Telco Tokenization and Stablecoin Development an Industry Opportunity

Abstract

Different industries have been evolving to accept and implement blockchain technology for a variety of use cases either for automation purposes, for internal/external process integration amongst multiple entities or for provenance use cases such as in supply chain using blockchains tracking and tracing abilities. The telecommunications industry itself has adopted blockchain technology in areas like wholesale roaming, identity as examples. The focus of this paper is implementation of tokenization, Stablecoins, and digital assets in the telecom industry. The paper provides a brief introduction to tokenization, Stablecoins, digital assets and use case examples from the telco industry in the adoption and deployment of tokens, Stablecoins and overall digital assets. The paper argues the case for tokenization and use of Stablecoins in the telecommunications industry. For instance, can we as an industry imagine incentivizing open-source development via a telco token? The blockchain space involves various stakeholder groups which includes telecom operators, vendors, internet companies, technology partners, regulators etc. and any successful implementation involves managing an eco-system play amongst these requiring strong governance. The authors also propose additional research as next steps particularly for economic modelling of telco token economy and a cybersecurity risk assessment.