Advising on the commercial impact of technology and
    market changes in telecoms, software and IT services

Broadband@Ovum

To remain a key player in the broadband market, you need to focus on three key issues...

In the developed world broadband access is now at the heart of all service providers' strategies. In developing countries, where traditional services such as voice are still a significant source of growth, broadband not only represents an exciting future growth area, but also an important tool to develop industry and aid other service areas such as health and education.

Ready access to broadband services is changing the way consumers' access and content, communication, and entertainment services. In turn this changes the business strategies and technologies employed by operators to provide them. In all the change and uncertainty, one thing is clear, not all service providers will survive. In the mass market consumer broadband industry, scale is king. When the market was quickly growing, there was room for many ISPs to join the market and start to grow their business, but as markets mature it is evident that sufficient scale will only be achieved by a few.

Hitting the right combination of value and quality

In the ever-increasing battle for market share, price is often used as the main weapon of choice. However, customers also value other attributes such as reliability, quality, simplicity and customer care. A cheap service without such characteristics will soon be discarded by consumers, and regaining their trust will be hard to achieve. There are a growing number of segments emerging, each requiring different levels of these attributes. Providing the right mix is essential, if operators are to effectively target these segments, and do so in a competitive way, not just in short but long term.

Increasing scale whilst driving down costs

It is Ovum's belief that whilst there will always be room for the niche player targeting smaller segments, scale is essential for the major ISPs. The question for these operators (particularly those active in the maturing markets) is how to continue to grow scale in a cost effective manner?

The economies of scale concept does apply to broadband, however as in all businesses, unmanaged growth can sometimes be more dangerous than no growth. Expanding a network too far for example can increase the cost per customer through over-capacity. Customer relationship management is another minefield - grow it too quickly and the cost can drag the business down, too slowly and bad publicity and greater customer churn can quickly follow. Taking such factors into account, along with marketing, customer acquisition, technology choice, partnerships and network ownership, is therefore essential, if the ISP is to succeed in its growth strategy - not become a victim of it.

Tapping into new revenue pools

Although broadband prices continue to fall, new services and applications present a new and potentially large revenue opportunity for ISPs. Consumers are gradually becoming ready for such services, however how popular the services will be, and when will they take off, are still questions that go largely unanswered. Broadband operators must think carefully about a) whether they tap into these pools themselves and b) how their business strategy will need to adapt to these new services, be them deployed by themselves, aggregators, or indeed competing ISPs. The broadband revolution is an exciting prospect, but it will require much strategic thought, if broadband operators are to not only be a success, but survive the coming together of the communications and content industries.

How can Ovum help you?

We are recognised as the leading authority on the European market for the ICT sector, and our employees provide personable, accessible and independent advice. We have a collaborative approach when working with our clients and utilise the breadth and depth of our analysts' expertise to ensure that we provide you with easily understood information and advice.

Ovum minimises the risks for its clients, while identifying and helping them to comprehend and exploit:

• market opportunities for growth
• market developments that impact your bottom line
• key player performance and competitor intelligence
• regulation and its effect on your organisation.

Broadband@Ovum is part of Ovum's consumer practice, within the telecommunications research group. The service provides comprehensive and in-depth research of all aspects of the consumer broadband access market. As well as regular written deliverables, by signing up to the broadband service clients gain access through e-mail, telephone or face-to-face meetings with our highly experienced analysts.

Our Broadband service is specifically designed to provide operators, alternative carriers, major equipment vendors, software vendors and their regulators and consultants with a comprehensive analysis of issues that impact this volatile market.

Our coverage includes the following areas:

Ovum's advisory services are available online and deliver continuous research and analysis that enable you to base your strategic decisions on the most up-to-date information and advice. Our analysis covers companies, technologies and markets, and is provided in a variety of formats: from short, hard-hitting opinion pieces to extensive, in-depth reports.

Key questions that Broadband@Ovum will answer:

• How should I develop my broadband access strategy?
• What is the broadband market's potential for sustainable growth?
• How do I control increasing costs whilst maintaining quality?
• How is broadband evolving around the world?
• What technologies will be required to deliver new broadband services and applications?
• How are my competitors facing these challenges?

Services that meet your immediate needs

Customised advice via Analyst Access

Analyst Access is an integral part of Broadband@Ovum and comes in a variety of formats - from questions or discussions with our specialist analysts via telephone and email to workshops, briefings and strategy sessions.

Analyst Access provides you with customised research and advice as and when you need it, which can help you to understand complex issues and validate your plans for sustainable growth.

How have clients utilised Analyst Access?

Residential broadband services: we advised a client on the economics of fibre deployment to the home and the critical success factors for suppliers, and provided a set of presentation slides to guide the client's board-level strategy discussions.

Fibre network rollout: we provided a client with an evaluation of the business case for the fibre network rollout of one of their competitors and produced a basic cost model for fibre deployment.

Bespoke modelling: using a mix of Ovum's independent forecasts and specific country demographics we were able to provide our client with a set of bespoke forecasts in order to help them with their internal business planning.

Your next move ...
To find out more about Ovum's services contact us at your nearest office.