BRICs, APAC see telecoms boom, says report

May 23, 2011 - PRLog -- If there was any doubt as to where the opportunities for new market growth in the telecoms sector truly lie, they were dispelled earlier this month with the release of a new report from research firm Ovum.

The independent telecoms analyst delved into the 2010 financial performance of telecoms carriers across the globe and found an industry in surprisingly good health. Telecoms service provider revenues grew by four percent in 2010 to reach US$1.85 trillion, driven by strong growth in the mobile market in Brazil, Russia, India and China – the so-called BRIC economies. The four percent growth represents a notable improvement from 2009, when revenues fell by the same amount.

“It’s too early to break out the champagne just yet, but within the context of a slowly improving global economy, the telecoms sector is returning to sustainable growth,” said Matt Walker, Ovum principal analyst and author of the report.

In terms of the opportunity for vendors, although service provider capex declined by three percent in 2010, this was an improvement from the nine percent capex decline in 2009. Significantly, in the fourth quarter of 2010 carrier capex rose two percent when compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 – the first such growth since the fourth quarter of 2008, the year the financial crisis hit, and another sign that recovery in the telecoms sector is on track.

“This late pick-up of capex in 2010 drove the full-year results,” added Walker. “There is usually a fourth quarter budget flush, but 2010 was stronger than 2009, when most carriers remained jittery. Vendors who have faced several quarters of lean times are certainly happy to see the capex tap turned on again.”

The emerging Asia-Pacific telecoms market has experienced tremendous growth during the past few years – particularly in China and India – and this trend is expected to continue over the next few years. Strong economic growth is leading to an expansion in the middle-class, which has shown an increased ability and willingness to pay for telecoms services.

What is particularly striking about the latest figures, however, is that other economies in the region are showing stronger growth than the region’s two BRIC giants. According to Ovum, the Asia-Pacific telecommunications industry, excluding India and China, registered the second best regional capex growth last year with a 4.4 percent increase over 2009.

Capitalising on the region’s growing affluence and desire for cutting-edge network services is just one of the topics up for discussion at upcoming Next Generation Telecoms Summit APAC 2011, which takes place from 20-22 September at the Amara Sanctuary on Sentosa Island, Singapore.

This closed-door summit, hosted by GDS International in concert with analyst partners Ovum and the International Telecommunication Union, will feature some of the leading voices in the technology management sector, including Michael Lawrey, Executive Director of Technology and Networks at Telstra; Priyanka Undugodage, VP Technology at Dialog Telecom; and Akbar Boghani, GM for IT Strategy at Vodafone Essar.

Alongside consideration of the emerging market opportunities, other key topics for discussion include embracing the cloud opportunity; delivering mobile rich internet applications that your business or customer needs; how to improve response times to changing market scenarios; and disruptive technologies in the telco environment

Next Generation Telecoms Summit APAC 2011 is an exclusive C-level event reserved for 100 participants that includes expert workshops, facilitated roundtables, peer-to-peer networks and co-ordinated meetings.

For more information, visit www.ngtsummitapac.com