According to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Semiannual Telecom Services Tracker, Worldwide spending on pay-TV and telecommunications services will reach USD1.55 trillion in 2020, a decrease of 1.4% year-on-year, but the market will start to recover next year. "In the first half of 2020, operators maintained solid resilience in large parts of their operations," said Kresimir Alic, research director with IDC's Worldwide Telecom munications team. "Telecom operators are now focused on efficiency improvements to mitigate the expected negative impacts during the rest of the year."
The figures for worldwide spending on telecommunication and pay TV services reflect a decrease of 1.4% year over year. IDC's tracker expects the market to start its recovery next year, but pre-crisis spending levels will not be reached before 2022.
Increased demand from the consumer resulting from stay-at-home restrictions contributed to the economic success of telco services. The services have been secured by longer-term contracts all helped the telcos avoid major losses in the first half of the year. However, predictions for the second half of the year project declines in revenues as economic turmoil is expected to hit the world, with business closures, tourist activity suspensions, and spending budget cuts. As a result, IDC has decreased its market forecast for 2020 by one half of a percentage point.
According to Alic, lower capital expenditures following restrained investment policies can still be translated into operative EBITDA growth. The negative trend is expected to impact all global regions, but not at the same magnitude. Revenue in the Americas, the largest regional market, is estimated to drop by 0.5% in 2020. Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and Asia/Pacific (including Japan and China) will drop somewhat more primarily because of the larger number of price-sensitive customers in the low-income countries of Africa and Asia. In the remainder of the five-year forecast, EMEA and Asia/Pacific are also expected to recover somewhat more slowly than the Americas because the customers in emerging markets are expected to remain cost-cautious for a longer time.
Telecom operators are now focused on efficiency improvements to mitigate the expected negative impacts during the rest of the year.” Kresimir Alic Research Director, IDC Worldwide Telecommunications
