5G with Location Intelligence on Big Data

Chirag Patel,
CDO Advisory, Pitney Bowes.

In war, truth is the first casualty

Too many opportunities to help people come with their own set of challenges. The emergence of wearable devices, smart home, connected car and other household devices have crowded the current spectrum. 5G opens up additional real estate allowing room for Millimeter Waves that are best utilized at short ranges.

This article addresses how precision Geocoding and Location Intelligence (LI) on Big Data can accelerate 5G adoption for Telecom providers (Telcos) by exposing micro segments, structures and patterns that help understand relationships between people, places and things.

Telcos can now pursue this notion with Big Data technology to bring 5G-enabled smart products and services by building a comprehensive understanding of LI-based datasets on both, the Buy Side and the Sell Side. First category, known to all, belongs to datasets acquired by Telcos to understand customers and run their business efficiently. This includes information that helps answer Where and What - Where to launch services and what to launch in those locations.

Then there’s a vast category of unknown dataset explored and tapped when selling Wireless products and services that helps fill the Why piece of the LI puzzle. This includes observations from customer reaction to smart products and services or learnings about the various price sensitivities based on location.

Telcos can further explore the Why aspect with various data traffic usage designs exhibited by 5G customers. These include behavioral patterns like response times, frequency of movement etc., all of which are expected to change drastically in 5G space and fall within the Sell Side.

Let’s take a look at both sides of the LI data sets and understand how they can be managed on a Data Lake to enable 5G acceleration

5G Acceleration from Buy Side LI Data

In order to make wise decisions on 5G network build out, it is imperative that Telcos be analytically aware of every potential location, building or structure to understand where to install a Micro Cell and what is the expected strength of entities that could be served by that Micro Cell.

Traffic Management from 5G Densification

On a 5G network customers are more likely to move between cells causing frequent hand offs. With new small cells sitting under the umbrella of a Macro Cell, the net result of denser network is that advanced location-based analytics are required to optimize the traffic on the network.

For example, using location data, 5G traffic management’s AI algorithms can match cell type with user based on anticipated path of movement, device type and data traffic profile.

Identify Next Generation of Customers

With 5G service, the digital footprint of Wireless market is bound to expand capturing the next generation of customers. By analyzing all of the potential new locations by Demographics and Consumer Vitality data, providers can assess the anticipated demand from the new customer-base.

Managing Retail Stores, Dealers and Business Sales

5G’s 1000x network capacity will not only mean more customer but also more 5G enabled devices and the resulting in-person services to manage. LI datasets on the Buy Side will let Telcos build retail trade areas as well as single store territory and coverage for quota setting initiatives and more.

Optimize Equipment, Maintenance and Field Operations

Operations occupies its own line item for expenses on a Telco’s balance sheet. Adding a location context with Routing and Street-level data sets to 5G operations around assembling, logistics, and servicing will help Telcos better optimize cost-prohibitive, yet critical, services.

Build Subscriber Population-based Pricing

Location specific Demographics data on Buy Side will not only help with target marketing but also provide better lift by identifying most valuable customers. For example, adding Consumer Vitality data into the mix will allow providers to decide 5G roll-outs at location with certainty that an extra $20 on a monthly wireless plan will not alienate the affirmed lesser price-sensitive customer-base. This, in turn, helps Telcos capture vital Sell Side consumer price-sensitivity data.

5G Acceleration from Sell Side LI Data

Geofenced Content Delivery

Wireless providers have now learned quickly that for every $1 made on their information highway, travelers like Google and Facebook made $1000. As a result today’s Telcos have actively chosen to sharpen their own content strategy. With LI in context, key business opportunities with Sell Side data lie from fencing content on 5G digital platforms by augmenting location data. Let’s explore how this can happen.

An individual business owners can exploit 5G small-cell base stations to provide seamless connectivity in indoor spaces. For example locations like hospitals, universities, factories, sports arenas or shopping malls, can take responsibility as operators. On top of standard connectivity, these micro operators can add a layer of value-added location-specific services with content from the Wireless provider.

This could be Geofenced proprietary content only accessible to authorized customers within a specific location. Offering video content replays during a sports event in a stadium is a perfect example. The same applies to managing 5G-based Geofenced content for enterprise mobility.

Proximity-based Target Advertising

Based on the several market opportunity forecasts, smart 5G wearables, and IoT devices along with AR/VR/mixed reality will enable providers to empower mobile advertisers with unprecedented access to consumers’ reverse geocoded locations combined with their interests and activities based on vicinity all of which will contribute further to Telco’s Sell Side LI data pool.

Buy-Sell Side Data Lake Management for 5G

In order to build a Master Location Management framework that helps manage information from both sides, the 5G initiative will need to adhere to a structure for continuous enrichment. Through the use Big Data, Telecos will be able to take any data on the Buy Side that has a location context and organize that data to a UID. They can they sell products, services and run efficient operations appending any subsequent datasets realized from Sell Side to the said UID.

Utilizing the power of Big Data, Telcos can also take advantage of significant improvements in processing speeds and storage capabilities to efficiently run their 5G operations.

A 5G Future with Location Intelligence on Big Data

LI on Big Data is key to making a successful 5G adoption journey and thereafter. Given the current degree of targeting with 4G and the ability to continually iterate based on data, providers could leverage additional insights from LI garnered from 5G’s Sell Side data.

Some of the possibilities include envisioning AR ads on LI-powered 3D maps or intelligent home appliances that link to market locations in customers’ areas or simply LI-enabling IoT home devices that can find deals on items customer need for a dinner based on their vicinity.

Telcos who adopt this approach will not only emerge as clear winners in race to 5G with well managed assets, operations, customers and products but also position themselves as market leading provider for Smart City solutions like IoT and M2M communication solutions that help improve quality of life.