What is connectivity-as-a-service?

The global communications network – comprised of wireless, wireline, satellite and other infrastructure – is an engineering marvel that spans oceans, geographies and national borders. Yet connectivity increasingly is viewed as a low-margin commodity. Communications service providers (CSPs) struggle to grow revenue, particularly in the enterprise market, while over-the-top hyperscale cloud providers are driving change and delivering the experiences customers want and are willing to pay for. For years, CSPs have been trying to figure out how to emulate their cloud counterparts. Connectivity-as-a-service (CaaS) could be the answer. This TM Forum Benchmark Report seeks to explain what CaaS is – and what it is not. It draws on surveys of CSPs and their technology suppliers conducted during January and February 2021 and includes information from other primary research such as interviews and input from TM Forum’s newly formed CaaS workstream, which is part of the Digital Ecosystem Management Project. Read the report to understand:

• Why a new approach to connectivity is needed
• How CSPs and enterprises can benefit from CaaS
• Why CaaS is an opportunity for cloud providers as well as CSPs
• Why NaaS, intent-based management, zero-touch partnering and network slicing are necessary for CaaS
• Which business models CSPs are considering
• The status of CaaS implementation
• How suppliers view CaaS
• Examples of CaaS-like services from Vodafone, Lumen, Federated Wireless and other smaller service providers
• Next steps to enabling CaaS, and why collaboration is critical