00:00:06:00 - 00:00:32:05
Kester Mann
Hi everyone, I'm Kester and welcome to day two of CCS Insight’s Predictions for 2025 and Beyond. We've got a jam-packed hour ahead in which we're going to be exploring some of our leading predictions in the areas of connectivity and health and well-being. We also have two interviews lined up, one between myself and Marc Allera, CEO of EE, and the other with Stefan Streit, CMO at TCL.
00:00:32:07 - 00:00:48:22
Kester Mann
Afterwards, we'll also be looking at what we believe will be the next industry big megatrends after all the hype and excitement around artificial intelligence finally starts to die down. In the meantime, though, let's talk about our operator and networks predictions. And to do so, I'm
00:00:48:22 - 00:00:55:07
Kester Mann
delighted to be joined by Ian Fogg, who joined us earlier this year and is our director of Network Innovation.
00:00:55:08 - 00:00:57:19
Kester Mann
Fantastic to have you on board this year, Ian.
00:00:57:19 - 00:01:13:18
Kester Mann
I've been looking through our network predictions, we've got some great ones this year. One that really struck me was this one: to 2026, 5G standalone networks get a boost as AI-powered natural language speech services become more popular. Can you expand on this one for us?
00:01:13:18 - 00:01:20:23
Ian Fogg
So 5G has been around since 2019, but we're entering the second part of the 5G era
00:01:20:23 - 00:01:49:15
Ian Fogg
with 5G-Advanced and 5G standalone massively improving the quality of the 5G networks, and one of the big things they do is they improve their responsiveness. Now, AI has been in the cloud for the last few years, it's increasingly on the edge in consumer devices too, but you need responsive connectivity between the cloud and edge devices, and standalone gives operators a way of enabling that cloud-to-edge AI with a responsive 5G network,
00:01:49:17 - 00:01:51:10
Ian Fogg
particularly as we move into the 5G-Advanced
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Ian Fogg
era.
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Kester Mann
That's very interesting. Now, I've also noticed we have a number of predictions around 6G
00:01:57:11 - 00:02:11:03
Kester Mann
this year, and one really surprised me actually, and that was that despite geopolitics, there will be a single 6G standard globally. This seems to contrast a little bit with some of the wider industry narrative around divergence of industry standards,
00:02:11:03 - 00:02:11:23
Kester Mann
so can you explain this
00:02:11:23 - 00:02:12:00
Kester Mann
one?
00:02:12:01 - 00:02:33:02
Ian Fogg
It is. We've got a few different 6G predictions in the full list. It's unusual to predict something that happens as it should — we normally predict something a bit more unusual, a bit more out there. But we're predicting, yes, there will be a single 6G standard, geopolitics won't totally get in the way of that. That doesn't mean there won't be some regional differences.
00:02:33:02 - 00:03:01:18
Ian Fogg
There could be a single standard and then some regional add-ons in China or in the West. But what we really think is that the benefits of the standard are so well known to the suppliers, the vendors and the operators, to everyone in the ecosystem that no one wants to go back to the era of Wipro and different 2G and 3G standards and TD-SCDMA in China, and that everyone really sees the benefit in having that single standard.
00:03:01:23 - 00:03:10:03
Ian Fogg
And we're also forecasting that 6G will arrive on time too, which again is a sort of slightly unusual prediction, saying it's going to happen when it should happen.
00:03:10:03 - 00:03:15:20
Ian Fogg
But we really do think this is going to happen and it's going to be that single standard.
00:03:16:05 - 00:03:20:09
Kester Mann
And do we have a sense yet in terms of where the first 6G networks will go live?
00:03:20:09 - 00:03:23:20
Ian Fogg
Well, it could be in a few. In different generations, we've seen
00:03:23:20 - 00:03:43:05
Ian Fogg
different countries become leaders or laggards in the 5G era. Japan was a bit further behind some of the other markets, but other markets like Australia and Korea were very much on the leading edge. I think it'll be probably similar in the 6G era — we'll see some of those Asia–Pacific markets be up there at the front.
00:03:43:07 - 00:03:59:06
Ian Fogg
Although there's reticence in Europe about investment in new network standards, it's quite likely at least one of the operators in maybe one of the Nordic countries or something will be among those early markets. And in 5G, we saw the US be a leader, and I think they'll want to be a leader again in 6G.
00:03:59:06 - 00:04:12:15
Kester Mann
Yeah, it sounds like it's a difficult one to tell. Now, I've got another one here as well that I think is really interesting. And that is that by 2029, the flexibility of Open RAN and virtualized RAN kit creates a circular market for network hardware.
00:04:12:15 - 00:04:13:14
Kester Mann
Ian, what's the thinking behind this?
00:04:13:14 - 00:04:14:15
Ian Fogg
Well, we’ve seen circularity
00:04:14:15 - 00:04:18:23
Ian Fogg
in consumer devices really take off, and CCS Insight has been obviously tracking that extensively.
00:04:18:23 - 00:04:32:02
Ian Fogg
A lot of the benefits of Open RAN have been around supplier choice when you put in your networks. The idea that disaggregated RAN means you can have different suppliers for different parts of the RAN. But that also has benefits a few years down the line.
00:04:32:05 - 00:05:02:20
Ian Fogg
Once that first-generation Open RAN hardware ages out in developed markets, the modularity means it's easy to reuse that Open RAN equipment, not just in other operators in the same country, but perhaps switching to other countries where there's also been Open RAN deployed. This might be a way for some of the Western vendors to grow their share, for example, in Africa or Latin America, as Open RAN equipment that's first deployed in North America or Europe gets reused in other markets where maybe, you know, budgets are lower.
00:05:03:03 - 00:05:12:19
Kester Mann
Sounds like a prediction that would align nicely with telecom operators’ sustainability objectives, and perhaps a different angle to the Open RAN narrative that maybe we haven't heard so much about.
00:05:12:19 - 00:05:13:08
Kester Mann
Very interesting.
00:05:13:08 - 00:05:14:24
Ian Fogg
It is. I think it's my time to ask you some questions.
00:05:14:24 - 00:05:18:03
Ian Fogg
It is. So it's my turn to get my own back.
00:05:18:03 - 00:05:27:01
Ian Fogg
The first prediction that jumped out at me was that in 2025, at least two operators announce plans to create separate “netco” and “servco” divisions. What does that mean?
00:05:27:03 - 00:05:49:13
Kester Mann
Yeah, it's an interesting prediction. The thinking here is that it's a structural change among telecom operators. So we're looking at a number spinning off some of their network assets, whether that's on the fixed side, mobile, fixed and mobile for that matter, into a separate netco. And that might be through a direct sale or maybe through a joint venture.
00:05:49:15 - 00:06:11:02
Kester Mann
The rationale is that it will be around improving the financial stability for operators and reducing their debt. And obviously we've seen some moves already around selling off mobile towers, so it kind of follows on with that trend. But more interestingly, it actually gives them the opportunity of creating a separate servco division, which would enable them to focus and emphasize more on serving consumer and enterprise customers,
00:06:11:02 - 00:06:17:21
Kester Mann
free, of course, as well from some of the shackles and the constraints of industry regulation, which we know is very strong on the on the networks side of things.
00:06:17:23 - 00:06:18:12
Ian Fogg
So years
00:06:18:12 - 00:06:25:22
Ian Fogg
ago we did see some movement on the fixed side of that. Are we seeing momentum now in mobile too with this? Are there some recent developments on this?
00:06:26:01 - 00:06:43:21
Kester Mann
We’ve seen a few examples, certainly as you say on the fixed side, this year in particular with Telecom Italia in Italy, which has hived off its fixed line infrastructure to private equity. And then a few years ago, a very interesting case in Denmark with TDC, which has divorced its network and consumer operations.
00:06:43:21 - 00:06:50:09
Kester Mann
So we're expecting that perhaps we'll see some further developments, and that could well extends to the mobile side, as you say.
00:06:50:09 - 00:06:50:19
Ian Fogg
And
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Ian Fogg
so now there are other ways of improving the economics of the mobile operator business beyond, you know, functional separations and things of that type, which give you different synergies. Another prediction that jumped out at me on that line was by 2026, at least one major cross-border telecom merger is announced in Europe.
00:07:11:07 - 00:07:17:15
Kester Mann
Yeah, I mean, consolidation is something we've talked about in the industry for a long time. It's been a really hot topic this year in many
00:07:17:15 - 00:07:27:11
Kester Mann
respects from an in-market perspective. We've seen the approval of the deal in Spain with Orange and MasMovil, and of course here in the UK we've got the ongoing Vodafone–Three tie-up being looked at.
00:07:27:11 - 00:07:27:22
Kester Mann
But,
00:07:27:22 - 00:07:50:02
Kester Mann
you know, these deals are subject to fierce regulatory scrutiny. And this prediction is all around cross-border deals that potentially could achieve some of the same objectives around increased scale and better return on investment, but maybe will be a little bit more straightforward to achieve from a regulatory standpoint. Where might this happen? I mean, that's a tough one to ask.
00:07:50:08 - 00:08:14:08
Kester Mann
We've got a little bit of an inkling, a speculation perhaps, that, Telenet in Belgium and VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands could potentially tie up and we partly say that because they've got some shared parentage in there as well. And actually, interestingly, earlier this year, Liberty Global, the company behind both of them, announced a restructure in which it combined some of its Benelux operations into a single unit.
00:08:14:08 - 00:08:14:18
Kester Mann
So
00:08:14:18 - 00:08:18:23
Kester Mann
maybe that's one area, but, we could pick potentially many others as well.
00:08:19:03 - 00:08:30:10
Ian Fogg
Another kind of merger-related prediction that we had is around the eSIM space, which has been one of the hottest and dynamic parts of the market in recent years,
00:08:30:10 - 00:08:38:05
Ian Fogg
where I think Apple particularly has been really driving acceleration of eSIM in North America. And then extending out beyond that,
00:08:38:05 - 00:08:45:00
Ian Fogg
we've got a prediction that by 2028, eSIM roaming providers, perhaps such as Holafly or Nomad
00:08:45:00 - 00:08:47:05
Ian Fogg
are swallowed up by more-recognizable brands.
00:08:48:02 - 00:08:48:19
Ian Fogg
Who could those be?
00:08:48:21 - 00:08:55:01
Kester Mann
Yeah, this is another interesting prediction. So, yeah, as you rightly say, eSIM has been a big topic of our research this year. We
00:08:55:01 - 00:09:05:08
Kester Mann
produced a big Spotlight report earlier in the year looking at our forecast up to 2028 and, actually, before I address the prediction, if I could just share a couple of highlights from that Spotlight.
00:09:05:10 - 00:09:25:16
Kester Mann
One was around the penetration of eSIM-capable mobile phones, which we expect to increase from a billion at the start of this year to 2.5 billion come 2028. And then we also did some calculations into the market sizing around potential cost savings for operators from eSIM, perhaps an area that's been underappreciated in the industry so far,
00:09:25:16 - 00:09:45:09
Kester Mann
and we worked out that the telecom industry as a whole could save $3.3 billion by using eSIM instead of a physical SIM come 2028. So,, some interesting findings there. In terms of the actual prediction around eSIM roaming, this is a very interesting market. It's fast moving, but it's also very immature. There are a lot of competing players,
00:09:45:09 - 00:09:58:02
Kester Mann
It's hard to differentiate. Margins are low and so on. So we think there could be some consolidation here, whether that's between some of the players or maybe that's, a player from within or outside the telecom industry making some acquisitions.
00:09:58:06 - 00:10:07:15
Ian Fogg
So it could be one of the main operators building up and expanding that eSIM role or it could be someone brand new. There's another prediction I think we had around Airbnb and eSIM, tell me about that
00:10:07:15 - 00:10:07:19
Ian Fogg
one.
00:10:07:19 - 00:10:08:11
Kester Mann
Yeah, exactly.
00:10:08:11 - 00:10:09:11
Ian Fogg
So, could they be the
00:10:09:13 - 00:10:16:04
Ian Fogg
Type of potentially could. Yeah. So you know we have this prediction around Airbnb potentially moving into to offer eSIM services.
00:10:16:04 - 00:10:29:18
Kester Mann
You know, why not Airbnb? We've already seen some moves by some travel companies like easyJet into the eSIM area. Could Airbnb do a partnership with someone like Holafly or Nomad, those players you mentioned earlier and offer services?
00:10:29:18 - 00:10:42:13
Kester Mann
We think it's plausible. And of course we had the interesting movement early this year from Revolut, the financial services provider, to move into eSIM. So why not Airbnb? It's a trend that we're keeping a close watch on.
00:10:42:16 - 00:10:47:10
Ian Fogg
Great. I think that's all the ones we want to highlight from yours, we've got a lot more coming up haven't we?
00:10:47:14 - 00:10:48:20
Kester Mann
Absolutely. Yep. So,
00:10:48:20 - 00:10:59:15
Kester Mann
we now move on to the next section, which will be hosted by Luke and Vaishali, and they're going to be exploring private mobile networks, RedCap and fixed wireless access. So stay tuned.
00:11:02:07 - 00:11:33:14
Luke Pearce
5G was always designed with enterprises in mind, and today's AI-driven landscape means enhanced connectivity is essential for collecting data, analyzing it and training models in time-critical applications. Private mobile networks, which are tailored for enterprise use, are being used to connect manufacturing facilities and enable smart logistics hubs, ports and mines. These solutions have been around for nearly a decade now, yet the market remains in its early stages.
00:11:33:16 - 00:12:03:13
Luke Pearce
Our Pulse dashboard shows that there are just over 5,500 dedicated deployments worldwide, and although the market is growing at a rate of 25% year-on-year, several obstacles are preventing it from reaching mass adoption. A major deterrent is a significant capital expenditure required, especially when the total cost of ownership and use cases remain unclear. This is particularly true when compared with the more familiar developed and cost-effective ecosystem of Wi-Fi.
00:12:03:15 - 00:12:18:13
Luke Pearce
However, there's a promising technological shift. With the arrival of 5G standalone networks and new 5G-Advanced standards, technologies such as network slicing enable more companies to take advantage of the public macro network for enterprise use.
00:12:18:13 - 00:12:30:08
Luke Pearce
By integrating private network solutions with their existing public network infrastructure, operators aim to enhance reliability, scalability and cost efficiency for their enterprise customers.
00:12:30:08 - 00:12:46:16
Luke Pearce
This development is also a beacon of hope for operators, which have struggled to play a significant role in the enterprise 5G market. As an example, we can look to our research in the Far East, where China has already succeeded in deploying private mobile networks at scale.
00:12:46:18 - 00:13:14:03
Luke Pearce
According to our Pulse dashboard, the three major Chinese mobile operators have connected an impressive 31,000 sites using a hybrid public and private model, managed through their public macro networks. We believe US carriers are next to follow suit, and our prediction is that a US carrier surpasses 100 private network deployments using its public network in 2025. However, more challenges remain, particularly in the device landscape.
00:13:14:05 - 00:13:43:07
Luke Pearce
Unlike Wi-Fi, the ecosystem for industrial 5G devices is still developing, creating a bit of a “chicken and egg” scenario. Yet there's promising progress. With the evolution of 5G-Advanced in 3GPP Releases 17 and 18, networks supporting 5G Reduced Capability, or RedCap, technology are a key innovation that was support simpler, cost-effective and energy-efficient devices that don't require the full capabilities of 5G networks.
00:13:43:09 - 00:14:13:01
Luke Pearce
As of May 2024, GSA data shows that only 3% of operators with 5G standalone networks supported Redcap, but a further 23% are investing in it. Our prediction is that by the end of 2028, more than half of new 5G standalone networks support RedCap technology. As RedCap applications expand, such as in smart cities, power grids, robotics and transportation, operators worldwide will accelerate their adoption of this technology.
00:14:13:03 - 00:14:39:11
Luke Pearce
The favorable cost dynamics of 5G RedCap will make the device ecosystem more accessible to enterprises, meeting the growing demand for interconnected smart devices. This could be pivotal in unlocking a vast range of RedCap-enabled devices like sensors, drones and cameras, so much so that, in fact, we predict that by 2028, Internet of things devices using 5G RedCap outnumbers 5G phones.
00:14:39:11 - 00:14:43:23
Luke Pearce
I'll now pass you over to Vaishali to talk about some other applications of RedCap.
00:14:47:05 - 00:15:13:21
Vaishali Purohit
Thank you, Luke, for that introduction into RedCap and its capabilities with private mobile networks. 5G RedCap is specifically catered to mid-tier applications as it trades off greater speeds for a lower cost and is therefore ideal for scenarios where lower data usage is required. This also means that it can be used as a lower-cost alternative for 5G fixed wireless access services.
00:15:13:23 - 00:15:43:24
Vaishali Purohit
Fixed wireless access is an alternative way to receive broadband Internet using wireless mobile signals instead of physical connections like phone lines, cables or fibre. It's been a bright spot for many mobile operators as it provides new ways to cash in on their existing 5G towers and spectrum. CCS Insight’s research shows that in 2023, 79% of global fixed wireless access connections were LTE, with only 21% being 5G.
00:15:44:01 - 00:16:12:17
Vaishali Purohit
These LTE-based services are well-suited to rural, developing regions with low levels of fibre penetration, places like Africa and the Middle East, where mobile usage is high. Although fixed wireless access offers much faster speeds to these customers, it comes with higher costs, which creates a significant barrier. For example, in 2023, the average price of a 5G customer premises device for an operator was $102.
00:16:12:19 - 00:16:48:00
Vaishali Purohit
However, we expect to shift thanks to RedCap technology. We predict that by 2028, fixed wireless access over 5G RedCap networks eclipses LTE-based fixed wireless access in developing regions. This is because RedCap offers higher speeds than LTE fixed wireless access, but with lower equipment costs, making it more affordable for many countries. The first customer premises equipment supporting RedCap is just entering the market this year, and it is expected that by 2027, these devices could be produced for half the cost,
00:16:48:02 - 00:17:33:08
Vaishali Purohit
bringing it on par with the cost of LTE. The introduction of 5G RedCap will invigorate the fixed wireless access market for both consumers and operators and help migrate users from LTE to 5G. Its purpose is to improve existing fixed wireless access offerings and make them even more accessible and widespread. Fixed wireless connections are already growing fast. Our latest forecasts indicate the number of global connections will rise from 6% in 2023 to 13% in 2027, quickly overtaking older broadband technologies like DSL, which has been declining from 8% in 2023 and is set to drop further to just 3% by 2027.
00:17:33:10 - 00:18:00:08
Vaishali Purohit
India is a standout market here, and we expect it to contribute 32% of global fixed wireless connections by 2027. With a low fixed broadband penetration of around 3% in 2023 and a large rural population, India provides a significant opportunity for the technology. We therefore predict that one in three households in India will have fixed wireless access broadband by 2030.
00:18:00:10 - 00:18:18:20
Vaishali Purohit
By that point, Reliance Jio is expected to have reached its ambitious goal of 100 million fixed wireless subscribers, an achievement that would underscore India's critical role in advancing digital inclusion and connectivity in one of the world's largest and fastest growing telecom markets.
00:18:20:12 - 00:18:42:19
Luke Pearce
As we advance further into the 5G era and look ahead to 6G, satellite networks are going to become a crucial piece of the telecom landscape. At CCS Insight, we've been closely tracking the latest developments in non-terrestrial networks, and we can help you understand that significance for your business and strategy. With our latest Spotlight report, forecasts and market data.
00:18:43:00 - 00:19:10:12
Luke Pearce
Our team of analysts are here to guide you through this dynamic landscape and its impact on smartphones, fixed connectivity and IoT. If you’re a telecom operator, infrastructure vendor or manufacturer looking to stay ahead, connect with our team today at info@ccsinsight.com.
00:19:13:08 - 00:19:21:11
Kester Mann
Hi, welcome to this CCS Insight Predictions Week interview with Marc Allera, CEO of UK operator EE.
00:19:21:11 - 00:19:23:14
Kester Mann
Marc, welcome. Thank you for joining us.
00:19:23:14 - 00:19:28:19
Kester Mann
Let's talk about the launch of 5G standalone for the consumer market just a few weeks ago.
00:19:28:19 - 00:19:37:03
Kester Mann
Obviously an important technology milestone, but also perhaps something that's difficult to articulate to customers. I wonder, how do you plan to go about that?
00:19:37:03 - 00:19:44:04
Kester Mann
And in particular, I note that you've decided to charge a premium for 5G standalone. What's the thinking behind that? Because other operators haven't taken that approach
00:19:44:04 - 00:19:44:12
Kester Mann
yet.
00:19:44:12 - 00:20:07:22
Marc Allera
These big technology launches are always a challenge in bringing them to life. For consumers, 5G had its moment a few years ago, and I think we all, as an industry, really struggled to get the benefits across of 5G and arguably we probably overhyped the technology and under-delivered on the promise. But I do think 5G SA is a very, very exciting piece of technology.
00:20:08:03 - 00:20:35:01
Marc Allera
It is the real 5G, a standalone network delivering the real promise of 5G in terms of faster speeds, better capacity, lower latency, enabling products and services like AI and cloud gaming and all the other services that we can't even predict yet. You might have some predictions, I'm sure in your event, in terms of what people are going to be using these great networks for, so our belief is, it can justify a premium for sure, particularly in the early years.
00:20:35:03 - 00:20:55:14
Marc Allera
And why not? This is a faster, better network. People will be prepared to pay just a few pounds more for a better experience. That's how we're going to be structuring it in our tariff portfolio. And then the really tricky bit is the marketing execution. How do we talk about 5G SA in a way that doesn't sort of put the technology first, but really puts the consumer first and their needs first?
00:20:55:16 - 00:21:00:23
Marc Allera
And that's what you'll start to see with our marketing campaigns launching over the coming days and weeks.
00:21:01:07 - 00:21:11:23
Kester Mann
Okay, we'll keep a watch out for that. You mentioned just now, AI — clearly the big topic in technology circles this year. And of course, we've got plenty of predictions around that this year ourselves.
00:21:11:23 - 00:21:22:15
Kester Mann
I think on the network side, there’s understanding how AI can really help improve that. But actually your positioning, perhaps, AI as a means of selling more devices and more airtime.
00:21:22:19 - 00:21:25:17
Kester Mann
Why is that? Because not everybody understands AI, do they?
00:21:25:17 - 00:21:50:09
Marc Allera
No, I think the consumer sort of vaguely understands what AI is, and that it might be good for them and help them to be more productive. But I think that awareness is going to build over time. And we really are at the foothills of the AI revolution at the moment. And, you know, it's a bit like the time when the web browser was first launched and people were sort of imagining what the Internet might do and where search might go, or the launch of the iPhone.
00:21:50:11 - 00:22:21:07
Marc Allera
We are at the very beginning of the adoption of this technology. So my personal view is that over the coming months and years, as new software releases come on AI devices, the consumer is going to get their head around the fact that they're going to need to replace their smartphone, their laptop, their tablet and any other device that they're using to make sure that they don't get left behind in this AI revolution because it is going to cut out time, make you more productive, help your work life, help your personal life.
00:22:21:13 - 00:22:48:21
Marc Allera
So it is going to start creating, I think, a real cycle of upgrades of of devices. We're not necessarily going to see that immediately. But as the awareness builds and the software and services and applications build, I think that is going to start happening. And, you know, one of the things I would say is the software releases will and could become as anticipated as new hardware, and that would be a real change, I think.
00:22:48:21 - 00:23:00:15
Kester Mann
Let's stay on the topic of AI. We have a prediction this year that, come 2026, a leading telecom operator announces that almost all of its customer interactions are some way touched by AI.
00:23:00:21 - 00:23:13:03
Kester Mann
And I wonder about your feelings around this. Obviously, we hear a lot about AI, generative AI, supporting customer care. How impactful can it be and to what extent perhaps could it complement or even replace human agents, for example?
00:23:13:03 - 00:23:17:23
Marc Allera
Yeah, it's a fascinating prediction. How you'll be able to measure it, who knows.
00:23:17:23 - 00:23:35:07
Marc Allera
But for sure, I mean, we've been using AI for years in our business. And I know other telcos have service interactions for automating a lot of processes that were manual and dealing with customer problems before the customer even realizes that they've had an issue.
00:23:35:09 - 00:24:01:18
Marc Allera
And so we see the technology being much more widespread as it gets smarter and smarter, and we're containing more and more of the customer journeys through AI rather than AI creating more calls, which can sometimes happen if it's not tuned properly. But I see across network operators and businesses like ours, every part of our business being touched by AI in some way, whether it's running the network more efficiently, service more efficiently.
00:24:01:20 - 00:24:32:13
Marc Allera
I think your point on humans, I see it very much as, you know, I love the term “copilot”. That it helps our people do some of those manual tasks in faster ways, can eliminate some of the admin that gets in the way of them getting to the customer problem and solution first and can help us really benchmark what great sales and service people look like and how we can replicate that in our training and coaching and guidance for all of our team sites.
00:24:32:13 - 00:24:43:09
Marc Allera
I see it very much as a helping hand for our people, rather than, you know, some of the more negative headlines that you might get about AI.
00:24:43:09 - 00:24:45:04
Kester Mann
Yeah, an aid rather than a replacement.
00:24:45:04 - 00:24:46:15
Marc Allera
Yeah. For sure. Okay.
00:24:46:18 - 00:25:07:17
Kester Mann
Another big topic this year in our predictions is eSIM, and in particular the market for eSIM roaming where we've seen a lot of providers come along, such as Airalo and Holafly and Nomad. And we have a prediction as well around some consolidation in this market and potential acquisitions, maybe even involving a telecom operator. I wonder what your thoughts are around the eSIM roaming market, Marc?
00:25:07:17 - 00:25:12:02
Kester Mann
And perhaps whether that offers an opportunity or a threat to someone like you?
00:25:12:06 - 00:25:29:24
Marc Allera
Well, I think there's a reason why some of these brands are popping up and getting a bit of traction, and that's because we and others perhaps haven't fulfilled that need. And that's what we've got to focus on, is how can we fulfill the need of a consumer when they're traveling or whatever other use cases that may well come from eSIM.
00:25:29:24 - 00:25:51:15
Marc Allera
And that's what me and my team, will be obsessing about and making sure we deliver on that over the coming months. And for sure, it means the marketplace will be more competitive, more open, easier to switch. But that also represents an opportunity as well as a threat. And we believe with a great brand, great service, great network, fantastic propositions,
00:25:51:17 - 00:26:08:10
Marc Allera
whether it's 5G standalone, Wi-Fi 7, some of the recent stuff we've launched, plus the whole wrap that we provide, it's also an opportunity for customers that may have had a barrier to switch in their heads, to come down and move across to our network and try and hopefully we can attract them to do that and stay with us.
00:26:08:10 - 00:26:20:00
Marc Allera
So it's an opportunity and a risk at the same time. And as I said, the reason why some of these brands are popping up is because we and others perhaps haven't addressed those needs for the consumer, and that's what we've got to do.
00:26:20:03 - 00:26:35:23
Kester Mann
I read recently that EE is now advising against selling smartphones to under 11s. And this really struck me not just as a parent to a 10 year old, but also from a company that obviously has a business based around setting phones and airtime. So I wonder, how did you get to this decision and why now?
00:26:36:06 - 00:27:03:04
Marc Allera
Yeah, this is this has been something that's been building for some time, I think in our building among our colleagues, really. We ship more smartphones, I think, than any other operator, certainly in the UK and probably across Europe, on the larger brands. And we feel we have a responsibility to help people, because it's a very complex world to navigate as a parent.
00:27:03:04 - 00:27:21:21
Marc Allera
I know as a father of three myself, trying to navigate and give advice and explain to my children, you know, the great things about the Internet and the things to be worrying about and when should one give them a smartphone and with all the tools or some of the tools? I think, for parents,
00:27:21:21 - 00:27:48:03
Marc Allera
I think it's an incredibly complex world to navigate this one. And of course, schools are also really wrestling with this challenge. We're seeing every day a different school with a different position. So we felt it would be helpful for parents and helpful for the children as well. And of course, our colleagues, our guides, who are often asked by parents and children for advice on this topic, that we provided some clearer guidance.
00:27:48:05 - 00:28:00:12
Marc Allera
It's certainly got a lot of pick-up, I think it's got some real momentum building, and I think it's a really important topic that we and others need to lean into and help both parents and children navigate this very complex online world.
00:28:00:15 - 00:28:08:00
Kester Mann
Yeah, I think it's a fantastic position to take, and I really applaud the stance and hopefully others in the industry will follow suit.
00:28:08:00 - 00:28:15:12
Kester Mann
We're getting towards the end, which can only mean one thing, and that's that time where I'm going to ask you if you've got a prediction to share with ourselves this year.
00:28:15:19 - 00:28:42:12
Marc Allera
Yeah, I would say building on the guidance for smartphones for children, that we see very much handset manufacturers, platform providers, network operators and other stakeholders really dialing up the focus now on guidance and implementation of tools and services and training and guidance for parents and children really step-changing from where we are today, which was some helpful guidance,
00:28:42:18 - 00:28:55:08
Marc Allera
being a systemic way in which parents and children go about buying those first smartphones and tablets and laptops and giving everyone a helping hand so they know what they can and can't do with them.
00:28:55:08 - 00:29:00:24
Kester Mann
Fantastic. A great prediction. We'll definitely keep a watch out to see if that comes true. And I understand you've got another prediction as well, Marc?
00:29:00:24 - 00:29:24:01
Marc Allera
Yeah. So switching topics completely from guidance for smartphones and for children, to gaming. It's such an important media, it's a mass-market media now, bigger than music and film. And of course, we as a network operator get to see the trends as they're happening on our network. And it really is a mass-market activity. But this rise in cloud gaming, I think, is really going to start accelerating now.
00:29:24:01 - 00:29:48:23
Marc Allera
So this will mean that you won't need a game console in the future because the network power and capability, whether it's full-fibre or 5G standalone, will mean that the power sits in the network and that means you won't need a device to do your gaming. So I think gaming, like you sort of consume films on Netflix, is really going to start powering up, and the need for a console reduces.
00:29:49:00 - 00:29:58:10
Marc Allera
And I think that will really start opening up that market. And of course, network operators play a hugely important role in helping enable that change, as we will with the switch to TV and other things.
00:29:58:10 - 00:30:04:20
Kester Mann
Absolutely fantastic opportunity for operators, and it’ll be great to see how this plays out. Marc, once again, thank you so much for your
00:30:04:20 - 00:30:05:15
Kester Mann
time. Really appreciate
00:30:05:15 - 00:30:06:13
Kester Mann
it.
00:30:06:13 - 00:30:16:15
Kester Mann
We now move on to the next section, which is hosted by my colleagues, Maria and Kane, and they're going to be exploring the intersection of health and well-being and technology. So stay tuned for that.
00:30:18:08 - 00:30:40:15
Kane McKenna
I'm Kane McKenna, and I'm excited to be part of our amazing Predictions event again this year. This time, I'll be exploring some of the ways that health and technology are becoming increasingly entwined, often through the power of AI. The convergence of artificial intelligence, wearable technology and medical science is ushering in a new era of personalized health care and well-being.
00:30:40:17 - 00:31:08:21
Kane McKenna
These new capabilities have the potential to redefine our relationships with our bodies, our health and our safety, beginning with the individual. Our lives are increasingly digital. Smartphones, wearables and smart homes are collecting vast amounts of data about our habits, preferences and physiological states. In the very near future This data could be harnessed by advanced AI algorithms to create highly personalized health and wellness plans.
00:31:08:23 - 00:31:39:01
Kane McKenna
This takes us to our prediction that in 2025, a major wearables-maker combines user data and generative AI to offer individual training and diet plans. Building on existing services from niche players, generative AI can help counter a major pitfall of generic dieting or training plans — that every body and every lifestyle is unique. Imagine a world where your wearable device doesn't just track your steps, heart rate and sleep score, but also acts as a virtual personal trainer,
00:31:39:05 - 00:32:12:15
Kane McKenna
tailoring workouts to your specific goals, abilities, recovery time and progress, or a nutritionist that analyzes your dietary habits and biochemical markers to recommend a meal plan optimized for your unique needs and lifestyle. A hugely important facet of making this feature as reliable and tailored to the individual as possible will be access to 24/7 monitoring. Many popular smartwatches today aren't particularly well-suited to this, as their relatively large size and sometimes short battery lives mean that they don't lend themselves well to overnight tracking.
00:32:12:17 - 00:32:37:16
Kane McKenna
And we know from our consumer research that less than 50% of smartwatch owners wear them to sleep most nights. This is where the latest wave of hardware development in wearables is making great strides. Smart rings have been slowly gathering momentum over the past five years and recently came to full prominence with the launch of Samsung's Galaxy Ring, marking the first time a major consumer electronics brand has entered the category.
00:32:37:18 - 00:33:07:23
Kane McKenna
The announcement has led to a flurry of interest not only from consumers, but also from other major consumer electronics brands. This leads us to our prediction that Apple launches a smart ring by 2026. Given the company's long-held interest in personal health and well-being, a smart ring is a natural extension of its product line. Apple's brand allure and its design strength will prompt strong demand from consumers, and the product also aligns well with the company's growing commitment to gesture-based user interface models.
00:33:08:00 - 00:33:36:16
Kane McKenna
The health-sensing smart ring market is booming, and we expect it to grow from under 1 million shipments in 2023 to over 16 million by the end of 2028. Companies like Oura and Ultrahuman have paved the way and proven that there's a large, untapped consumer demand for a more lightweight, discrete method of health tracking far more suited to gathering multiple unbroken days of data, making smart rings the perfect hardware for the most personalized types of coaching and guidance.
00:33:36:18 - 00:33:44:03
Kane McKenna
Check out our Spotlight report on smart rings for a full analysis of the market, its players and how smart rings will develop in the future.
00:33:44:03 - 00:34:00:18
Kane McKenna
Now, wearables capabilities extend far beyond optimizing our physiques. They're becoming our first line of defense. Features like crash and atrial fibrillation detection are saving the lives of wearers, and we believe this philosophy of safeguarding could go even further.
00:34:01:01 - 00:34:30:10
Kane McKenna
We predict that by 2025, a smartwatch feature that determines if the wearer has been spiked is launched. The feature would monitor vital signs such as heart rate, blood oxygen levels, temperature and types of movement. By analyzing changes in these measurements, the watch can determine the likelihood that its wearer has been unknowingly drugged. It can then send a text message to an emergency contact, as well as vibrating and lighting up, letting the owner and people around them know that something's amiss.
00:34:30:12 - 00:34:54:20
Kane McKenna
Despite its limitations in loud settings and the potential for false positives, the mere presence of the feature is a good first step in deterring attackers turning away from the individual. I'm also fascinated by the ways in which different technologies can have impacts on the health of whole populations. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our lives, it's essential that we understand how these systems make decisions.
00:34:54:22 - 00:35:23:09
Kane McKenna
Explainable AI is the key to building trust between humans and machines. By making AI transparent and accountable, we can ensure that these powerful tools are used ethically and responsibly. And that takes me to the final prediction I'd like to share today, that explainable AI is adopted by a major national health service by 2030. Explainable AI is a concept in which humans retain intellectual oversight, and the methods used to build and inform the system are transparent.
00:35:23:11 - 00:35:57:21
Kane McKenna
It will enable medical professionals to monitor patients more effectively, diagnose quickly, optimize budgets and facilities, and see the reasoning behind the AI's decisions. Think of a healthcare system where doctors not only rely on AI to assess symptoms rapidly and offer diagnoses, but also understand the reasoning behind those diagnoses, leading to better patient outcomes and improved healthcare delivery. I'll now pass over to my colleague Maria Bell to explore some of the fascinating ways that the conjunction of AI and health is becoming increasingly relevant in the enterprise market.
00:36:00:02 - 00:36:27:13
Maria Bell
Thanks, Kane. We've just heard about the innovative ways technology is increasingly intertwining with personal healthcare and its potential to transform the consumer landscape. But the intersection of technology and health is also becoming an increasingly important focus in the business sector. The workplace is undergoing significant transformation, accelerated first by the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently by the rapid advancement of generative AI.
00:36:27:15 - 00:36:54:00
Maria Bell
During the pandemic, businesses quickly digitized processes and rethought long-established working models, leading to widespread adoption of remote and hybrid work practices, which have since become ingrained in the modern workplace. With the rise of generative AI, organizations are further evolving, using AI to not only enhance productivity but create more adaptive and dynamic work environments. And with workplaces more digitized than ever,
00:36:54:06 - 00:37:32:20
Maria Bell
employee experience is so inextricably linked to the technology itself that as we navigate this rapidly evolving landscape, it's crucial to understand how technology affects employees. CCS Insight’s annual Employee Workplace Technology Survey helps us to understand how technology is changing work environments, as well as offering insights into the impact it can have on our physical and mental health. One of the most transformative changes we expect is the integration of generative AI-assisted support, which is why we predict that by 2028, mental health virtual assistants become a standard offering and employee well-being programmes.
00:37:32:22 - 00:38:14:12
Maria Bell
These assistants, powered by natural language processing and machine learning, will provide immediate, personalized support to a wide range of employee concerns. Think of having a virtual guide available 24/7 to offer empathetic advice directly to the right resources and help you navigate challenging situations, all from the privacy of your device and tailored to your emotional state. And despite a strong desire for remote work in previous years, our 2023 survey showed that 56% of employees are now working full time in offices, with social interaction and in-person connections being the leading incentives for employees to return to the office.
00:38:14:14 - 00:38:47:17
Maria Bell
Our survey also showed that good relationships with colleagues was the top factor for a positive workplace experience, and it's these sentiments that highlight the importance of personal connection and underscore the vital role that social contact plays in our overall mental health. Yet many employees still work remotely from home, which our survey has shown can lead to physical health concerns from challenges such as lack of ergonomic workspaces and mental health concerns or feelings of isolation, or an inability to maintain a healthy work–life balance.
00:38:47:19 - 00:39:28:03
Maria Bell
These challenges can contribute to workplace anxiety and increase stress, which is where we believe AI and future technologies have the capacity to offer significant support, such as fostering deeper connections by removing the barriers between in-person and remote workers. And this leads me to my next prediction, that real-time holograms become a part of enterprise collaboration by 2029. With meetings and collective spaces transformed by a combination of hologram technology and virtual and augmented reality, AI can integrate these technologies to create more complex and immersive environments with companies like ARHT already leading the charge,
00:39:28:05 - 00:40:00:17
Maria Bell
evolving products like the virtual global stage to broadcast lifesize holograms to remote locations. But we believe the technology could go further and inspire collaboration spaces akin to Star Trek's Holodeck by creating immersive environments for meetings, training and team building activities, as well as employee well-being programmes. Picture a relaxing virtual environment with interactive, lifesize holographic experts providing personalized mental health support or leading calming meditation exercises.
00:40:00:19 - 00:40:27:22
Maria Bell
And as we move toward the end of the decade, we could be on the cusp of breakthroughs that will redefine the relationship between technology, well-being and health. While there's no doubt that this is complex, it has the potential to make technology an even more integral part of how we support employees at work. And this is why I'm excited to announce that the full findings of our 2024 global survey of employees will be released in the next few weeks
00:40:27:24 - 00:40:48:20
Maria Bell
and will allow us to better understand where we are today and how we can prepare for the new innovations on the horizon. As we move toward this exciting future, balancing this advancement with humanity will ensure that the tools we adopt not only boost productivity and connection, but also contribute to a healthier, happier workforce.
00:40:53:03 - 00:41:03:22
Geoff Blaber
I'm absolutely delighted to welcome here Stefan Streit, CMO of TCL. Stefan, welcome to Predictions 2025 and Beyond.
00:41:03:23 - 00:41:04:12
Stefan Streit
Pleasure to be here.
00:41:04:14 - 00:41:06:03
Geoff Blaber
Wonderful to have you here.
00:41:06:03 - 00:41:25:10
Geoff Blaber
It's fair to say quite a lot has changed since you were last with us at Predictions. I think that was five years or so ago. Yeah. And, in that time, I mean, we've seen TCL really go from strength to strength. A really big global brand now, huge presence across a number of consumer electronics categories.
00:41:25:12 - 00:41:38:04
Geoff Blaber
And in the process of that, really providing some really interesting and differentiated technologies and experiences. So perhaps that's probably the best place to start. We'll jump in there.
00:41:38:04 - 00:41:50:21
Geoff Blaber
TCL was a big leader when it comes to screen technology. And I know a lot that we've seen from TCL has been focused on Nxtpaper displays and what you're doing in that space.
00:41:50:22 - 00:41:59:22
Geoff Blaber
So perhaps you could just talk us through that journey a little bit and how you're really using Nxtpaper to define and differentiate the portfolio.
00:42:00:01 - 00:42:01:15
Stefan Streit
Yeah, definitely.
00:42:01:15 - 00:42:23:17
Stefan Streit
So, you know, TCL is globally actually really a display expert. So we are globally number two when it comes to all kind of display sizes, from TV to tablet to mobile, manufacturers in the world. So we have an enormous expertise in technology, but also manufacturing when it comes to display and screen technology in general.
00:42:23:21 - 00:42:32:24
Stefan Streit
By the way, we also use that technology for solar panel manufacturing, which we’re also globally number two, because, you know, it's also a lot of glass,
00:42:32:24 - 00:42:35:01
Stefan Streit
it's different silicones and crystals in there.
00:42:35:01 - 00:42:46:05
Stefan Streit
But now coming back to the display technology. So we do all these, you know, latest and greatest, high-end technologies when it comes about TV screens, mini-LED technology.
00:42:46:07 - 00:43:13:07
Stefan Streit
But coming to Nxtpaper, this whole thing started actually during the pandemic. And what happened is, if you look at our kids when they went to school before the pandemic, they have not been allowed to bring a smartphone or tablet or anything, right? But then during the pandemic, suddenly the kids and all our lives moved in front of a screen.
00:43:13:09 - 00:43:33:22
Stefan Streit
So we spent much, much more time in front of a digital screen. And TCL, we thought, hey, you know, that's quite a change. And so, how can we help everybody, but especially the young generation and the kids, to have a more healthy screen that protects our eyes a bit better? Because we knew, of course, about some of the harmful blue light coming up.
00:43:33:24 - 00:43:49:23
Stefan Streit
So we had some really deep-dive R&D projects to see what can we do as an expert to reduce the harmful blue light and make the screen more comfortable for the human eye and optimize it for the human eye.
00:43:49:23 - 00:44:01:18
Geoff Blaber
That's really interesting because when I was obviously preparing for this interview and thinking about what TCL is doing and how you're positioning yourselves and particularly around your marketing communications,
00:44:01:18 - 00:44:14:06
Geoff Blaber
I noticed a lot of that. I noticed the key phrase “humanizing technology”, and that very much seems to dovetail with what you're saying there about the screen technology with the Nxtpaper, and how that fits in to what you're offering.
00:44:14:12 - 00:44:16:11
Stefan Streit
Yeah, definitely.
00:44:16:11 - 00:44:20:05
Stefan Streit
We can do all of it, right? So we can do like the latest and the, you
00:44:20:05 - 00:44:32:13
Stefan Streit
know, the super duper quality for the best screen technology. But what we realize as well, is we need to make sure that there is the well-being of the user at the end of the day. And therefore we call this the humanizing of the technology.
00:44:32:13 - 00:44:51:02
Stefan Streit
So what kind of display technology we can use which is more optimized for the human eye when you use these for more than six hours a day and that's where Nxtpaper comes in so that, you know, if you look a little bit at what the screen looks like, it's actually an anti-glare, no-reflection display.
00:44:51:02 - 00:44:54:05
Stefan Streit
And it's a very kind of, you know, paper-like feeling.
00:44:54:05 - 00:44:54:11
Geoff Blaber
Yeah.
00:44:54:16 - 00:45:13:08
Stefan Streit
So, you have all the colors and everything, but with this screen, technology is not just software but also hardware. We filter out more than 60% of the harmful blue light. You cannot filter out all of it because otherwise you don't have blue. But that actually helps you have less eye strain.
00:45:13:10 - 00:45:30:23
Stefan Streit
And we know that two-thirds of the users complain about some kind of eye strain and fatigue, but they don't know where it comes from. So that's been Nxtpaper. This technology really comes in and we see a couple of really interesting cases. So there is a person in the UK, Rosie,
00:45:30:23 - 00:45:31:17
Stefan Streit
who is a digital
00:45:31:17 - 00:45:33:00
Stefan Streit
blogger,
00:45:33:02 - 00:45:45:10
Stefan Streit
she has a bit of a special case. So she's very sensitive to the blue light and she gets heavy migraines out of it, so she couldn't really use digital screens. And I think you gave her
00:45:45:10 - 00:45:48:12
Stefan Streit
a phone, right, and she tried it. Yeah. And now
00:45:48:12 - 00:45:51:02
Stefan Streit
you know her feedback is like, “wow,
00:45:51:11 - 00:46:06:16
Stefan Streit
this really helps me. I can start to use again, the digital screens and can do my work better”, right. And also we use this with our partners. For example, with the London Literature Festival, which obviously, you know, this screen is much, much better for reading.
00:46:06:16 - 00:46:06:22
Geoff Blaber
Yeah.
00:46:07:03 - 00:46:19:12
Stefan Streit
Or our partnership with Motherwell in Scotland, the football club, which is a very community-based approach. And then also with Brock Weston, who is in the Paralympics and won a gold and silver medal.
00:46:19:12 - 00:46:19:21
Geoff Blaber
Yes.
00:46:19:21 - 00:46:48:16
Stefan Streit
She uses this, this, this product or this screen technology, really for the downtime to focus on this again. When she takes some, some time for reading to say, you know, to focus, to concentrate. And that's, you know, we also know from a study, from the, University of Sussex, that actually six minutes reading a day helps you to de-stress 68% or reduce stress levels.
00:46:48:20 - 00:46:57:23
Stefan Streit
Yeah. So this screen technology Nxtpaper is really a humanized technology. And the issue today is that we need to educate
00:46:57:23 - 00:47:02:06
Stefan Streit
more consumers that actually this is a very helpful, technology for you.
00:47:02:12 - 00:47:18:02
Geoff Blaber
And it is obviously difficult for those watching to really grasp what you're saying, because when you showed that to me then, you know, we're in a studio here with bright lights, you can't see any of the reflection. It is quite remarkable in terms of the reduction of that glare. Yeah.
00:47:18:02 - 00:47:37:17
Geoff Blaber
So one question then, in addition to that, I think we're seeing a lot of discussion in the moment around some of what you're reflecting on around this theme and really trying to limit that excessive use of mobile technology and consumer technology and screen time more widely.
00:47:37:19 - 00:47:52:11
Geoff Blaber
And I noticed recently, mobile operator EE here in the UK has been, talking about the fact that, you know, parents should perhaps consider a feature phone in order to reduce the amount of time that children are spending on phones. Yeah.
00:47:52:11 - 00:48:01:17
Geoff Blaber
And indeed, we've got a prediction that we'd like to see operators, network operators, introduce family plans specifically around this theme.
00:48:01:20 - 00:48:05:01
Geoff Blaber
So how is TCL thinking about that?
00:48:05:01 - 00:48:05:19
Stefan Streit
So before
00:48:05:19 - 00:48:14:04
Stefan Streit
I get to the feature phone, like, you know, there is a very, very cool feature on our Nxtpaper phone as well, which is called a Nxtpaper Key, which is here on the side.
00:48:14:04 - 00:48:15:01
Stefan Streit
Yeah. So you see now, what happens is I have a
00:48:16:17 - 00:48:22:12
Stefan Streit
full-colour screen. If I turn on this key, actually the screen turns into kind of an
00:48:22:19 - 00:48:23:24
Stefan Streit
e-ink reader, it’s
00:48:23:24 - 00:48:29:05
Stefan Streit
not e-ink but it’s e-ink-like. So, you see you get the much more calm experience which is perfect for
00:48:29:05 - 00:48:29:13
Stefan Streit
reading.
00:48:29:13 - 00:48:30:07
Geoff Blaber
Yes.
00:48:30:11 - 00:48:52:18
Stefan Streit
And there's different modes we can do. So this one of course is the most healthy mode if you spend a lot of time reading, specifically if its before you go to bed. We also have a mode here, which is quite interesting which is called Max Ink mode. So if you turn that on, you kind of go into a detox mode,
00:48:52:18 - 00:48:54:00
Stefan Streit
which means
00:48:54:00 - 00:49:03:04
Stefan Streit
turn off everything in the back of the phone except calls and SMS, and you can select up to three or four other apps, which you still get notifications for.
00:49:03:04 - 00:49:15:21
Stefan Streit
But when you really want to get focused in on reading and not be disturbed from all the notifications coming in, then you turn this on and you can really focus on reading.
00:49:15:21 - 00:49:21:11
Geoff Blaber
So that experience that you mentioned there, I've not seen that before. So how do you actually market that?
00:49:21:11 - 00:49:37:03
Stefan Streit
Yeah. Good question. So again, you know it's about education of the consumers. And we call this actually very simple: “switch on to switch off”. Because really this is like, when you want to take time to focus and take time off from the digital distress you might have
00:49:37:03 - 00:49:38:00
Stefan Streit
on some days.
00:49:38:00 - 00:49:53:22
Stefan Streit
But it's also the nice side effect of that — obviously the battery consumption is reduced a lot. So through that mode, we can increase the standby time of the phone to up to 26 days, or you can read non-stop for seven days.
00:49:53:24 - 00:49:55:04
Stefan Streit
That's kind of bringing us
00:49:55:04 - 00:49:57:07
Stefan Streit
back to the feature phone times, right?
00:49:57:07 - 00:50:08:19
Stefan Streit
So you can also use it as a pretty strong battery saving. And we also have at TCL, we also have feature phones. We are one of the leaders globally. You know, we still have these flip
00:50:08:19 - 00:50:15:18
Stefan Streit
phones, and yeah we see actually a trend going back also for the young generation.
00:50:15:18 - 00:50:36:13
Stefan Streit
They use this a bit if they feel too much attention goes to the smartphone environment. And also we see that the market starts again to, you know, bounce back a little bit for feature phones. Typically for the case of parents, you know, they don't want to give the kids as a first phone directly a smartphone.
00:50:36:13 - 00:51:00:05
Stefan Streit
You know, the whole world is there in a smartphone. With a feature phone, it's a bit of a step in. So from TCL's side, I think you have a number of products which can support whatever the consumer's preferences or the parents preferences, how they want to bring it. And also we see a lot of parents actually choosing now the Nxtpaper display technology from smartphones, because they know it's very difficult to get the kids away from the smartphones,
00:51:00:05 - 00:51:03:14
Stefan Streit
but at least they can have something which is more healthy for their eyes.
00:51:03:14 - 00:51:10:18
Geoff Blaber
I can definitely empathize with that. Yes, I need more feature phones in our house. Whether I can convince the children is another matter. Yeah.
00:51:10:18 - 00:51:32:05
Geoff Blaber
So perhaps to wrap things up then, one final question. We've spoken around a few different subjects, but amazingly, we haven't mentioned AI, which is inescapable at the moment. Perhaps you could just share your thoughts on what's the role of AI within the TCL portfolio, and how are you thinking about communicating the benefits of that?
00:51:32:09 - 00:51:51:20
Stefan Streit
So we use a lot of AI technology in general, but there's two parts of it. One is to more or less enhance the features or the user experience. So for example, in the camera system, there's a lot of AI technology built in to detect things to make it easier for the consumer to take the best shot in any given circumstances.
00:51:51:20 - 00:52:12:23
Stefan Streit
You know that the camera realizes, okay, it's dark light or it's light against it, so just these settings. You also use AI in TV screen technology to detect what kind of scene is shown and therefore adjust the settings quickly and all of that. So optimizing the processor and how the phone operates, there is AI technology built in.
00:52:12:23 - 00:52:32:15
Stefan Streit
But then when we look at the other part of the AI technology where the user actually uses it, and of course there's a big hype around it. We see more and more smartphones using it. Also, now, on the Nxtpaper 50 device series, we are delivering AI. Its the first phone that is coming with AI technology.
00:52:32:17 - 00:52:51:15
Stefan Streit
What is important for us that that we are working together with one of the leading companies in the world, which is Microsoft. So we are using the AI technology from Microsoft. We don't want to do this ourselves. Okay. There are too many debates, you know, who is doing it right? Who is not doing it? What is the what is the right regulations to put on AI?
00:52:51:15 - 00:53:11:09
Stefan Streit
We believe it's better to work together with a partner who is really an expert in this industry and helps us to bring that technology and integrate it in our phones. That's our approach. And of course, it's also a nice brand partnership with TCL and Microsoft working together too, that's how we want to bring AI to the market.
00:53:11:09 - 00:53:20:07
Geoff Blaber
Stefan, thank you ever so much for joining us at Predictions 2025 and Beyond, and we hope you'll join us again next time.
00:53:24:04 - 00:53:34:02
Geoff Blaber
So that brings this year's Predictions event to a close. It's been a fascinating overview of what's coming in 2025 and beyond. So, Ben,
00:53:34:02 - 00:53:40:18
Geoff Blaber
before we wrap up this event, perhaps I could just ask you for your highlights in terms of a couple of the predictions from this year.
00:53:40:18 - 00:54:02:03
Ben Wood
Well, it's been a great event. I was so pleased to see so many of our analysts involved in the two day event. We covered lots of topics, but as we anticipated, AI was the omnipresent theme with over 30 predictions in the booklet. And that's the area where I think I'd like to select a couple. So the first one is this idea of a personal large language model.
00:54:02:05 - 00:54:25:02
Ben Wood
I'm really intrigued and quite excited about that. The idea of taking lots of data that's only relevant to me, drawing on things like social media, email, other interactions that I've had and building outputs that are specifically curated based on my preferences. And I think that's going to be a big step forward and a lot of that will come from the data that we see on our smartphones.
00:54:25:02 - 00:55:00:21
Ben Wood
And, you know, on-device AI is becoming a major area as well. And we had a prediction there as well, you know, the cost of devices is going to go up, but more-premium devices and people keeping their devices for longer. So that's an interesting direction. The other one I really liked, which was the one I wrap my session up with, is a bit way out there, but this idea of one of these super wealthy, very influential, almost too influential tech entrepreneurs or tech bros, who feels that as we move towards artificial general intelligence, where you actually have AI starting to perhaps think a little bit for itself, but they start to see that
00:55:00:21 - 00:55:04:10
Ben Wood
this could endanger their privileged position in society,
00:55:04:10 - 00:55:19:17
Ben Wood
and maybe make a tweak to the model to make sure that it doesn't actually point out these disparities and the unfairness this, that it's creating. So that's one I like. A bit dystopian, but you know what? We have to look at all the options when we're looking at predictions. But what about you, Geoff?
00:55:19:17 - 00:55:21:04
Ben Wood
Anything that stood out for you?
00:55:21:10 - 00:55:29:14
Geoff Blaber
Yeah, perhaps a little less on the dystopian side. I was optimistic to hear Ian talking about the horizon towards 6G,
00:55:29:14 - 00:55:44:15
Geoff Blaber
because yeah, we're under no illusions, 5G and that transition has been somewhat challenging. And given the geopolitical climate, there's been some concern that it's going to end up in some fragmentation of the standard when it comes to 6G,
00:55:44:19 - 00:56:01:05
Geoff Blaber
but Ian is certainly confident and we all hope he’s correct in this, that we'll really get to a point where 6G launches on time. Everything's aligned, there's more reality from the industry baked into it and, most importantly, we have one consistent standard.
00:56:01:15 - 00:56:12:00
Geoff Blaber
And that's going to be key for the industry. If we can land that particularly as 5G had this kind of stuttering start, if we can land with a single global, well-defined standard, it could give us a real push into the next decade.
00:56:12:01 - 00:56:13:04
Ben Wood
Exactly, exactly.
00:56:13:06 - 00:56:14:22
Geoff Blaber
It'll certainly keep us busy with Predictions
00:56:14:22 - 00:56:19:01
Ben Wood
in the future. Yeah, we rely on that. Absolutely. Good.
00:56:19:01 - 00:56:40:07
Geoff Blaber
Well, we hope you all enjoyed this year's event. A big, big thank you once again to our sponsors EE, Qualcomm, Samsung and TCL. Make sure you download this year's booklet, with almost 100 predictions, and that of course is available upon the website. Perhaps I'll just add: this is just the start of the conversation.
00:56:40:13 - 00:56:57:04
Geoff Blaber
We'll be closely tracking these themes and developments in our research, so make sure to get in touch with us to learn more about the implications of these topics for you and of course, your wider organization. Many thanks.