Maikel Wilms
Partner & Director
Amsterdam
Maikel Wilms has been with The Boston Consulting Group since 1998. He is a core member of the Technology, Media & Telecommunications practice.
Maikel has worked extensively with leading telcos for more than 15 years on multiple projects, with a focus on network strategy and roll-out and on B2B commercial strategies. These projects include technology selection for a fixed broadband roll-out, growing ICT businesses, 4G roll-out strategies, and B2B channel optimization.
Maikel has coauthored many BCG publications on telcos and their role in the digital economy.
Making high-speed internet access available to those who lack it—in both developing and developed nations—is a critical task for the global community.
Telcos play a unique role in building and sustaining connections in a functioning society. Protecting this capability must be their top priority.
Telcos can capitalize on broadening societal expectations to build new sources of revenue and business.
Operators have struggled to break free from the familiar constraints of regulation, legacy, and often-unfavorable competitive dynamics. Rather than bleed outdated business models dry, the future demands that they be bolder in strategy and execution.
B2B Telcos are facing strong headwinds to drive growth and differentiation in an increasingly commoditized and competitive market. Several trends represent both threat and opportunity for Telcos to grow in B2B: Changing customer needs, fast evolving technologies, new types of competitors, internal road blockers. Furthermore, entrenched complexity in products, systems and processes need to evolve to radical simplification, shifting to adjacent and new revenue streams and investing in Digitization. The opportunities for growth are strong for Telcos willing to embrace disruption and invest in new technology.
Rising mobile traffic demand is straining 4G networks to the limit. Europe needs to stimulate deployment of 5G to reap the benefits of digitization.
Roughly 23 million Americans lack high-speed internet service. Using a mix of technologies, operators could connect them for far less than the cost of any individual technology—increasing access to education and health care and boosting economic growth into in the bargain.
To thrive in the B2B space, telcos must balance two things: committing to digital transformation and managing the still-sizable connectivity market.
Streaming video and other apps are fueling unprecedented demand for data. To keep up, while holding prices down, telcos must embrace a new and very different approach to network upgrades.
