Telcos Are Becoming Utilities. Is That Really A Bad Thing?
Fierce Network, Monday, July 15th, 2024
You've heard the grand declarations from telecom companies over the past few years. "We're not telcos anymore," they've said, "we're techcos." But what's so bad about being a telco?
Techco, of course, is short for "technology company." The idea is that telcos are evolving beyond their roots as simple connectivity providers and turning into services companies. Lumen Technologies has taken this approach, as has e& (formerly Etisalat). AT&T's CTO got in on the game at DTW in Copenhagen last month, arguing that all telcos are going to have to mature into professional software development shops. And the hype around artificial intelligence (AI) is only fueling the narrative that this transition from telco to techco is a necessity.