Telecom industry eyes potential economic recovery

A NEW poll has found the majority of communications service providers (CSPs) to be upbeat about the economic potential of the telecom sector.

In the poll conducted by Comptel Corporation, the vendor of dynamic Operations Support System software, eight out of ten respondents are already seeing the market withstanding the downturn, and expecting growth throughout the rest of the year.

The survey polled telecom experts from across the globe on their perceptions of the telecom industry’s economic performance, the sector’s key growth areas and immediate challenges on the road to recovery. Results further revealed that operators in emerging markets were perceived to have fared better in the economy than established markets, and that mobile operators were affected less severely than or about the same as fixed / broadband operators.

“Mobile broadband was seen as the major driving factor of the telecom sector’s positive outlook. More than two-thirds of respondents saw it to be the highest growth area over the next 18 months,” reported Ms. Arnhild Schia, senior vice president, strategic marketing, Comptel.

“However, despite the industry’s optimism and the successful uptake of mobile broadband services, challenges, such as bandwidth congestion and pricing, will persist as the economy begins to improve.”

According to the poll, cutting operating costs whilst retaining service levels, is the biggest challenge CSPs face throughout the rest of the year. 77 per cent cited optimising Quality of Service (QoS) for subscribers and leveraging existing OSS and infrastructure investments as critical to capitalising on this and growing future revenue streams.

“CSPs must remain focused on serving their current customers better while encouraging uptake of mobile broadband offerings,” continued Schia. “By making optimum use of their OSS investments, operators can guarantee a consistently high subscriber experience, and transparency and options to pricing—increasing customer confidence and satisfaction, and seizing upon new revenue opportunities.

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