International expansion slowing for Middle Eastern mobile operators according to PRTM study.
Middle Eastern mobile operators remain committed to international expansion but face some challenges due to slowing growth and intensifying competition, according to a study.
Five Middle Eastern companies - Orascom/WIND, Zain, STC, Qatar Telecom and Etisalat - have entered the global stage, but last year the global expansion began to slow, said PRTM in its latest report.
“The past several years have witnessed a tremendous rise in demand for mobile services in emerging markets. A number of entrepreneurial operators capitalised on that opportunity, and they quickly became global leaders. They have the opportunity to play at the top table, but slowing growth and intensifying competition will pose daunting challenges,” said Anil Khurana, lead director of PRTM’s Middle East Region and co-author of the report.
According to the PRTM’s study, “The Future of Telecommunications: New Strategies for a New World,” customers will gravitate towards service providers with the best in-market broadband networks, due to an increasingly data-centric world - leading network operators to revisit their models of the past five years, where every spare dollar went overseas.
Operators will likely leverage merger and acquisition and capital spending to improve competitive positions in their countries/regions rather than investing in global empire building, the report said.
It said the developing world will be the stage for intensifying competition, further price wars, lower average amount of revenue per users and continued rapid growth in operational costs. Subscriber numbers will continue to grow, but revenues will rise more slowly and profitability and cash-flows may flatten or decline.
“Until recently, companies like Telenor, Orascom, Zain and STC were investing for their own international footprint. Going forward, they will likely sell off small peripheral operations in weak positions, focus on building in-market depth or ally with larger groups,” Khurana said.
Five Middle Eastern companies - Orascom/WIND, Zain, STC, Qatar Telecom and Etisalat - have entered the global stage, but last year the global expansion began to slow, said PRTM in its latest report.
“The past several years have witnessed a tremendous rise in demand for mobile services in emerging markets. A number of entrepreneurial operators capitalised on that opportunity, and they quickly became global leaders. They have the opportunity to play at the top table, but slowing growth and intensifying competition will pose daunting challenges,” said Anil Khurana, lead director of PRTM’s Middle East Region and co-author of the report.
According to the PRTM’s study, “The Future of Telecommunications: New Strategies for a New World,” customers will gravitate towards service providers with the best in-market broadband networks, due to an increasingly data-centric world - leading network operators to revisit their models of the past five years, where every spare dollar went overseas.
Operators will likely leverage merger and acquisition and capital spending to improve competitive positions in their countries/regions rather than investing in global empire building, the report said.
It said the developing world will be the stage for intensifying competition, further price wars, lower average amount of revenue per users and continued rapid growth in operational costs. Subscriber numbers will continue to grow, but revenues will rise more slowly and profitability and cash-flows may flatten or decline.
“Until recently, companies like Telenor, Orascom, Zain and STC were investing for their own international footprint. Going forward, they will likely sell off small peripheral operations in weak positions, focus on building in-market depth or ally with larger groups,” Khurana said.
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