If you were to ask a group of experts to name some of the emerging technologies that hold the most potential, surely blockchain would be near the top. The distributed ledger is most widely known for its use in cryptocurrencies but, in reality, it has enough power to revolutionize a lot of industries. Case in point – the telecommunications industry.
Though most people related to the field are surely waiting for 5G to deploy, blockchain has an untapped potential that can change the face of telecommunications for good. Fortunately, certain telecom companies have already realized that and are working with .NET developers to come up with ways of using this decentralized network to its favor.
But before getting into the ways in which blockchain could modify the telecom industry, let’s see why this technology is such a good fit for this particularly conservative industry.
A natural match
Blockchain essentially is a distributed ledger. That is to say, it’s a network (called chain) that connects nodes (called blocks) through a secure encryption system. In it, there isn’t a server that centralizes the connections or that stores the data going around the network. Instead, all of the nodes have permanent and anonymous records about all the transactions that take place within the ledger. Said data can only be accessed through private keys.
All of those features make it a natural match for the telecommunications industry, mainly because blockchain offers a fast and secure way of transferring data. In the face of the various inefficiencies caused by the centralized structure of modern telecom companies, blockchain can be seen as a great solution that’s already available. With it, companies could avoid inaccurate billing, high usage costs, and security problems.
The encryption and the decentralization of the data provide very much needed security and privacy for all users, while the absence of a central figure that routes the traffic makes it a very fast way of transferring information. Fortunately, companies and .NET development services are using blockchain to reshape the telecom field we know today. Here’s what they are trying.
Improved online data transfer
Your computer had to connect to a server for you to read this article. Basically, the Internet works like that – servers are connected to each other to transfer data between them. For that to happen, such a server network is called Content Delivery Network (CDN) and it’s the technology used to deliver web content to users depending on their geographic location, where the content is hosted and the server themselves.
Why is this important? Because CDNs are crucial for the Internet’s basic workings, so companies are obliged to invest in them. Additionally, they can be seen as central nodes that see a lot of traffic, which turn them into a big security risk, as hackers are prone to attack them. That’s why blockchain is being used as an alternative.
The ledger is used because it optimizes the unused bandwidth from servers to transfer data between them. The distributed network of the blockchain guarantees the maximum level of security and privacy since the data is only accessed by users that have the private keys to access them. What’s more – the decentralized network increases the reliability of the content delivery, as any gap produced by a server that goes online can be quickly bridged with a traffic rerouting.
Safer communications
As you’ve surely noticed, one of the main strengths of blockchain is how secure it can be. That’s a major advantage the telecom industry can benefit from to address the public concerns over security and privacy matters. There are a couple of ways in which companies can use .NET development to create new means of communication that offer a stronger environment.
For instance, messaging systems can use blockchain to improve the security of data transmission. In other words, an online messaging app could integrate blockchain to benefit from its private keys and encryption system. That could mean the protection of all the content that’s transferred through the messaging platform which could include (given blockchain’s natural fit for currencies) a digital wallet for digital transactions.
Another good opportunity for telecom companies to use blockchain in improving communications is Voice Over Internet Protocol solutions. Today VoIP platforms (such as Skype) use a centralized system that connects the caller to the receiver, much like a traditional operator. Since blockchain is distributed and decentralized, that connection is made through one of the many routes already established in the ledger.
This provides 3 main benefits for VoIP users. For one, all of the communications established through a blockchain-based VoIP solution would be safer by default. Secondly, this way of working cuts the costs of maintaining a central system that routes the calls. Finally, the speed of the data transfer is increased, as the systems would use the same optimization feature discussed above.
Boosted collaboration between providers and users
This is probably one of the most interesting ways in which the telecommunications industry can use blockchain. Basically, all of the users of a particular telecom blockchain could contribute their idle resources to the whole network and receive some sort of payment in return. It’s the same model used in energy generation, where end-users generate their own energy through sustainable technologies (such as solar panels) and are able to sell their surplus to the network.
Sharing resources over a blockchain could result in benefits for everyone involved. Users that contribute to the network would receive a reward depending on said contribution. Users that don’t contribute will enjoy a wider coverage and a better service quality with reduced costs. By decentralizing the network, the telecom company cuts much of its costs, which can lead to a reduction in the fees for final users.
That’s not the only way in which blockchain would encourage collaboration because the decentralization would break the boundaries that prevent the communications app from talking with one another. In practical terms, this could mean a potential integration between Whatsapp, iMessenger, Line, and Telegram that could allow all of their users to communicate with one another without the need to change their preferred app.
In this example, blockchain reduces the underlying complexity and make collaboration a lot easier, since all of the apps would be using the same standard protocol to connect with each other.
Summing up
Blockchain has already proven to be a disruptor in the field of banking, finance, retail, and tourism, to name a few. That’s why is safe to assume that it could bring a big break for the telecommunications industry, which hasn’t seen a significant change in its fundamentals for a long time.
The proposed benefits are all there. More security and privacy for the communications, reduction of costs for the companies, easier collaboration between users and providers, and even higher service quality. It’s just a matter of time for telecom providers to realize what they are missing on to look for a .NET development outsourcing team to finally take this step forward. One thing’s for sure, though: they will come to that sooner or later.