| NOTAS: | "The electronic communications (EC) sector1 in Europe is evolving rapidly and is expected to continue to do so in the coming years. Its development will be shaped by changes in the economy, technology and society, which are expected to impact all facets of daily life, including consumer behaviour.
This study provides an overview of the major economic, technological and societal trends that will impact the electronic communications sector in the future, especially structures and business models that may evolve in the electronic communications value chain.
The trends described in the study are not certain, but, if they continue as forecast, they will present a number of opportunities for and threats to companies in the electronic communications sector.
The monetisation of larger data volumes and adjacent businesses (such as Internet of Things (IoT) and security) are examples of opportunities for the sector. Monetising the mountains of data that would flow through their networks could enhance revenue streams of companies in the sector, allowing them to move away from unlimited and free data plans to promoting the consumption of data-heavy content. Taking advantage of new IoT capabilities and related security needs, companies in the sector could also offer more security and privacy protection services (especially for business-to-business (B2B), support services (security and automation) for connected homes, for industry manufacturing platforms (e.g. automotive) and M2M communications systems.
Threats include the role of content and applications providers (CAPs) and the emergence of new digital ecosystems. To maintain a central role in the digital economy and address digital challenges, telecommunications operators may need to build and deliver a digital ecosystem that encompasses access, services and content. Companies that adopt aggressive digitalisation strategies would generally fare better than their more conservative rivals. CAPs giants are moving fast in this direction, so telecommunications operators need to keep up with the rapid changes and make the right choices to build digital ecosystems. Alternatively, some telecommunications players could focus solely on access.
The Office of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) contracted PwC to undertake a ‘food for thought’ study on the future of electronic communications in Europe (with a horizon – the year 2020). The sector is at a crucial turning point as there are significant market opportunities for and threats to companies in the electronic communications sector that could enable them to play an even more critical role to industry and society in delivering high class electronic communications services across a myriad of devices and sectors." |
