The Data Revolution Offers a "Second Life" for Transformed Fixed Telecom Operators

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, October 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Fixed-line telecom operators have a significant challenge on their hands.

People are talking less on fixed lines, preferring the convenience of a mobile phone. The growth of Smartphones and ultra-fast LTE (4G) devices is fuelling the data explosion, forcing fixed operators into costly network upgrades to stay competitive. Furthermore, Over-the-Top (OTT) players like Skype are eroding voice revenues - is the future all bleak?

Delta Partners, the leading advisory and investment firm specialized in telecom, media and technology (TMT), released its latest white paper today arguing that there is a bright future if fixed line operators are fully committed to transforming themselves.

"Ironically, due to spectrum and technology constraints, the more mobile data grows the more it will need to rely on fixed technologies (FTTx to DSL) to cope with the significant demand for bandwidth," says Joao Sousa, Partner at Delta Partners.

"Even though mobile data traffic doubles nearly every year and shows no sign of slowing down, 90% of all IP traffic will still rely on fixed networks in 2016 as it can better support bandwidth-heavy services such as video. This creates immense new opportunities."

Key opportunities for fixed operators exist in:

• Offering super-fast fixed broadband
• Offloading of heavy mobile traffic
• Provision of reliable transmission to enable the mobile players' LTE rollouts

In preparation for this scenario, most fixed operators in developed markets have already transformed their networks, operations and go to market approach - positioning them well for growth. This is less the case in emerging markets where lower scale (penetration of less than 15% of households) has held back investment.

The Renaissance for fixed operators is a challenging path: it requires a radical and often painful holistic transformation, ranging from networks, IT systems, commercial approach and processes, to critical elements such as transforming the culture, organization structure and skillsets to drive success.

"Operators can expect to grow their Free Cash Flow by 5-10pp post transformation. This paper outlines what is required to achieve that," says Joao Sousa.

The 'Renaissance' is the first White Paper of a series, 'The new era for fixed operators in emerging markets' focused on highlighting how fixed operators can continue to achieve sustainable growth.

Delta Partners is the leading TMT specialist advisory and investment firm.

To download the full white paper, please visit

http://www.deltapartnersgroup.com/our_insights/whitepapers

Karen Cordeiro, Tel: +971566815864, Email: kc@deltapartnersgroup.com