Carriers Are No Longer Operators

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Carriers Are No Longer Operators

	By Ewan Sutherland Telecommunications Policy Analyst
	July 17, 2009 Views: 7,079 Add Comment

The classic view of a wireline or mobile carrier is that it was an “operator”, it ran out cables, raised poles, installed switches, constructed central offices and base stations and the like.

However, the figures from Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) show that firm is making 45% of its sales from services, meaning it is constructing and managing networks on behalf of “carriers”. NSN is “carrying” a lot of telecoms traffic.

This has been accelerated by the global financial crisis, as carriers have tried to avoid capital spending. They can upgrade networks without buying a network, instead paying for it as a service. NSN has previously estimated the market for telecommunications outsourcing and managed services to be worth $282 billions.

This has implications for definitions of markets for regulaty purposes and for calculations of costs in TELRIC/LRIC models.

See Ray Le Maistre’s Services Now 45% of NSN Revenues

By Ewan Sutherland, Telecommunications Policy Analyst

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