The future of customer experience as a competitive differentiator was the talk of the 24th annual Canadian Telecom Summit, which was held in Toronto under the long shadow of the CN Tower. The extent to which telco players are meeting (or not meeting) the expectations of their consumers was a hot topic among attendees, and discussed at length during a panel discussion of industry leaders.
Telco has not been without its share of challenges over the past two decades: the decline of landlines, deregulation, pressure to offer more robust data plans and shifts in how customers consume media all put pressure on strategic direction and corporate bottom lines.
And, being frank, there are significant problems facing customer management departments within telcos, whether it be in Canada or any other country. An obvious one is poor service levels. This was highlighted in the 2025 CX Technology and Global Services Survey published last month by Ryan Strategic Advisory, which showed that among telco customer management leaders in a dozen national markets, roughly two-thirds believe there was no improvement in their voice or digital service levels during the previous 12 months. Compounded by tighter-than-ever CX budgets in this sector, the roadblocks to ensuring the best possible interaction outcomes for customers could appear insurmountable to the faint of heart.
However, as spelled out at the Canadian Telecom Summit, there is reason for optimism. A big factor moving forward will be the shift to intelligent automated front-line servicing for telco consumers. According to the 2025 CX Technology and Global Services Survey, automation is among the biggest investment priorities for CX departments in this industry. If managed correctly, it will have a notable impact on ensuring faster resolution for interactions of basic / intermediate complexity. The key point that was brought out during the summit is that telcos need to ensure the integrity of any automated interface – technology needs to work properly, and not be deployed in a half-baked manner.
Another important topic discussed in regard to CX in the telecom space at this recent summit spoke to the need of operators to leverage granular insight into their end-users. Know-the-customer (KYC) has emerged as a major priority across the vertical spectrum, and telco is no exception. The good news in this sector is that many operators already have in place relatively sophisticated data collection tools, and raw consumer information is abundant. The logical next step is to put that information to work, in order to anticipate the specific needs of the telco user, thereby creating stronger relationship stickiness over the consumer lifecycle.
Perhaps the most crucial takeaway from the 2025 Canadian Telecom Summit was the fact that customer experience delivery in the telco sector does not need to be a race to the bottom (similar to low-cost airlines). For many, there is a perception that providers will fight tooth and nail to sign customers onto low-cost data / cable / phone packages, then throw them to the wolves when it comes to front-line support. However, as noted in Toronto, this need not be the case in telco; affordable pricing and strong customer service are not necessarily mutually exclusive. What successful, proactive CX leaders within telcos need to do is map out the requirements of their varying customer segments, then align processes and technologies accordingly. This will not work the other way around and must happen if telcos are to maintain (or gain) market share and stand out in an ever-generic space.
The Canadian Telecom Summit teased out a significant number of CX-related issues for an industry under multiple competitive pressures. But, the fact that so many at this gathering were willing to address how to do customer management better as a means of reducing end-user churn and cement long-term relationships is a positive step. The lessons learned in Toronto are not Canada-specific and can be applied across national markets. For those telco CX leaders wanting to move the needle in the right direction, the blueprint is there, and the time for action is now.
Canadian Telecom Summit Highlights Telco CX Imperative
By Ryan Strategic Advisory
The future of customer experience as a competitive differentiator was the talk of the 24th annual Canadian Telecom Summit, which was held in Toronto under the long shadow of the CN Tower. The extent to which telco players are meeting (or not meeting) the expectations of their consumers was a hot topic among attendees, and discussed at length during a panel discussion of industry leaders.
Telco has not been without its share of challenges over the past two decades: the decline of landlines, deregulation, pressure to offer more robust data plans and shifts in how customers consume media all put pressure on strategic direction and corporate bottom lines.
And, being frank, there are significant problems facing customer management departments within telcos, whether it be in Canada or any other country. An obvious one is poor service levels. This was highlighted in the 2025 CX Technology and Global Services Survey published last month by Ryan Strategic Advisory, which showed that among telco customer management leaders in a dozen national markets, roughly two-thirds believe there was no improvement in their voice or digital service levels during the previous 12 months. Compounded by tighter-than-ever CX budgets in this sector, the roadblocks to ensuring the best possible interaction outcomes for customers could appear insurmountable to the faint of heart.
However, as spelled out at the Canadian Telecom Summit, there is reason for optimism. A big factor moving forward will be the shift to intelligent automated front-line servicing for telco consumers. According to the 2025 CX Technology and Global Services Survey, automation is among the biggest investment priorities for CX departments in this industry. If managed correctly, it will have a notable impact on ensuring faster resolution for interactions of basic / intermediate complexity. The key point that was brought out during the summit is that telcos need to ensure the integrity of any automated interface – technology needs to work properly, and not be deployed in a half-baked manner.
Another important topic discussed in regard to CX in the telecom space at this recent summit spoke to the need of operators to leverage granular insight into their end-users. Know-the-customer (KYC) has emerged as a major priority across the vertical spectrum, and telco is no exception. The good news in this sector is that many operators already have in place relatively sophisticated data collection tools, and raw consumer information is abundant. The logical next step is to put that information to work, in order to anticipate the specific needs of the telco user, thereby creating stronger relationship stickiness over the consumer lifecycle.
Perhaps the most crucial takeaway from the 2025 Canadian Telecom Summit was the fact that customer experience delivery in the telco sector does not need to be a race to the bottom (similar to low-cost airlines). For many, there is a perception that providers will fight tooth and nail to sign customers onto low-cost data / cable / phone packages, then throw them to the wolves when it comes to front-line support. However, as noted in Toronto, this need not be the case in telco; affordable pricing and strong customer service are not necessarily mutually exclusive. What successful, proactive CX leaders within telcos need to do is map out the requirements of their varying customer segments, then align processes and technologies accordingly. This will not work the other way around and must happen if telcos are to maintain (or gain) market share and stand out in an ever-generic space.
The Canadian Telecom Summit teased out a significant number of CX-related issues for an industry under multiple competitive pressures. But, the fact that so many at this gathering were willing to address how to do customer management better as a means of reducing end-user churn and cement long-term relationships is a positive step. The lessons learned in Toronto are not Canada-specific and can be applied across national markets. For those telco CX leaders wanting to move the needle in the right direction, the blueprint is there, and the time for action is now.