GSMA POST MWC22 SHARING: Panellists in an online session emphasised the growing importance of cross-sector collaboration to support multi-vendor interoperability and future demand, with 5G services leading the shift to closer partnerships.

Steven Paisopoulos, Deutsche Telekom MD of group partnerships and devices for Asia, observed a shift towards more collaboration to drive new business opportunities and innovation, pointing to efforts by large corporations to contact the developer community as instrumental in the growth of the internet through the iOS and Android markets.

With new 5G capabilities, he insisted differentiation depends on the developer community working with organisations to help create new applications.

“The new economy is not only a connected economy, it’s not only a shared economy, but it’s a collaborative economy. And the developer ecosystem is at the centre of that.”

Eric Gillenwater, VP of enterprise business at OneWeb, also highlighted the need for partnerships, as the satellite service provider scopes out what future generations of birds will look like.

He explained OneWeb is taking a collaborative approach, aiming to be part of the telecoms and cloud ecosystems. “You are only as strong as your weakest link. And in a lot of situations, it doesn’t take much for the link to fall apart.”

The OneWeb executive explained the company believes in working across the industry, “whether it’s a multi-vendor approach for our satellites, our user terminals or working with our distribution partners”.

Service differentiation
Paisopoulos argued the potential for operators to see a health RoI on their huge 5G network outlay lies in their ability to develop and market differentiated services for consumers and corporate customers.

Given the required capex, he acknowledged it is challenging for operators, but believes they haven’t fully used the potential of the enhanced capabilities delivered by 5G networks.

He believes the way operators package 5G services for consumers “is all about differentiation”, such as targeting users requiring XR capabilities.

Gillenwater argued OneWeb’s low latency and guaranteed quality-of-service means it feels “we’re a piece of that ecosystem and we can actually support 5G services”.

He said operators are turning to OneWeb to fill the gaps between mobile and fibre coverage, adding there is increased interest in backhaul as operators look to expand their networks into more remote areas.