Technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) have evolved the telecom industry and its jobs creating a more effective employment structure for companies.
For centuries new technologies have expanded the job landscape of the telecommunications industry. An example of a telecom job that was upgraded with new technology can be seen with a telephone switchboard operator. Before the telephone calls could be established digitally, an operator would have to manually connect switches or electrical cords to establish a connection. The operator position evolved again in the early 1900s when the electromechanical automatic telephone exchange was used more widely, and then in the latter half of the century, a private branch exchange became adopted by most businesses which generally involves a robotic auto-attendant and avoids the operator altogether. Another example of robotics evolving the telecom industry can be seen in the manufacturing sector.
Ericsson’s Robots
The Swedish company, Ericsson, has also followed suit by adopting manufacturing automation. The company has coined the term “Smart Factory” to describe their implementation of recently developed cellular IoT technology that increases results and overall efficiency.
Ericsson utilizes its Smart Factory system by applying its communications and cloud expertise into an integration within a robotics system. The robot’s controlling functionalities are located in the cloud to enable the use of vast computing power and remote direction. The innovative infrastructure allows each robot to interact with its surroundings in a ‘human-like’ manner.
The robots also are able to communicate with each other and work together to identify challenges and solve problems together. This technological architecture allows for a larger number of tasks to be completed, fewer safety threats to employees, dramatically reduces costs, and allows the robots human counterparts to be employed in more essential positions.
Robot-human cooperation in these futuristic factories will allow for complex decision-making possibilities. For example, robot-human collaboration can advance companies by:
- Evaluating complex realities and providing synthesized, understandable representations that enable better decision making
- Identifying risks in advance and reducing negative outcomes
- Deciding courses of action quickly without human input
In 2019 there was a high demand for telecom installers and repairers due to the 5G race and this trend will continue until the next generation’s infrastructure is fully installed. There will also be a continued convergence of telecom and IT, which will be seen in cloud technology and the virtual datacenter. These will allow for a restructuring of IT departments and the streamlining telecom functions, such as an increase in virtual meetings. IT will also support cybersecurity which could create a need for data recovery and fraud prevention positions.
Mobile applications in congruence with telecom tools are creating better measurement tools, which will create demand for data analysts. Robotics, AI, and machine learning will further evolve the telecom customer service sector. Most companies utilize forms of robotic process automation which incorporates minimal aspects of these trends currently. Companies will continue to adopt even more advanced aspects of AI and machine learning to the point where most customer service aspects will be handled almost entirely by AI operators. AI and ML will also restructure mobile tower maintenance operations, fraud detection, and predictive analytics. This will push a need for quality control positions, data analytics, and result-based tracking.
All of these trends will have a big impact on telecom jobs. The industry itself will continue to evolve towards efficiency and providing the best service at the lowest operating cost. Jobs, the industry, and even the telecom infrastructure will develop and change. If you or your company is interested in the telecommunications location-based infrastructure, contact the experts at GeoTel today.
Author: The GeoTel Team
