Network rationalisation will be a key trend for telecoms companies in 2011, according to a new report from consultancy Informa Telecoms & Media.
The report said that rationalisation had been evident in both developed and emerging markets in 2010, and…
Network rationalisation will be a key trend for telecoms companies in 2011, according to a new report from consultancy Informa Telecoms & Media.
The report said that rationalisation had been evident in both developed and emerging markets in 2010, and would continue in 2011. “As it becomes unsustainable for minor carriers to roll out networks, market consolidation will follow, and so too will network rationalization.”
A recent example of such rationalisation would be the plan by French operator SFR to build a three-way shared 3G network with the mobile operators Orange and Bouygues. Nokia Siemens Networks is set to build the network.
The Informa report also suggested that “the real winners” in the race for superfast broadband so far have been cable operators, rather than telecoms companies. It argued that the latter needed to be more aggressive at promoting its fibre networks to consumers.
Another proposal was a closer bond between mobile operators and internet players. “The most successful mobile operators will be the ones who can form strategic partnerships with key internet players, and not the ones who want to pull up the drawbridge and block these companies from accessing their customers.”
An Informa spokesperson cited the case of the Swedish operator TeliaSonera, which on Monday began offering a premium version of the music-streaming site Spotify on its mobile and internet products.
