News

As fibre and 5G networks continue to be rolled out at pace, the South African telecoms operators are preparing for further severe disruptions to their power supply

For South Africans, the rolling blackouts resulting from ‘load-shedding’ by state-run energy company Eksom have been a simple fact of life for over a decade now. Years of underfunding and mismanagement by Eksom has resulted in an energy grid that simply cannot cope with demand, with the nation routinely plunged into darkness for hours at a time.

In 2022, however, the load-shedding crisis reached new heights, with Eksom announcing Stage 6 measures for just the second time ever, requiring the shedding of 6,000 MW and resulting in cuts over a four-day period for four hours at a time.

Now, in 2023, the situation shows no signs of improvement, with analysts fearing that even more severe loadshedding – up to Stage 8 – could be required to alleviate pressure on the national grid. Indeed, this week the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was forced to cancel his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos due to the deepening energy crisis in South Africa.

But what does this ongoing energy crisis mean for the nation’s telecoms operators?

Networks, naturally, consume an enormous amount of energy to run and account for anywhere between 10% and 40% of an operators OPEX. In cases where insufficient energy can be supplied by the national grid, such as a temporary power outage, these networks typically switch automatically to an alternative energy source, from batteries or localised generators.

In South Africa, however, where outages are increasingly common and are last for a longer duration, these solutions may soon prove insufficient.

For the nation’s mobile industry, this problem is particularly acute. Back-up batteries can typically provide power for 6 to 12 hours, after which they require between 12 and 18 hours to fully recharge. Thus, site batteries generally remain a robust solution up to Stage 4 load-shedding; however, at Stage 5 load-shedding and beyond, batteries alone can no longer handle demand.

“Stage 6 means that batteries have less time to recharge between outages and that they won’t last as long given they haven’t had time to fully recharge,” Vodacom explained to TechCentral, noting that they were doing “all we can” to deploy additional backup power solutions, like diesel generators, to sites across the country.

Indeed, mobile operators are increasingly looking further outside the box to meet their energy needs. In 2021, for example, Vodacom announced it was beginning to deploy solar-powered mobile sites, while last year MTN turned to crowdsourcing power from local businesses to keep its network operational.

A similar story can be heard from South Africa’s fixed broadband network operators. While most of the operators have indicated that their backup power supplies can cope with up to Stage 6 load-shedding, they too are now taking additional measures to ensure their networks remain operational during Stage 7 and above.

“Sadly, it seems our predictions are correct, and load-shedding is with us for the long term,” explained Shane Chorley, chief business development officer of Frogfoot, South Africa’s third-largest fibre network operator. “Over the coming year, we will invest R40 million [$2.33 million] in additional capital expenditure and further increase our resilience across the network as the demand for reliable energy supply increases.”

Ultimately, however, despite these investments, the increasing duration and frequency of outages can take their toll on the networks, necessitating additional maintenance and a closer oversight over damaging power surges.

“The most significant impact of stage 5 and stage 6 load-shedding is the pressure it places on equipment, the associated cost of running generators over an extended period, and requiring more maintenance teams in the field to improve reaction time should failures occur,” said Dewald Booysen, COO of Frogfoot’s rival, Vumatel.

“We have seen an increase in equipment failure due to power surges linked to these stages of load-shedding, putting additional pressure on maintenance teams. We also have areas where substations do not come up after scheduled load-shedding, putting additional pressure on our backup power in these areas,” he added.

It should also be noted that network equipment is not only at risk of technical failure due to load-sharing operations, but also vandalism and theft. Power outages present ideal opportunities for thieves and vandals to act while unmonitored, with incidences of theft and destruction of critical infrastructure in South Africa skyrocketing in recent years.

For the telecoms industry, batteries and cables have been noted as increasingly enticing targets.

So, what does the future hold for the South African telcos?

While it is undeniable that the South African network operators are trying their hardest to mitigate the effects of this enormous societal disruption, the situation continues to worsen. With 2023 already a year filled with inflation and tightened purse strings, the question begging to be asked of these telcos is simple: how long can they keep this up?

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest internation telecoms news? Sign up now to receive Total Telecom’s daily newsletter

Also in the news:
Rethinking retail: T-Mobile lays off around 600 retail staff
Exploring a collaborative approach to digital skills development
Israel’s Cognyte embroiled in Myanmar spyware scandal

Contributed Article

By Veego

Today’s telcos are failing at segmentation. Instead of slicing and dicing their data to form meaningful user segments, they are relying on a one-size-fits-all approach that leaves value on the table

Here’s how Communication Service Providers (CSPs) can turn those tables and achieve true audience segmentation, and critically – why it matters.

CSPs know very little about their subscribers… and it’s hurting them

So, what do we mean by customer segmentation? Customer segmentation is the process of tagging customers based on predefined parameters and separating them into similar groups of users. Before you can make this happen, you need the right data. Once you’ve collected the right data, you’re in a strong place to analyze and segment to find valuable groups.

In the case of CSPs, customer segmentation can be used to create personalized marketing efforts, as well as to improve the quality of service and subscriber experience.

You might ask, why do these segments matter? Understanding your subscribers and their needs is key to their success and your own. For example, a gamer household requires an internet experience that doesn’t lag and an especially high internet speed. Knowing this, the CSP could proactively offer a larger data package or a WiFi extender that will improve their gaming experience.

Another example could be a subscriber who’s experiencing a lot of interruptions in their service. They are likely to be unhappy with the service and are therefore more likely to churn. Being able to segment this user into an “at risk” category is extremely valuable for the customer service agents and can help the business to retain such customers for longer periods. This household needs a gentle touch and an attempt to restore trust and good service, in direct contrast to our first example, who would benefit from a larger data package. Calling this home and offering them an upsell opportunity is not likely to be well-received, and may even cost you the subscriber altogether.

The data you need to make these decisions, data on subscriber activity, application and device identification, and the quality of each session is all readily available with the right technology, such as Veego’s AI-based data analytics platform. And yet, most CSPs are not utilizing any kind of analytics platform at all. This means they can’t achieve anywhere near the potential that exists from segmentation.

They might be able to segment by the package that subscribers have bought, where they live, or how many times they have called in the last 12 months – but it stops there. They don’t have the contextual data necessary to garner insights into their subscribers’ actual internet experience – their Quality of Experience (QoE).

The segmentation domains that move the needle for CSPs

With the right data to hand, and a QoE score that reflects how subscribers actually feel about their internet experience, you can segment customers and monitor their user experience on an ongoing basis.

Let’s look at four key areas that can make a real difference to both subscriber quality of experience, and business growth. These are, Value, Lifecycle stage, Behavior and Experience:

• Value: How valuable is this household? Are they big spenders, do they tend to say yes to upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and what is their LTV overall? Understanding customers past and predicted expenditure can be vital.
• Lifecycle stage: Where are these subscribers in terms of their lifecycle with you? Are they brand-new subscribers, or long-term brand champions? Your behavior during the first 90 days for example should be different than for a loyal long-term advocate.
• Behavior: How do these subscribers use the web? Segmenting via usage means looking at real-time sessions, and understanding whether users are streaming, gaming, uploading large files, working from home, reliant on smart home devices, and more.
• Experience: This involves proactively tracking the parameters which will indicate quality of experience. This is a combination of QoS parameters such as bandwidth, jitter, uptime, packet loss and latency, alongside recurring malfunctions and how they impact subscriber experience.

Segmentation allows for personalisation

By creating these segments, CSPs are best-placed to use personalization to delight users and boost their own business efforts. According to McKinsey Research, a personalised customer experience is key to retain customers and increase revenue, and 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver. Fast-growing companies drive 40% more revenue from personalisation than their peers.

Think now about how achieving these kinds of segments in your subscriber base, and gaining insight into which WiFi metrics are of importance to which homes can offer personalisation opportunities.

Take a household that performs a lot of video conferencing, for example. It relies on a stable internet connection without any delays. If this household shows a low QoE score during Zoom sessions or a lot of packet loss, you can offer the ability to prioritize these Zoom sessions over any other consumed apps within the same household.

CSPs can also cross-reference information from the different segmentation categories above to add even greater value. A new subscriber would naturally benefit from extra-attention during the all-important initial 90-days after they onboard. This is how you can benefit from the lifecycle segment. However, if you also know what their real-time experience is like, you’re better placed to help. If everything is running smoothly, then a check-in call might be seen as pestering. However, if you can call and say “Hey, we’re happy to have you with us, we’ve noticed you’re having some trouble with performance on your Smart TV, here’s how we can help”, that’s a powerful first impression.

CSPs: If business value is the question, segmentation is the answer

By gathering the right data, CSPs are well-placed to segment their users by intelligent groupings that help with smart and impactful decision making. The success of this strategy relies on how well you can manipulate the data in a way that gives you the most flexibility and visibility.

Ultimately, with the right data in your arsenal, you can shine a spotlight on the true nature of each internet session. By understanding each home, you can better increase subscriber satisfaction with your company, make inroads in reducing churn, and even open up new revenue generators across your install-base.

Also in the news:
Rethinking retail: T-Mobile lays off around 600 retail staff
Exploring a collaborative approach to digital skills development
Israel’s Cognyte embroiled in Myanmar spyware scandal

One M&A, one upgrade, one fiber services launch, and one private wireless deployment: … [visit site to read more]

News

Vodafone investors withdrawing over the last year has opened the door for the Emirati operator group to increase its stake in the business

It is no secret that Vodafone has been facing serious financial pressures recent years, with investors squeezing the multinational operator to implement major changes and turn its fortunes around.

Indeed, for many years Vodafone has been relying on the prospect of consolidation in its most competitive markets ­­– including Spain, Italy, and the UK – to alleviate the financial strain. However, despite rumours (and seemingly progress with Three in the UK), few deals have ultimately been struck, leaving the company’s management to face the ire of its disgruntled shareholders.

By October last year, one Vodafone’s most outspoken investors, Cevian Capital, had sold most of its stake in the company, arguing the operator’s situation appeared unlikely to improve. Just a week ago, another of Vodafone’s activist investors, Coast Capital, was reported as offloading its shares, saying that the strategy behind its initial investment had proven ‘incorrect’.

Not all of Vodafone’s investors appear to be so pessimistic, however.

e&, formally Etisalat, took a near 10% stake in Vodafone back in May last year for £3.3 billion, saying at the time that the opportunity would allow them to “gain significant exposure to a world leader in connectivity and digital services” as well as develop their international portfolio.

Since then, the Emirati operator group has gradually increased its stake in Vodafone, upping its investment to 11% in December last year and reportedly now 12%.

“Executed at what we believe is an attractive valuation, the investment rationale is unchanged from our announcement on the 14th of May 2022, specifically to obtain significant exposure to a global leader, and leverage potential commercial partnerships, and realize a future return on our investment,” explained the operator in a statement.

Etisalat rebranded as e& back in February, splitting its operations into various arms, including e& Life (consumer services), e& Enterprise (enterprise services), and e& Capital (investment). The move was aimed not only at increasing the company’s ability to capitalise on emerging opportunities, but also at expanding into international markets – both of which will seemingly be facilitated by its stake in Vodafone.

For Vodafone itself, meanwhile, major changes are already taking place. Vodafone’s CEO of four years, Nick Read, stepped down from the role at the end of last year and additional executive positions have been reshuffled since the start of the year.

Vodafone’s head of finance, Margherita Della Valle, is serving as interim CEO until a replacement for Read can be found.

Want to keep up to date with all of the latest international telecoms news? Click here to receive the Total Telecom daily newsletter direct to your inbox

Also in the news:
Rethinking retail: T-Mobile lays off around 600 retail staff
Exploring a collaborative approach to digital skills development
Israel’s Cognyte embroiled in Myanmar spyware scandal

Four interesting moves in four different metro and regional US markets to note this week: … [visit site to read more]