Before a revolution happens, it is perceived as impossible; after it happens it is seen as having been inevitable.
From the wholesale point-of-view, the revolution triggered by the blockchain technology may take some time to take-off, but it is an inevitable step towards fluid, frictionless interactions, that will in turn enable ultimate efficiency. It is also a step towards the creation of new advanced wholesale solutions and business models.
But the blockchain revolution will not happen overnight, as for this to become a reality, three events must take place. Firstly, as blockchain is not a service but a technology, applications must be developed on top to make its use valuable to operators and carriers. For example, the first application that comes to mind is the creation of automated and standardized settlements between operators.
The second hurdle that must be addressed is one of scalability. A blockchain between only two operators brings limited value. Consequently, a critical mass in terms of number of carriers using blockchain must be attained before the real industry value can be harvested. This takes time.
Finally, to reach this critical mass of participants, the ecosystem must be coordinated and structured so as to enable the blockchain expansion in a harmonized manner. Governance, processes and interoperability must therefore be defined. This is a complex matter in our global industry.
The real-life application of blockchain in our industry may take time, but it is an inevitability and luckily the journey has already started.
Orange believes in the inevitability of a blockchain enabled wholesale world and is therefore one of the leaders in making sure it becomes a reality.
Orange is involved with the Global Leaders’ Forum (GLF) to create the Communications Business Automation Network (CBAN). The objective of this initiative will not be to regulate, but rather to structure and govern the adoption of standards that enable automation and guarantee thrusted, interoperable settlement of traffic between ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) service providers.
The CBAN ecosystem will be composed of both service and technology providers. The CBAN service provider members will define the core services and make decisions on endorsed chains and vendors applicative solutions running on the CBAN network. While the technology providers will get access to reference architectures and will compete to offer solutions with assured interoperability to avoid vendor lock-in. Undoubtedly a win-win business model.
A Proof of Concept (PoC) with a group of carriers, involving Clear as solution vendor, is currently being set up. This project aims to simplify the entire wholesale settlement process, from contract, to reconciliation, dispute resolution, all the way to automated settlement. This may even one day enable actual inter-carrier payments, by using Telco coins.
The automation of voice settlement is only the beginning of the journey, as going forward, new blockchain applications may include:
■ Wholesale voice fraud detection and mitigation
■ Data on demand
■ Mobile roaming settlement
■ Security
■ IoT
As a matter of fact, the sky is the limit when it comes to future blockchain wholesale applications. So, if you are serious about transforming the wholesale business, come and join the blockchain revolution!
