Communications Market Disruption Provides Major New Opportunities for Wholesale Services; Wholesale Providers Must Act Now To Expand Revenue and Market Share.Business/Technology Editors BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13. 2000 Traditional wholesale telecoms markets, international circuit-switched voice services and bandwidth, are in serious trouble. Competition is increasing, voice is moving onto IP, and the supply of bandwidth is rising globally. Independent research and consulting company Noun 1. consulting company - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting firm business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a Ovum warns that as a result, prices and margins are in free-fall, and voice and bandwidth are rapidly becoming commodity products. However the report stresses that the future is potentially bright for the communications wholesale market. Ovum's report, Wholesale: New Markets for Communications Carriers and Service Providers, states that with the explosion of e-commerce, mobile data services, wireless Internet, and applications service provision (ASP), there are massive opportunities to explore new avenues that will generate sustainable revenues and margins from wholesale services, particularly if providers own large amounts of broadband infrastructure. "If you are only providing voice or infrastructure wholesale services, commoditization Commoditization 1. A situation when illiquid financial contracts are changed or modified in a way that promotes trading and results in a more liquid market. 2. Making a product into a commodity. Notes: 1. will soon erode your position," says Sue Uglow, Ovum analyst and lead author of the report. "To maintain a competitive edge, all communications service providers A Communications Service Provider or CSP is a company that transports information electronically. The term encompasses public and private companies in the wireline, wireless, Internet, cable, satellite, and managed services businesses. must seize these opportunities to move into new, value added Value Added The enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers. Notes: This can either increase the products price or value. wholesale service layers where sustainable revenue and margin growth is achievable." The report defines five communications wholesale service layers and states that the greatest opportunities are in the E-services, transport and access markets. --Capacity - the physical infrastructure over which telecommunications transmission and protocols are carried, including ducts, dark fiber and rights of way --Transport - the transmission medium that carries specific services, including wavelengths, SDH/Sonet, IP transit, frame relay A high-speed packet switching protocol used in wide area networks (WANs). Providing a granular service of up to DS3 speed (45 Mbps), it has become popular for LAN to LAN connections across remote distances, and services are offered by most major carriers. and ATM, and packaged IP services like voice-over-IP, unified messaging Having access to e-mail, voice mail and faxes via a common computer application or by telephone. For example, unified messaging may send faxes and digitized voice mail to a mail server that turns them into e-mail attachments. and IP VPNs --Access - the broadband infrastructure and technology linking end-users to backbone networks A backbone network provides a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or subnetworks.[1] A backbone can tie together diverse networks in the same building, in different buildings in a campus environment, or over wide areas. , including DSL DSL in full Digital Subscriber Line Broadband digital communications connection that operates over standard copper telephone wires. It requires a DSL modem, which splits transmissions into two frequency bands: the lower frequencies for voice (ordinary , metropolitan fiber and wireless local loop services --Voice - the original wholesale product that still forms the bulk of today's wholesale market --E-services - emerging value-added products, applications and solutions offered over next-generation facilities, like data centers, web hosting Making a Web site available on the Internet. Many ISPs host a few personal Web pages for an individual at no additional cost above the monthly service fee, but the address is subordinate to the ISP; for example, www.friendlyisp.com/pat_smith. , content and applications hosting, and distribution services. "Communications companies should partner with related organizations in the areas of e-commerce, ASP, and content provision for example, to deliver bundles of customized, value added wholesale services to new types of wholesale purchasers, such as ISPs, e-commerce providers, systems integrators and even very large end-users," says Uglow. "Partnerships create options that allow infrastructure providers to expand into new service layers, focusing on their core competencies," continues Uglow. "For example, Cable & Wireless has formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft and Compaq to develop ASP services and content. Cable & Wireless' infrastructure wholesale product is then sold to end-users by Microsoft and Compaq, as part of a value-added solution." Customization of services will also help wholesale providers differentiate their products from those of their competitors. This will be used to tailor services to purchasers' requirements, so that wholesale purchasers will be less inclined to switch to other providers that are unable to deliver the same level of customization. About the report Wholesale: New Markets for Communications Carriers and Service Providers is authored by Ovum analysts Sue Uglow, Ajay Gambir Gambir may refer to:
Large financial-services conglomerates combine commercial banking and investment banking, and sometimes insurance. identify potential markets and customer requirements. Market scenarios and profiles from the world's leading wholesale service providers are used to give insight into the development of products and services and predict which will be the most successful. For further product information contact Ovum at (800) 642-OVUM or visit http://www.ovum.com About Ovum Ovum is an independent research and consulting company, which provides expert advice on the IT, telecoms and e-commerce sectors. The company's mission is to assist organizations to make successful decisions. Their analysis of the key industry issues is well respected worldwide for its authority, quality and clarity. Founded in 1985, Ovum is forecasting sales in 2000 of more than $ 30 million and is currently experiencing growth of more than 50% per year. With offices in London, Boston, Melbourne and Buenos Aires Buenos Aires (bwā`nəs ī`rēz, âr`ēz, Span. bwā`nōs ī`rās), city and federal district (1991 pop. , Ovum's 300 staff is dedicated to delivering authoritative analysis, tailored consulting and customer support to over 10,000 senior executives around the world. Note to editors: A white paper offering further information on the report's findings is available to accredited members of the press only. You can request a copy from your local press relations contact (see below). |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion