators at the time, mobile carriers were struggling to keep up with the fast-growing market of communication channels.
Their companies were being put to the test from the inside out. Despite fully using their infrastructure network technologies, revenues were severely damaged. In other words, this circumstance produced a loophole that was exploited at the expense of mobile providers' longevity.
Additionally, to address the growing number of eSIM-equipped consumer devices and the need to manage new technologies, Monty Mobile has announced the InstantConnectivity platform that enables mobile operators to efficiently and remotely monitor eSIM users. This product enhances its ability to provide a variety of automated remote services to our subscribers.
“Various operators in the region are implementing these new revenue streams, in addition to the present digital boom, while others are lagging behind. International markets are now more than ever focused on newer technologies like IoT, 5G, and smart cities, and this is exactly where the telecom business is headed,” he added.
Monty Mobile is also the first of its competitors to integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning into its products.
Currently, the 5G deployed by Monty Mobile can be clearly seen with the MM Cloud Gaming VAS, the first real use for 5G implementation and perfect upselling. With more than 150 games included for families and all ages, MM Cloud is an elevation in the gaming industry as it is a real possibility for adapting the front end to Operator branding strategies.
MM Cloud Gaming also offers the lowest latency in the market, showing the possibilities that 5G brings to light, such as going below 50 ms delay between frames, very low bandwidth requirement starting at 5Mbps, based on a network of high-performance servers with the latest generation of GPUs, in addition to its scalability and complete removal of waiting lists to play allowing several users at the same time.
Not only are operators able to generate new revenue based on the subscription model, but they also increase their ARPU, reduce churn while engaging end users and offering them a full set of services, and monetizing 5G.
“It demonstrated our capacity to identify fresh possibilities in the middle of a stressful period in the business. The product was introduced at a key juncture in time, when traditional modes of communication were giving way to OTT apps”, said Hachem.
Basing that relationship at the core of their operations, while paving the way for a more harmonious dynamic between aggregators and OTTs, Monty Mobile certainly is not one to miss out the latest in telecom.
Starting mid-2022, the innovative smart solution, 5G Pro, is set to introduce a new potential for mobile operators to simulate massive MIMO antenna beamforming performance by providing them with all the needed software and hardware requirements to deploy the needed infrastructure for the 5G.
While the evolution of networks from one generation to another carries major potential for the operators to expand their services and offer their subscribers enhanced performance, the challenge lies in the operators’ ability to adapt their network compatibility with this new and prepare themselves to offer their 5G services for their subscribers. In addition to that, with the advancement of the network, subscribers naturally expect ease in doing business, new features, and capabilities, reduced cost, and future warranty.
The race to exploring the potential of 5G is in full motion. However, according to the International Telecommunication Union, globally in 2020, 84.7% of coverage provided was 4G, while 8.5% of operators still provide 3G network coverage, leaving only 6.8% of the world with 2G mobile network.
This comes as a reality to the fact that they cannot update their network offering with the extensive and over-barring cost of tens or even hundreds of millions of US$ needed to carry the network from one generation to another. As a mobile’s telecommunications system is compromised from a significant number of network elements such as routers, databases, and signaling functions; these gears were purchased traditionally from an equipment vendor.
This method is completely acceptable; however, it has numerous drawbacks. The hardware is expensive because it is made in small quantities; the hardware and software are linked, with the operator locked into a single vendor for both; and upgrading the hardware as new requirements arise is difficult, slow, and expensive, an issue that becomes increasingly problematic as development lifecycles diminish.
“We are helping the operators in maximizing their revenues and providing them with more accessible ways to invest in innovative revenue-generating opportunities. This is our primary mission at Monty Mobile. We are willing to bear the cost of investing with them in many cases”, Hachem explained.
5G uses more antennas than previous systems as well, often using only a few antennas on the mobile device, but using dozens or even a few hundred antennas at the base station. It applies them in two distinct ways: improving the coverage of the radio interface at high frequencies by means of beamforming and improving its power at low frequencies by means of a multi-output antenna (MIMO).
As a partner to mobile operators, Monty Mobile prioritizes the relation between operators and their subscribers, believing in the mutual growth and opportunity to advance in both services and network with the increase of area coverage.
Hachem is no stranger to the evolution of the telecommunication industry with its needs and new innovations. He is constantly in the works of thinking beyond the average needs and reaching out to the needs of the operators while looking for innovative revenue-maximizing streams and strategies to provide a constantly profitable situation for them.
“Mobile operators need to be aware and prepared to face the change in profitability where they can utilize their assets in a right way. They cannot depend on offering data packages or bundles”, he said.
Monty Mobile will also support the LTE networks of operators with its complete end-to-end solution, which will be smoothly integrated with the existing network while also identifying and deploying Monty sites where there would be remarkable traffic.
This allows operators to expand their geographic coverage to reach rural areas as 5G can operate over a wider range of radio frequencies than previous systems have done, up to a maximum of about 50 GHz.
This enables operators to reach and connect to where they currently have no presence, opening a new opportunity for the operators to increase their presence, reach, subscribers, and revenue. In addition to that, this will allow more people to finally be connected to the world in a faster, more efficient, and potentially even life-saving manner.
With this step forward, Monty Mobile will enable mobile operators to keep up with the market changes while embarking on a new partnership that promises better revenues and opportunities for technology and connectivity.
“Telecommunication is a key sector that will continue to impact humanity's progress and growth. With an emphasis on constructing the future with technology, there is enormous potential for future possibilities”, concluded Hachem.