Radar, September 2019

The Radar continues to throw light on a handful of emerging topics and trends that the telecoms industry is affected by, and this month is no different.  Once again we bring you a selection of perspectives and analyses on key topics to keep you informed of the forces shaping our world. These will hopefully help you make stronger, forward-looking strategic decisions.

In this edition of the Radar we are pleased to build on a previous article exploring the possibility of a ‘hyper reality’ scenario in advertising.  The advertising industry has taken some knocks in recent months: not only is data usage by advertisers coming under increased scrutiny, consumers are also reporting that advertising can be so targeted as to be disturbing. We explore how a move back to targeting anonymous groups, rather than specific individuals, may provide opportunities for more traditional advertising media, such as billboards and television, and how operators could give a leg-up to advertisers looking to bridge the online and offline worlds.

In our second piece we look at data hubs, a potential solution to the growing need for the steady flow of data in the future of the Internet of Things (IoT). While data hubs will be of great use to commercial organisations, we focus on their potential as a tool for public good, where opportunities are rife.

We close out this edition with an infographic delving into the dangers of cyberwarfare, a topic at the heart of many recent news stories. The dawn of the 5G era will complement the growing footprints of AI and IoT, exponentially increasing the threat from highly organised actors looking to cause damage. As the connecting fabric of the digital economy the telecoms industry is likely to be a target of such attacks. We examine how operators, as well as enterprises, can mitigate this threat.