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Abstract

Purpose – This study examines how fourth industrial revolution technologies (4IR) can transform telecom asset maintenance management in developing countries, with a focus on Nigeria's telecom operations. As a developing country with rapidly growing telecom operations, Nigeria faces unique opportunities and challenges in adopting intelligent technologies such as blockchain, digital twins, and artificial intelligence to improve infrastructure and asset uptime and reliability, reduce operating and maintenance costs, and enhance network functionality, thereby improving network availability and service quality. By examining the effectiveness of emerging 4IR technologies in Nigeria's distinct infrastructure and asset domain, this study offers valuable insights for practitioners seeking to harness these technologies to enhance reliable, efficient telecom asset maintenance management.

Design/methodology/approach – Using a mixed-methods approach that includes quantitative and qualitative research techniques, supported by extant literature on asset management, we explore how emerging (4IR) technologies can address the unique challenges faced by telecom managed services in Nigeria, particularly in terms of infrastructure and asset maintenance, operational efficiency, network availability, and service quality. The research design, population sampling methods, data collection approaches, and analysis frameworks guided this study on how developing countries can leverage 4IR technologies to enhance telecom infrastructure and asset maintenance management.

Findings – The findings were established based on the validity of the examined hypotheses, as evidenced by the visibility of asset functionality, monitoring, and performance resulting from the application of 4IR technologies, such as digital twin (DT). These technologies significantly enhance operational reliability and availability by reducing mean time to repair (MTTR). Furthermore, the findings have implications for operational efficiency, cost management, and the broader digital revolutionisation agenda in developing countries.  Digital twin technologies facilitate a predictive maintenance approach by proactively escalating unforeseen asset outages, reducing MTTR and operating costs.

Originality/value – The study complements the existing literature by evaluating the 4IR technologies required to manage telecom assets in developing countries, given infrastructure deficiencies.