With June now in the books, that means it’s another month closer to PTC’19 and there’s another month’s worth of stories to reflect on. In this month’s Month in Review, we’ll look at some of the topics that generated the most discussion in June, as well as some of the things we have been working on here at PTC.

5G
The discussions about what 5G is, what it can be, and what it should be also continued in full force. At FierceTelecom, Mike Robuck wrote about how the run-up to 5G is pushing service providers’ move to cloud native-based architectures, and how cloud native NFV plays a key role in that migration. In Europe, telcos are moving aggressively to bring 5G services to market, but are playing down expectations of a boost in customer spending or capex increase by their own companies. In RCR Wireless, Editor-in-Chief Sean Kinney wrote that, in terms of the hype cycle, 5G is now entering the trough of disillusionment. At the 5G World Summit in London, Ovum’s Daryl Schoolar explained why the migration from 4G to 5G requires a three-dimensional perspective.

Telco Transformation
One of the big themes we have seen discussed in various places lately is the transformation of traditional telcos. In a piece for TechCrunch called “The Uberization of Telcos,” Dieter Gerdemann named three key ingredients he feels would help telcos modernize and kickstart their growth rates again. Over at Disruptive Asia, Alex Leslie asked the thought-provoking question, “If banks and telcos were in a race to modernize, who would win?” Meanwhile, at TelecomAsia, Jouko Ahvenainen weighed the pros and cons of telcos entering the media streaming business. Whatever changes may be coming, it’s clear that APAC is growing more quickly than other regions due to its rising demand for data services.

PTC Projects
As an organization and a community, PTC seeks to deepen involvement and innovation in ICT for the benefit of everyone in the Asia-Pacific region. From original pieces from industry thought leaders such as Dean Bubley’s analysis of how blockchain will impact the telecoms industry to highlighting PTC Projects like the Humanitarian Babel Fish, a device called the “Douglas” that provides speech-to-speech translation for disaster relief in areas where an Internet connection isn’t available, we published several pieces highlighting this commitment throughout the month of June. We also announced that PTC Academy Thailand: Navigating Change will take place 20-21 September in Bangkok. PTC Academy provides exceptional management training to rising industry leaders and is limited to 30 students. We also announced two awards for excellence in research that will be presented at PTC’19. For submission deadlines and more details, click here.