Why AR in Telecom is Next Big Thing for the Year 2022?

The Current State of AR in Telecom

With over 7.5 billion users worldwide added to the network, around $300 billion in capital expenditure, and high registrations every day, telecom is one of the prime industries. Since other critical industries such as healthcare, logistics, and emergency response services, have a high reliance on their telecom infrastructure, the role of telecoms has become even more significant today. That said, uninterrupted service is the foremost distinct recognition for a telco. Telecom enterprises put rigorous efforts to maintain high SLA and prevent any outage by scheduling routine equipment inspections. Further, with the advent of 5G along with the rising digital shift post-COVID-19, telcos are observing unforeseen opportunities to tap more customers.

“When asked about the pandemic’s effect on enterprise digital transformation, 66% of CEOs said that the digital experience has accelerated by a matter of months, while 24% said it accelerated even more sharply.”

Challenges

Smooth and uninterrupted collaboration between the two primary resources of telcos – knowledge experts and field technicians – has recently become a challenge owing to the scarcity of skilled experts, restricted movement due to the pandemic and isolated locations of telecommunication equipment. Effective collaboration between these resources has numerous benefits for industrial enterprises.

“According to The Service Council, field technicians have to do at least one follow-up visit for about 23% of all service calls.“

Below are some of the immediate challenges faced by the industry:

• Maintaining high SLAs and preventing outages
• The complexity of 5G network deployment
• Ineffective knowledge impartation system among field service engineers
• Shortage of skilled and experienced professionals
• Dispersed & remote locations of equipment
• The increasing complexity of telecom hardware
• Supervision of Network Operations Center (NOC)

Way ahead

Telcos are resorting to technological solutions to evolve and enhance customer experience that plays a crucial role in customer retention. They are positioning themselves to become leaders in the 5G era by deploying the latest technologies like AR in their facilities to address the said challenges. With the pandemic giving rise to various new working formats and a major shift from physical to digital, tremendous scope exists for the sector. Due to this shift, technologies will no longer remain facilitators but will become the fundamentals.

AR value proposition in the Telecom Industry

• Superior technical support that eliminates probabilities of miscommunication through real-time expert collaboration and AR-based assistance, resulting in instant and qualitative first-call resolutions.
• Training modules and SOPs for frontline workers and technical experts.
• Error-free remote inspections and audits of telecom connectors through hardware-specific instructions.
• The procedures for installations, servicing, and customer support are easy to access, understand and execute through the platform, making it more user-friendly.

Some numbers

• 78% first-time fix rate
• 35% increase in customer satisfaction
• 48% reduction in training time
• 54% reduction in field technician travel
• 60% reduction in field operations cost
• 60% reduction in resolution time

Use cases of AR in Telecom

Plutomen and Virtusa together are on a path to develop a high-powered ecosystem for telecoms where AR solutions can increase human resources productivity, enhance customer experience, and reduce operational hindrances resulting in seamless functioning of telecoms. This will not only lead to reduced costs expenses but also provide time-saving benefits.

• Remote Inspection & AuditSite inspectors and auditors can perform equipment inspection, and site audits remotely while utilizing SOPs and checklists, and can create inspection record logs. Inspectors can remote access inventory and place orders during inspection activity.
• Field ServiceCompany representatives can access fixed lines and inventory from remote locations and guide field technicians for faster and more efficient troubleshooting of wiring, cabling, ground network, and electrical supporting structures.
• MaintenanceMaintenance of transmission lines, transceivers, multiplexers, etc., can be done effectively with QR markers on equipment and systems like radio, cables, electromagnetic systems, with supportive information like equipment specs, maintenance instructions, date of previous inspections, and repair made.
• Customer ServiceThe remote operations and company representative assistance add to uninterrupted service availability to the enterprises. AR adoption allows quick access to checklists and guides for customized solutions provided to enterprises, cutting the time required for service configuration, order placement, and fulfillment.
• TrainingField technicians can be trained by professionals using contextual information at hand through an interactive knowledge repository consisting of 3D workflows, markers over equipment, and annotations over video & images.
• Installation and CommissioningExpert guidance through video and workflows for fixed-line installation, cable configuration, equipment installation, and labeling. Time taken in facility commissioning gets reduced as it can be done from remote locations.

“According to McKinsey, costs can be cut by up to 90%, and turnaround times reduced drastically through the digitization of information-intensive processes.”

To conclude

To streamline the processes, reduce redundancy costs and improve customer experience, and keep up with the pace, the emerging tech needs to be implemented and integrated by the telcos. Plutomen and Virtusa look forward to assisting you in streamlining your processes, improving workmen capabilities, reducing costs, and improving customer experience through AR-based solutions.