Evolve or Die

Science has defined for us the geologic periods of the earth to help us understand the major/macro elements of those periods. The periods of “earth” include:

• The Permian

• The Cretaceous

• The Cambrian

• And of course, The Jurassic period

One of the overriding themes woven throughout these periods is evolution. The ability for species to adapt to the changing environment and the predatorial and environmental threats they face. The motto of planet earth could be, “Evolve or Die”

That’s true in the U.S. based telecommunications industry too, isn’t it? I mean, think about the different periods of this industry in the United States:

• Western Union Telegraph

• Alexander Graham Bell

• Bell Telephone

• AT&T Long Lines

• MA BELL

• MCI, SPRINT

• The RBOC and CLEC system

• Mobility

• VoIP- Free Market Deregulation

• Triple Play/Data

• Commoditization

In approximately 150 years we have gone through massive changes. The only real stable period was the Ma Bell period where we allowed a monopoly to take place. But ever since AT&Ts break up in the 1980s, and the telecommunications act in 1996, things have been chaotic which has required carriers both big and small to reinvent themselves (Hello Verizon, goodbye Bell Atlantic, Hello Qwest, goodbye US West, as examples) almost continuously in order to survive. In 2019, in a market that has pretty much fully embraced commoditization that’s still true. The lack of revenue growth, the reality of margin compression, and the “death of voice” are all combining to make this period of commoditization the lasting period.

It’s actually the environmental and predatory factors of commoditization that are making evolution necessary. The need for automation, the changing nature of the business, the imposition of massive data processing and A. I. requirements. In short, if you aren’t continuously evolving you are basically looking at an “end of life event”. Stop dismissing the need to invest in voice, stop thinking you can “survive” without evolving your operations, your network, and even your business model. The dinosaurs were here for a long time, they probably sat around thinking, “All is good, nothing can topple us from being the kings of this planet, we don’t need to change”. Then, boom, an unexpected thing happened (a giant meteor hit) and that was that!

Evolve or die people, Evolve or die!