Over the last decade the telecommunications industry has seen its market size increase by US$100 billion through the introduction of new services and annual revenues increase by more than 50 percent, according to Manoj Menon, director of Technology Practice for consulting company Frost and Sullivan in Asia Pacific. At the same time, the number of competitors in the Asia Pacific telecommunications industry has grown from less than 20 to more than 3,000.
"The ongoing turmoil in the telecommunications industry will significantly alter the industry landscape," said Menon at the Frost and Sullivan Telecom 2003 Outlook Conference in Singapore. "A large number of companies are focusing on survival, and there could be many of these which could eventually emerge as weaker competitors. Whilst, a small number of companies will thrive on this chaos and rise to become global leaders in the market place."
The revenue growth is expected to come from mobile and data communications, as well as broadband applications. Traditional money-spinners, such as long-distance calls, are expected to continue declining in revenue.
Australian telcos are certainly aware of the challenging times ahead, with the latest Job Index Survey by recruitment agency TMP Worldwide revealing Australian companies in the telecommunications industry had one of the lowest levels of optimism of all industries. A net of 8.4 percent of telcos expected to hire new staff in the next three months, a fall from the previous quarters result of 8.9 percent.
