Extended Reality (XR) technologies promise exceptional benefits to a wide range of industries, from manufacturing to healthcare. However, perhaps one of the most exciting areas generating rapid adoption of XR, is the telecoms and media landscape. After all, immersive experiences can enhance communications by bringing more depth and context to every interaction.
At the same time, the continual evolution of technology means wireless and wired telecom networks are growing increasingly complex. The inspection and maintenance of essential devices calls for skilled professionals capable of rapidly moving between locations. XR could allow for specialists to provide remote assistance to technicians at an incredible pace, reducing the need for travel.
Today, we’re going to be taking a closer look at the impact XR can have on telecoms and the media landscape in 2022 and beyond.
The Potential of XR in Telecoms and Media
The telecommunications and media market is expanding at an exceptional rate, particularly since the pandemic forced rapid innovation in the way we communicate and connect. While we’re still in the early stages of the XR revolution, these immersive technologies have quickly begun to show their potential for the telecommunications space.
Tools like VR, AR, and MR applications could rapidly become the “next generation” of communications, similar to the smartphone and online messaging applications.
These tools provide exceptional support to internal and external teams looking to collaborate, as well as powering telecommunications teams to accomplish more of their work at better speeds.
Just some of the ways XR could benefit telecoms and media include:
- Improved training: Extended reality solutions can help to provide crucial training support for experts working on complex telecommunications equipment in the field, so fewer face-to-face interactions are needed between teachers and students. The right solutions can also offer training on how to interact with customers, and deliver excellent support, so businesses can compete from a CX perspective.
- Collaboration: In the telecommunications and media landscape, companies often have to work with complex machinery and tools which require expert input. With AR/MR tools, specialists can provide support to engineers wherever they are, without the need for expensive travel. These collaborative experiences can lead to faster resolution of communication system problems, and less downtime for end-users.
- Process improvements: Aside from helping with customer service, training, and solving problems at speed, XR can also make it easier to run a telecommunications or media business, with access to features like immersive inventory management tools, record creation and more. Companies can even give auditors and other specialists complete tours of their communication or media system virtually, to reduce the need for expensive travel.
Trends Driving XR in Telecoms and Media
The search for innovative technology capable of improving processes and boosting productivity in the telecommunications space has been underway for some time.
However, the demand for immersive tools like XR has grown increasingly significant since the pandemic. Now accelerating towards a value of $397.81 by 2026, the XR market is becoming increasingly mainstream.
As the technology grows more accessible, it’s opening new doors for telecommunications companies to explore different business opportunities, empower the rise of future technologies, and strengthen overall customer service strategies at scale. Some of the trends driving the rise of XR in telecommunications and media include:
- 5G: The demand for better mobile connections is greater than ever in a post-pandemic world. Today’s business users and individual consumers all want access to the fastest possible connections, with minimal lag and latency. This is particularly true for people who hope to adopt XR technology. Telecommunications companies can offer the 5G environments required to power XR applications and tools, as well as investing in these solutions themselves, to open new avenues for brand growth.
- The Metaverse: As the demand for the metaverse continues to accelerate, Telecoms and media companies are going to be playing a significant role in the creation of these new environments. These companies will need to learn how to advertise with media through the use of XR in a metaverse space, as well as how to work with other companies on creating their own examples of metaverse environments. Telecoms and media companies can assist companies in building comprehensive landscapes powered by 5G, edge computing, IoT, and artificial intelligence.
- Remote maintenance: Increasingly, we’re discovering the benefits of not having to send experts and specialists into the field for every potential service issue. In an environment like telecoms where technicians need to regularly deal with complex environments and data centres, it helps to have access to specialists wherever they are. Using extended reality, it’s possible for experts to help in real-time to engineers in the field, and ensure problems are resolved as quickly as possible.
Additionally, as new forms of technology make the creation of XR applications and tools simpler (such as low code environments and API kits), Telecoms and media companies are having an easier time embracing the potential of this immersive environment.
Exploring the Future of XR in Telecoms
XR has a lot of potential for the telecoms and media markets, but there are some challenges to overcome before the technology can go mainstream.
For instance, while many vendors are working on producing more affordable technology for the AR, MR, and XR world, many companies will still struggle to purchase these devices in bulk. It will be important for vendors to offer a wide variety of products at affordable price points in the future.
There’s also a need for more applications and tools specifically built for the telecom and media landscape. Because we’re still in the early stages of the XR revolution, relevant applications are still being developed for this ecosystem. On top of that, limited network speed and latency may be an issue for telecom companies who aren’t already investing in 5G connectivity.
As the demand for new opportunities in XR continues, there’s no doubt telecoms and media companies will continue to take advantage of this industry.
