Transformative telecoms trends throughout 15 years of Proactive PR

Since Proactive International PR was founded and we started our mission to support the transformative work of our technology and telecoms clients, we’ve witnessed some of the most impactful trends and milestones. From smart homes to satellite and the transition from 4 to 5 and now towards 6G, here are some of the biggest developments that have impacted consumers, end-users and society.

Copper out, fibre in   

Proactive PR’s first office would have received speeds of around 5.2Mbps (according to Ofcom data). Today, 15 years later, the average download speed is in excess of 100Mbps.

What’s incredible about this change – besides the leap in speeds – is we’ve been alongside many of the companies operating in the telecoms sector as they’ve worked to improve broadband connectivity. From the standards groups to the technology vendors, to the network builders, we’ve seen the work go into upgrading broadband infrastructure from

copper lines (as most were in 2010) to fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and fibre-to-the-premises deployments.

This shift has laid the foundation for gigabit and future-proof connectivity, and we look forward to seeing the further transformation that is led, supported and delivered by our clients such as Broadband Forum, FTTH Council Europe, and ACOME Group.

Smart(er) homes

The greater speeds offered by our broadband networks have given rise to trends such as the smart home. Voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant have opened the door for users to manage lighting, security, appliances, and entertainment via voice commands. Interoperability has improved, with ecosystems like Matter aiming to unify smart devices.

Our clients’ work has been instrumental in powering this, with, for example, Broadband Forum’s User Services Platform (USP) standard created for ISPs to manage connected devices.

From 4G to 5G - and beyond?

Proactive PR began just as a transformative journey for mobile connectivity was about to begin. 4G was a term taking headlines, but it had by no means reached widespread adoption. A CNN report even went as far as saying “4G is a myth” and “like the unicorn, it hasn't been spotted anywhere in the wild just yet -- and won't be any time in the near future.”

The dawn of high-speed mobile internet availability didn’t make its mark in the UK until 2012, but soon video calling, streaming, and speedy web access all became the norm for mobile devices. Global access to the internet also widely improved. The next generation of mobile network technology - 5G - came with just as grand expectations. Not just offering faster speeds and lower latency, 5G promised to support smart cities, the Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous vehicles.

With deployments such as 5G Standalone (5G SA) still progressing and operators keen to recoup their investments, the technology is still very much in development. With 6G on the horizon, we’ll be staying close to the developments for the standard and supporting clients such as NGMN as they help lay the groundwork for mobile’s future.

Satellite changes - in the sky and on the ground

Before jumping to the unavoidable topic of Starlink’s impact on the satellite communications sector in recent years, looking further back shows how rapidly satellite technologies have developed and impacting impacted the availability of connectivity over the past 15 years. More and more remote regions are now connected and sectors such as maritime and mobility have numerous additional connectivity options.

A large contributor to this was digital transformation within the industry, with much of this coming not in the skies but on the ground. The satellite ground segment has undergone major transformation driven by digitisation, automation, and new satellite architectures. Traditional large, fixed ground stations have been complemented by smaller, more flexible terminals while software-defined ground systems now enable dynamic resource allocation and support for multiple satellite constellations and multi-orbit connectivity.

neXat’s cloud-based OSS/BSS platform, for example, offers a comprehensive solution to the complexities of multi-orbit connectivity. The platform allows operators to manage multiple satellite networks from a centralised location, streamlining operations and reducing costs. Its open-standard APIs ensure compatibility with a wide range of satellite operators, enhancing flexibility and interoperability. Other smart management platforms - such as Speedcast’s SIGMA – also streamline multiple connectivity paths for a software-automated network made up of Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) VSAT, 5G and L-band solutions. These systems will switch to the best or next immediate connectivity channel to ensure reliable connectivity regardless of the application, whether a remote oil site or a maritime vessel.

As the industry continues to respond to the new landscape that Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations from Starlink, OneWeb and Amazon’s Kuiper have ushered in, we’ll look forward to supporting the role of our clients and their contributions.

Software - much more software 

The shift from hardware to software-defined infrastructure is not exclusive to satellite, with traditional telecommunications companies (telcos) transforming into ‘technos’ to offer more comprehensive end-to-end solutions.

During Proactive PR’s lifetime, two concepts have made a significant mark in particular: Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV). SDN and NFV have significantly transformed telecoms by increasing flexibility, reducing costs, and accelerating service delivery. Together, they allow more automated operations, on-demand scalability and faster deployment of new services – paving the way for innovations like 5G, network slicing, and edge computing. They’ve also helped operators transition to cloud-native architectures, improving agility and resource utilisation.

AI in the telecom network

It would be impossible to finish this blog without mentioning Artificial Intelligence. Initially used for customer service and fault detection/predictive maintenance, we saw AI expand into network traffic analysis, predictive maintenance, and congestion management as broadband demand grew throughout 2010.

AI now enables proactive quality of service adjustments, automated troubleshooting, and personalised bandwidth allocation based on user behaviour. It also plays a key role in network planning and capacity forecasting, helping providers scale efficiently. Clients such as Broadband Forum are playing a key role towards raising awareness of the role AI can play in the telecoms networks, including through its current BASe series of educational webinars.

Here’s to the next 15 years…

While some of the trends since Proactive PR’s founding may have felt like natural developments of emerging technologies, some were unexpected and outside the realms of any expectations we could have had in 2010.

We’re looking forward to supporting our clients as they contribute to the next 15 years’ worth of exciting trends and technologies.