Your Network Needs to Be Prepared, Not Just Resilient

Given the trend toward distant experiences, COVID-19 has emphasized the significance of communications and the requirement for a robust infrastructure to enable a seamless experience. According to a recent research by EY titled “Top 10 risks in telecommunications,” the industry’s biggest challenge is failing to maintain network resilience in a post-pandemic environment. All telecoms in the world may be thinking about strength.

It Is a Challenging Ordeal

During the COVID-19 epidemic, telcos have taken on a more important social role as communication service providers. However, industry sales are expected to drop as we come out of the crisis, and the road to recovery will call for fresh perspectives. According to a survey, the pressure to maintain infrastructure resilience and increase reach, especially in light of network traffic surges brought on by the pandemic, is the most pressing issue facing telecoms in this environment.

With 78% of telecoms re-evaluating or modifying the speed of digital transformation programs in response to the health crisis, the failure to scale digitization initiatives ranks second on the risk radar. The need to establish consumer trust is among the other top risks on the shortlist, ranking ninth, along with rising geopolitical upheaval (ranked fifth). There is no denying that telcos were instrumental in the epidemic by meeting the heightened demand for connection to maintain business continuity. During times of national lockdown, networks may have typically fared well in terms of increased utilization, and customers may have had great regard for their service providers.

When the virus first appeared, many questioned whether many countries had globally implemented 5G. The reaction may have been delivered much more effectively. Therefore, a clear 5G vision is necessary for the current environment when some overlook 5G to recover from the crisis’s economic effects. Telcos must explain these benefits to business clients, so they understand the importance of 5G in the post-COVID era and how to use it fully. Our analysis supports this, which indicated that 80% of businesses from various verticals think 5G providers need to do more to present a unified 5G vision.

How to Improve Resiliency

Consideration of infrastructure as something that “remain[s] invisible until the breakdown,” as sociologists Susan Leigh Star and Karen Ruhleder have done, is a provocative way to approach the topic. The extent of our reliance on telecommunications services and the companies who provide them proved difficult to ignore when Rogers Communications’ network went down on July 8, 2022.

Make Sure Your Technology Solutions Are Diverse

The technology tools for communication can broaden the range of communication options for crucial activities. Due to the inherent dependence of one technical solution on another, it can take time to determine how genuinely varied technology solutions are. For instance, in variable degrees, public mobile (cellular) networks rely on core communications networks (that provide land-line telephone services), and the collapse or deterioration of core networks may negatively impact mobile services. An introduction to the structure of the telecommunications sector contains more details about our telecommunications networks.

It Is Not Only the Technical Fixes

There is a strong focus on technical solutions for resilient telecommunications (such as mobile phones). However, the methods of communication (such as established standards that ensure conference calls run effectively) and the way emergency responders organize themselves should command equal attention and acknowledgment that telcos should consider all three elements in collaboration. There is no magic solution for improving communications resiliency.

Use Fall-Back Strategies

Only occasionally will technical solutions be offered. The system’s reliability (related to defects and their repair) and capacity to handle congestion impact availability (resulting from excessive demand). When choosing technical solutions, using a tiered fall-back strategy helps reduce unavailability. See Ensuring robust telecommunications: a study of some technical solutions for more guidance.

Evaluate Your Essential Communication Processes

It can be helpful to define the crucial communication activities that support reaction arrangements for emergencies to concentrate the choice of technical solutions on the need to communicate. An “activity” is necessary for “what you do” (for example, it could involve a designated person establishing contact with another designated person and exchanging detailed information). The efficacy of response preparations depends on the critical activities. By evaluating the fundamental “technology-free” communication requirements, telcos can keep the focus on communicating for these activities (such as sending or receiving specific information rather than just phoning someone). See Towards Achieving Resilient Telecommunications: Interim Guidance for more suggestions.

Wrap Up

Hackers are evolving, and telcos need help to keep up. Companies can constantly update security measures to keep up with the threats. Yet even with all the advancement, the haunting human errors can always prove fatal. Can you be the most resilient out there? Rest assured. You do not need to worry about that. You can only hope to be as prepared as you possibly can. Big names got hacked in recent months, but that didn’t leave the small fish safe, either. These events do not have to spell doom for you. In contrast, they can teach you a lot about preparing yourself against the threats waiting for you.

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