12 Oct 2022
Award winning telecoms advisor Intelligens Consulting has written a thought leadership article on how telecoms operators might respond to the UK’s financial and economic crisis.
This follows a panel discussion with industry experts at telecoms event Connected Britain held in October 2022 where the conversation centred on the cost-of-living crisis, increasing inflation, and rising energy costs.
Iqbal Singh Bedi, Founder and Consulting Director of Intelligens Consulting moderated an expert panel with operators and suppliers and said, “Fibre prices are increasing, and this may be party due to demand and partly due to a rise in energy costs”.
The thought piece goes on to say that rising energy costs are already impacting the cost of fibre. Fibre prices in Europe have risen from USD 3.70 to USD 6.30 per fibre km. Fibre prices are also increasing in China and India suggesting global events are bumping up the cost of fibre.
“However”, the telecoms expert goes on to say, “the rising fibre costs don’t seem to be putting off fibre investment.”
Earlier in the year Intelligens Consulting estimated that the top 10 fibre altnets in the UK have committed over GBP 10 billion to serve circa 20 million premises with fibre.
The consultants have not seen any altnet, at least publicly, reverse their broadband ambition.
Bedi goes on to say that “Operators should develop pricing strategies to manage the impact on ARPU of ‘tier dropping’ and churn particularly in competitive areas”.
This is the case as consumers are more likely to switch providers in urban areas where there is more choice. However, this is less likely in rural areas where competition and choice is constrained.
He said, “Rural ISPs may therefore be able to protect themselves better than urban ISPs.”
The article also identified some snippets of opportunity spurred by the current financial crisis. These include opportunities to strengthen their customer relationships, streamlining supply chains, optimising network energy consumption, and investing in renewable energy sources.
Finally, Bedi said, “This also presents an opportunity for new a new breed of wireless technology entrants that are working to reduce the cost of providing gigabit wireless to rural areas.”
The article can be accessed here: https://www.intelligensconsulting.com/post/article-how-will-the-cost-of-living-crisis-affect-uk-fibre-operator-strategies.
Intelligens Consulting is an award-winning telecoms and smart city advisor. We advise investors and operators on their investment and market entry, growth and acquisition strategies. Our expert and senior team is experienced in network, strategy, economics, procurement and financing. We have a global client base providing investors, operators, and policy makers with technical, strategic, and commercial advice.
Please contact iqbal@intelligensconsulting.com should you wish to learn more about anything else discussed in this article.
