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Notiziario Marketpress di
Venerdì 21 Gennaio 2000 |
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THE PAN EUROPEAN CARRIER MARKET: THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW MODEL.
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Milano, 21 January, 2000 Operators grasp Pan-european opportunity; but competition bites, warns ovum The development of pan-European networks offers huge growth opportunities for operators and could increase the likelihood of "the death of distance". But the opportunity will bring about fierce competition that could leave some operators bleeding by the wayside. This was the conclusion of independent research and consulting company Ovum, in its new report The Pan European Carrier Market: the Emergence of a New Model. Pan-european networks have emerged as a result of liberalisation in Europe, combined with the opportunity for capturing exploding demand for cost effective cross border service on the continent. Co- author of the report Rebecca De Coster points out that historically, international tariffs from the incumbents were very high. "For instance, international leased circuit prices in Europe were around 20 times higher than equivalent circuits in the Us at the start of 1999, due to the artificially high tariff structure and the cost of interconnection. " The pan-European network reduces the cost of providing cross border service by connecting countries via a single network infrastructure. The cost saving to carriers and businesses operating in multiple countries is considerable. Ovum predicts that total cross border bandwidth demand in Europe will reach over 9 Tbit/s by 2005, from 339 Gbit/s in 2000, driven by Internet and corporate data services - hence the market opportunity. Carriers are grasping this opportunity with both hands. There are currently more than 20 pan-European networks in service, under construction, or in the planning stages. These mostly focus on the main traffic routes within Europe - particularly those between the financial centres in Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London and Paris. The players include new entrants trying to gain a foothold in the market (e. G. Iaxis), non-European carriers eyeing new opportunities (e. G. Level 3), and incumbents spreading their wings beyond national boundaries (e. G. Telia). Ovum says that coverage will extend to tier 2 and 3 routes in Southern Europe , Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe during 2000 and 2001 as demand starts to take off in these regions. But with so many operators targeting the pan-European arena, the market is becoming increasingly competitive. "The emerging operators are all in general using the same technology and competing on the same routes, " said De Coster. "This inevitably means that they will have to compete on price in the short-term, particularly in the wholesale and carriers´ carrier markets. " As De Coster explains, this strategy is particularly risky for companies lacking experience in the European telecoms market. "Some of the new carriers are heavily dependent on venture capitalists and investment institutions, and have borrowed heavily to finance the building of their pan-European networks, " she said. "Unrealistic business expectations may have been raised, and some companies may not meet their target revenues as prices fall rapidly. " She continued: "A large level of consolidation is inevitable, and is already starting to occur between similar types of players. This trend will continue, driven by too many players on some routes and regions, and operators attempting to enter new geographic regions and markets through joint ventures and acquisitions". Ovum believes that ultimately there is space for less than 10 operators to act as the main providers of long distance transport in Europe. "Some of the network plans in place now will not go ahead, or will have to be modified. Of those that are built, many will not survive the coming industry consolidation, " predicts De Coster. Ovum´s advice to operators facing this uncertain future in Europe is to specialise, adjusting their service portfolios to maintain revenues. Emphasis is likely to shift towards three scenarios: the increasing importance of value-added Ip services such as Ip transit and Ip Virtual Private Networks, as more traditional services become commoditised the move to roll out ´carrier hotel´ facilities, i. E. Custom-built facilities from which to provide a range of hosting and equipment housing services to other carriers and service providers providing an end-to-end network with direct access to the end user, avoiding `last mile´ dependence on incumbents As Ovum points out, what is happening in Europe is ultimately just one part of a much larger trend in the telecoms industry: the forging of global carrier groupings and global network platforms. The ability to offer end-to-end services to multinational customers between the world´s major cities on a single, wholly owned network will be a key source of competitive advantage in the future telecoms environment. This means having a presence in the three major telecoms markets: North America, Asia-pacific - and Europe. About the report The Pan European Carrier Market: the Emergence of a New Model, authored by Ovum analysts Rebecca De Coster, Barry Flanigan and Sue Uglow, is available from Ovum now costing £1795, €2872, Us$3150 or A$4295. As well as in-depth analysis and market predictions, the report contains full pan-European operator profiles, detailed traffic and market forecasts and market profiles of over 20 European countries. For more information, please visit http://www. Ovum. Com or call +44 (0)20 7551 9031. About Ovum Ovum is an independent research and consulting company, offering expert advice on It and telecoms. Our mission is to help you make successful decisions, and our analysis of key developments is highly respected worldwide for its authority, quality and clarity. Established in 1985, Ovum has a dynamic growth record of 25% per annum, and offices in London, Boston and Melbourne. Our 80 consultants provide reports, advisory services and strategic consultancy to over 10, 000 senior executives worldwide. For information : In the Uk or Europe: Laura Parker, Press Officer (Europe)tel +44 (0)171 551 9238 Fax +44 (0)171 551 9090 Email lmp@ovum. Com Jessica Figueras, Pr Manager (Europe) Tel +44 (0)171 551 9034 Fax +44 (0)171 551 9090 Email jmf@ovum. Com . |
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