What makes enterprise business the new hotspot of telco growth?
B2C revenues continue to decline.
Over-the-top (OTT) platforms have eroded one of the biggest advantages telcos once had—providing direct communication channels. Agile digital players are capturing telecom revenues by offering secure, simple, and sticky communication solutions on top of telco networks. Consider WhatsApp for messaging, FaceTime for video calls, Flipboard for news, Spotify for music, and Amazon Prime for digital content. The widespread adoption of 4G and high-speed data networks has pushed consumers further into the app-driven economy, reducing reliance on traditional telecom services.
To maintain profitability, telcos are increasingly shifting their focus to B2B services. The telecom enterprise services market, which was valued at approximately USD 196 billion in 2023, is projected to grow to around USD 253 billion by 2030 (Southeast News Channel Nebraska). However, B2B customers demand innovation, and many still perceive telecom operators as lagging behind in meeting their evolving needs. Enterprise services now encompass a range of offerings, including managed mobility solutions, cloud storage, cybersecurity, and tailored services for SMEs.
A key growth area within B2B is the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) segment, which was valued at approximately USD 83.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 142.9 billion by 2033 (IMARC Group). A major driver of this growth is the increasing adoption of MVNO services by small and medium enterprises, which seek cost-effective, flexible, and scalable telecom solutions. Additionally, the rising demand for IoT connectivity is fueling the expansion of IoT-focused MVNOs, projected to grow at a CAGR of 18.59% over the next decade (SNS Insider).
5G and IoT will spur enterprise growth.
Foreseeing the digital disruption, some operators have been re-examining their market positions and extending their services to corporate customers, fixed line services, online banking, and more. But telcos should also carefully monitor the enterprise business space to discover new opportunities in a smart world. Here are some growth levers to look out for:
- Autonomous vehicles – 5G will drive machine-to-machine (M2M) communications whereby vehicles can communicate with other vehicles, MET departments, traffic control systems, and more. Coupled with edge computing and ultra-reliable low latency communication, this will allow on-the-go decisions about alternate driving routes as well as real-time recommendations for repairs or fuel stations.
- Public infrastructure – Municipal corporations are actively evaluating how to use IoT for smarter governance. Through 5G, utility companies will be able to track resource usage, such as electricity and water usage remotely. Sensors can notify public works departments, enabling rapid responses in cases of flooding drains faulty traffic lights, fused streetlights, and accidents.
- Healthcare – As smart devices go cellular, carriers become the portal through which large amounts of health-related data flow between patients and physicians. Think external smart devices tracking vital signs (like respiration for asthma) or smart drugs monitoring internal functions. All this data must be transmitted continuously, securely, to the right provider.
- Industrial safety – With its extremely low latency, 5G will drive greater advances in remote-controlled devices that will be more responsive, energy-efficient, and intuitive. Man-machine interactions through remote-controlled robots can ensure worker safety in hazardous environments like mining industries and even precision surgery in healthcare.
Prepare for change.
- Customer demographics will change – The entire telecom customer demographic will transform radically to include new kinds of enterprise business customers that want to tap into 5G use cases.
- Network traffic will evolve – Due to the changing customer demographic, the type of network traffic will evolve dramatically from call detail record (CDR) based to event-based traffic.
- Data volumes will skyrocket – Operators will be swamped with tremendous amounts of data originating from their extended B2B ecosystem across verticals.
It’s going to be partnerships, all the way.
Seizing this opportunity, we can expect telcos to partner with enterprises, IoT-specific mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and digital upstarts with the objective of:
- Expanding verticals to bundle offerings that are truly innovative. To help enterprises deal with rising device penetration, adoption and connection, some operators provide enterprise connectivity solutions. Through this, enterprises can manage all their SIM cards used for device cellular connectivity and M2M communication with advanced device analytics, self-care options, and more, from a single pane.
- Selling insights based on enterprise data. McKinsey has already investigated this and predicts that digital and analytics can give telcos 5-15% incremental revenues in its B2B segment. Some use cases here include dynamic deal scoring, personalized campaigns, next-product-to-buy algorithms, and predicting network outages or inefficiencies for faster remediation and greater customer satisfaction.
- Becoming a hub of contractual compliance between multiple partners. Subex is helping telcos leverage the power of AI to for intelligent contracting, thereby minimizing disputes, enhancing contract performance, and ensuring partner satisfaction.
- Enforcing digital trust and data security. With increasing amounts of data passing through telcos, some operators are offering a full range of enterprise cybersecurity products along with consulting, professional, and managed security services. Coordinated security solutions can centralize data management and security in accordance with various national guidelines, making compliance and security easier and more cost-effective.
Collaboration is the new competition.
CSPs can metamorphize into nerve centers that facilitate the right connections between businesses and customers. But, their competitive edge in tomorrow’s connected world will depend on how quickly and efficiently they forge partnerships and collaborations. With higher numbers of partners and connections as well as bundled services and products, operators will be responsible for encapsulating terms, rating billing data, and ensuring quality of service levels. Thus, operators must be ready with transparent, agile, and intelligent enterprise billing systems that simplify partner management.
Unlocking new growth paradigms with enterprise business.
Subrat Saurabh is a Product Pre Sales Director responsible for driving the partner ecosystem management initiative at Subex. He primarily focuses on enterprise solutions and Billing & Settlement while engaging in digital transformation consulting for telecom and other B2B enterprises.
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