Collaborating with BCG and BCG X, A1 Telekom Austria revolutionized its customer management approach by combining the strengths of humans and AI.
Our Approach to Telecommunications Consulting
We help telcos transform their business—and the services and experiences they provide—by focusing on eight imperatives.
- Network Excellence. We help telcos identify use cases, embed automation intelligence to balance network traffic and heal failures, and leverage advanced analytics to deploy targeted, cost-effective rollouts.
- Data-Driven Customer Centricity. Using analytics and personalization, operators can tailor products, promotions, and bundles to the specific needs and behaviors of telco customers, creating segment-of-one experiences and securing revenue growth.
- Next-Generation B2B. We work with operators to identify growth opportunities—and integrate these new services effectively into their B2B offerings.
- Beyond-the-Core Opportunities. We help telecommunications companies pursue the plays that best fit their markets and customers, and build on the strengths of their assets.
- Simplification and Digitization. Telcos worldwide are racing to digitize to address customer needs, increasing competition and external threats. By digitizing products and services, customer journeys, and processes, telecommunications companies can unlock significant value.
- New Capabilities and Ways of Working. Telecom transformation requires new skills, streamlined processes, and flexibility. We help telcos adopt agile at scale, so they can respond faster to change.
- Balance Sheet Optimization. Telcos need to explore models such as network, data center, and tower sharing, or to take advantage of debt restructuring and M&A.
- Closing the Digital Divide. We work with telcos and policy makers to identify—and pursue—actions that can bring underserved populations into the digital age.
To help telecommunications companies achieve these goals, our telecom consultants combine deep knowledge of the telecommunications industry with expertise in cutting-edge technologies and methodologies.
AI at Scale in Telco
A game-changer for telecom transformation, AI can increase revenues by 10% and reduce costs by up to 20% by helping telcos better understand—and even predict—customer behavior, network demand, and operational issues. AI at Scale is our proprietary solution for unlocking value through AI. A chief component is DEEP.AI, a B2C personalization tool for up-selling and cross-selling, retention, and debt management. Another offering, Value-Based Rollout, uses AI to optimize fixed and mobile network deployments. And through technologies like digital twins, chatbots, and intelligent agent-customer matching, our AI in Customer Service tool improves the efficiency and automation of call centers and telco operations.
Agile at Scale in Telco
Agile methodologies are a proven way to respond faster to shifting demands, new telco products, and emerging industry trends. Some telcos have moved beyond pilots, but many are still experimenting with scattered initiatives. We work with operators to improve their agility in a way that best fits their needs, whether it’s a fast-track agile transformation or a point solution such as agile planning for distributed teams. Our telecommunications consultants take a holistic approach to reimagining the future of work in telco that starts and ends with delivering real customer and business outcomes.
Digital End-to-End Transformation
In the wake of COVID-19, 82% of TMT companies plan to accelerate their digital transformation. But digital transformations often fail. We help telcos define the right digital transformation journey considering starting position, ambition, and market environment. Our promise: a tailored E2E offering, setting telcos up for success along all transformation building blocks. Our telecommunications consultants know how to leverage digital to reinvent—and elevate—experiences for customers and employees alike.
Center for Telco Networks
Given the costs and complexities of 5G and fiber, telcos need to adopt new strategies—and answer tough questions—as they transition to the new networks. Which 5G uses are technically and financially feasible? How do the answers vary by region? How will the customer experience evolve? Our Center for Telco Networks helps telcos tackle—and integrate—the technical, business, and financial issues and develop optimized network rollout plans for 5G and fiber.
Our Client Impact in the Telecommunications Industry
Our telecommunications consultants have partnered with operators across the globe to bring new technologies, new experiences, and new possibilities to telco customers. Examples include:
Accelerating Digital at Telstra
Australia’s largest telecommunications company, Telstra, engaged BCG as a strategic partner to oversee all aspects of design and implementation of its
digital transformation program, including radical product simplification, customer migration strategy, end-to-end process automation, new technology stack, and the deployment of accelerator squads to drive faster, higher-quality outcomes.
Getting Back on the Growth Track
After our client, a large Asian conglomerate, acquired a struggling telco, it partnered with us to transform its new division. The process began with a 100-day plan centered on five pillars: cut costs and focus on topline growth (through new sales,
marketing, and portfolio strategies); redesign human resources (to better identity next-generation management candidates and retain critical talent); manage change; monitor progress; and—crucially—make performance visible, identifying the goals each business unit was responsible for meeting. Within six months, the telco was profitable—and better positioned for growth.
Video
May 17, 2023
BCG X and Orange Built a Customer-Centric Marketing Ecosystem
Replace product-centric marketing with an AI-driven, personalized strategy to reach the right customer with the right offer at the right time, no matter the channel.
Video
January 24, 2022
Closing the Digital Divide in Schools
Millions of school children do not have internet access, impairing their ability to thrive in their local and global economies. BCG partnered with the ITU and UNICEF on the Giga initiative to close the digital divide and equip every child with digital connectivity.
Our Insights for Telecommunications Companies
Video
April 7, 2025
Why Telcos Should Call for Refurbished Smartphones
Mercantile Group’s Barnik Chitran Maitra discusses the environmental and economic opportunities for operators that embrace the growing demand for refurbished phones.
Video
March 12, 2025
Leading with Humanity in Telcos’ AI Future
KPN’s Benji Coetzee shares why telcos are more prepared than they think for AI and why emotion will continue to define leadership in 2025.
Article
February 27, 2025
A focus on four key strategies—turbocharged by the power of AI—can help telcos drive value above the industry’s lackluster average
Article
February 27, 2025
Telcos can realize big savings by moving their IMS to a cloud-native architecture on a public cloud—and take an important step toward a cloud-based network transformation.
Video
January 15, 2025
Telcos Are Facing Major Near-Term Cost Pressures
As telcos consider 6G investments and reassess customer service channels, BCG’s Becky Frederick stresses the importance of cost in decision making.
Article
December 13, 2024
Overall, the telecom industry’s efforts to boost its sustainability is stalling. We outline steps telcos can take to get back on track with this critical goal.
