ROMA, Italy, April 9, 2003 – IDC’s fifth annual European Telecoms Forum came to a close today. More than 500 attendees from carriers, services and infrastructure providers listened to and met with IDC analysts and renowned industry gurus to hear about and discuss telecoms trends such as convergence, value-added solutions and hotspots. Presentations focused on analysis of the main drivers and opportunities for service providers and the enterprise in the new European telecom scenario.
The worldwide telecommunications industry is approaching $1 trillion in value. The turmoil and overall spending slowdown in European telecommunications has slowed 2002 revenue growth as well as extending sales cycles.
Peter Cochrane, Co-Founder of Conceptlabs and Former Chief Technologist of BT explained in his speech the main drivers for telcos in the next years. For starters: massive downsizing; outsourcing; consolidation; and technology updates; followed by new operating modes with customers accepting a bigger role and responsibility. “But it isn’t all bad news, those who quickly address their legacy problems will do better than survive, they will prosper”, said Professor Cochrane.
The following areas were discussed in depth at this year’s event:
Fixed line market
According to IDC, the Western European fixed line telecommunications market is going through a transitional phase due to continuing consolidation in the service provider community as well as major restructuring within the indigenous European PTTs (Postal Telephone and Telegraph Service Provider). The end result is a market with considerably fewer players that are far more focused on core strengths.
3G networks and wireless market
IDC believes 3G is still going to be the technology that will deliver true mobility for users "on the road," while WLAN is going to be used by users "on the pause." The challenge for the mobile industry is to combine the new wireless technologies that will soon be in place to offer customers the services they require. In particular, operators must acknowledge the presence of WLAN even though some have undoubtedly only seen wireless traffic on their 3G networks. IDC believes WLAN will further enhance the wireless experience and in that way directly be part of the success 3G will eventually turn into.
Enterprises: outsourcing and network services. An opportunity for carriers.
Enterprises are facing unprecedented challenges of managing cost, complexity and risk in the IT and telecommunications environment. Demand for bandwidth continues to increase by 15% per year as more applications and more users rely on network-based services. Due to the continuing economic weakness, enterprise network managers are being forced to find ways to lower to the cost of ownership. At the same time, enterprises are eager to leverage the capabilities of IP convergence and network transformation. This provides competitive advantage, streamline operation, and more rapid time-to-market. These pressures result in growing demand for outsourced, managed network services.
“The changing business customer demand presents a new opportunity for carriers who can make the shift from product and technology focus, to solutions and value-add capability”, said Mark Winther, Group Vice President, Telecommunications, IDC. “Carriers will be successful to the extent they can establish a comprehensive "stewardship' role that embraces all network technologies with visibility into the customer business processes”.
The European Telecoms Forum 2003 was sponsored by Alcatel, Cisco, Comverse, Convergere – Datamat, Cramer, EMC², Infonet, Italtel, Oracle, Orange, Siemens, Sprint, Telecom Italia Sparkle.
About IDC
IDC is the foremost global market intelligence and advisory firm helping clients gain insight into technology and ebusiness trends to develop sound business strategies. Using a combination of rigorous primary research, in-depth analysis, and client interaction, IDC forecasts worldwide markets and trends to deliver dependable service and client advice. More than 700 analysts in 43 countries provide global research with local content. IDC's customers comprise the world’s leading IT suppliers, IT organizations, ebusiness companies, and the financial community. Additional information can be found at www.idc.com.
IDC is a division of IDG, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company.
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