COVID-19's impact will evolve the telecommunications industry

Change is in the air for the telecommunications sector as vendors and service providers grapple with the fallout from COVID-19. While it may be too soon to carve all of the changes into granite, it does seem as though the industry is headed towards the dawning of a new era.  Adding more capacity going forward is top of mind for most service providers. But now that service providers, businesses and other organizations know that their employees can work from home (WFH) how many will return to the office space once the coronavirus restrictions loosen up across the board? World Wide Technology's Neil Anderson, senior director of network solutions, expects a hybrid-working environment to emerge. Anderson sees a swing towards corporate-managed access points, more robust routers, and corporate provided phones as part of an increased focus on standardized home office infrastructure that can be managed by a business or service provider.