2013 a ‘Darwinian tipping point’ for Europe’s telcos

Europe’s telecoms and media companies must embrace innovation in key areas such as mobile, cloud computing and big data, as well as forge strong strategic relationships with other industry players like content delivery networks, if they are to survive the current revenue squeeze, according to think tank IDATE.

European telcos suffered a sizeable drop in revenues last year, according to IDATE, with growth decreasing to 2.7 per cent after two steady years of recovery, and the TV market hit hardest, dragging down the entire consumer electronics market by seven per cent.

Increased competition in the smartphone and tablet markets offers a glimmer of hope however, according to the think tank, which adds that the services markets also appear to have weathered the storm. Over-the-top (OTT) services are the sole bright spot, growing by an average of 20 per cent last year.

IDATE’s Didier Pouillot said: “Telcos do have certain leverage to deal with this change, starting with creating more value from network access now that OTT services are increasing user consumption.

“NGN technologies allow telcos to increase speeds and to introduce noticeable quality improvements, both of which can differentiate their offerings. But it is clear 2013 is a pivotal year and telcos must embrace innovation. A simple Darwinian case of evolve or die!”