Analysis, Blog, Inflation, Revenues and pricing

Closing the ‘inflation deficit’

Since the onset of inflation in Europe at the beginning of 2022, Tefficient has been reporting on its progress through a series of LinkedIn posts and tweets. We have compared the overall inflation to the inflation within the ‘Communication’ component of the European Central Bank’s Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP).

The ‘Communication’ component closely reflects telecommunication prices, encompassing telecommunication services and equipment, albeit also including postal services. In August 2023, it accounted for 2.7% of the expenditure weight in HICP for the Eurozone.

If we rewind to a year ago, Europe’s telecommunications companies had a significant ‘inflation deficit’ when compared to the overall inflation. The graph below illustrates the gap between:

  • The overall annual inflation rate
  • The annual inflation rate within ‘Communication’
Continue reading Closing the ‘inflation deficit’ →
5G, Analysis, data monetisation, FWA, mobile data usage

Mobile operators demonstrate strengthened ability to improve ARPU on the back of data usage growth

Tefficient, in its 38th public analysis of mobile data trends, has ranked 116 operators based on metrics like average data usage per subscription, total data traffic and revenue per gigabyte. This issue covers the full year of 2022 and the first half of 2023.

Notably, 97% of operators witnessed an upswing in data usage per subscription in 2022, with 75% of them successfully translating this into increased ARPU.

Continue reading Mobile operators demonstrate strengthened ability to improve ARPU on the back of data usage growth →
CAPEX, data monetisation, Denmark, Finland, FTTx, FWA, mobile data usage, Nordic, Norway, OPEX, References, Sweden

Assessment of Norwegian mobile and fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context – 2023

Reference: Analysis, 2023

Norway’s Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development last week published two analyses commissioned from Tefficient.

The conclusion is summarised (in Norwegian) in a press release from the Ministry.

Both analyses are quite comprehensive and compare Norway to the three fellow Nordic countries Denmark, Sweden and Finland. It means that they are highly interesting not just for the industry and policy makers in Norway, but in all four countries.

An example graph from the fixed analysis:

Since the Ministry has made both analyses available for public download, you can access them directly and for free from here:

Continue reading Assessment of Norwegian mobile and fixed broadband pricing in a Nordic context – 2023 →
5G, Analysis, data monetisation, fixed data usage, FWA, mobile data usage, South Korea

ARPU growth almost always slower than inflation

Tefficient’s 37th public analysis of mobile data development and drivers compares trends across 37 countries worldwide, excluding M2M/IoT from the total bases.

Previous analyses have shown that the pandemic led to a significant increase in mobile data usage. However, the demand for more mobile data has since slowed down. In 2022, Czechia experienced the highest growth rate in mobile data usage, reaching 59%. At the other end of the spectrum, Qatar and Taiwan had relatively lower increases, both below 9%.

Continue reading ARPU growth almost always slower than inflation →
Analysis, Convergent bundles, Cyber security, Fixed-mobile convergence, Value added services

Creating convergent service bundles for SMEs

Reference: Analysis, 2023

Operators often face uncertainty when addressing small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Should they treat SMEs like consumers or corporate customers? SMEs, being akin to a close-knit family, is a mass market but could sometimes require a personalised approach. Should operators assign dedicated sales representatives to cater to their specific needs and assemble tailored solutions?

While many operators equate convergence with fixed-mobile services, its scope extends far beyond that. Convergent SME bundles should not be limited to combining fixed and mobile services alone. SMEs have diverse requirements that operators can effectively address, such as switchboard functionality, contact center tools, office software, domain and hosting, cloud storage, cyber security, insurance, and more.

Example from Free (France)
Continue reading Creating convergent service bundles for SMEs →
Benchmarks, Denmark, Finland, Nordic, Norway, References, Sweden

Nordic operator benchmark 2023: A decade of excellence

Reference: Benchmarks, 2023

In its tenth year, our comprehensive business benchmark raised the standard with an extensive range of 964 key performance indicators (KPIs). Covering crucial areas such as revenue, OPEX, CAPEX, headcount productivity, subscriptions & channels, performance, load, quality, and innovation & growth, this benchmark caters to 53 functions across mobile, fixed, and integrated operators.

Exclusively sourced from leading Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Danish operators, the peer group data is of the highest quality. To honor pre-agreed confidentiality requirements, participating operators remain anonymous, safeguarding the privacy of their data.

Tefficient’s benchmark has earned the reputation of being the industry’s best-kept secret. However, its outstanding value has enticed a couple of new participants this year, joining the returning operators who actively rely on the benchmark to drive continuous improvement.

Continue reading Nordic operator benchmark 2023: A decade of excellence →
5G, Analysis, data monetisation, fixed data usage, FWA, mobile data usage, South Korea

High data usage countries do better on ARPU development than low-usage countries

Tefficient’s 36th public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data compares the trends of 45 countries globally.

In our previous analyses, we saw that the pandemic led to an increase in the mobile data usage. The demand for more mobile data has since slowed. Czechia experienced the fastest growth in mobile data usage in 2022: 56%. On the other end of the spectrum, Iceland witnessed a decrease in usage. Austria, China, Malaysia and Norway had some increase, but it was below 9%.

Continue reading High data usage countries do better on ARPU development than low-usage countries →
5G, Analysis, Cloud gaming, data monetisation, Go-to-market, References, Value added services

Interviewing operators on sentiments towards current and future mobile data monetisation and service bundling

Reference: Analysis, 2022

Tefficient conducted a series of one-to-one interviews with operator executives from various global markets to gain insights into their perspectives on mobile data monetisation and service bundling models, with a focus on current and future trends.

The interviews delved into topics such as the sufficiency of current bucket and unlimited tiered mobile data propositions, the pricing of 5G, the success of speed tiering, and how content bundling can help operators. Experiences from hard bundling, soft bundling (with choice), add-on sales and content aggregation were discussed. Additionally, the interviews explored how operators can design their propositions in a QoE and slicing future where tiering is not limited to volume, speed, and content.

Continue reading Interviewing operators on sentiments towards current and future mobile data monetisation and service bundling →
Analysis, Cyber security, Go-to-market, References, Value added services

Making sense of operators’ cyber security offerings in 14 countries

Reference: Analysis, 2022

With the growing reliance on internet connectivity, telecom operators have an important role to play in protecting their customers from cyber threats such as fraud and malware. However, as internet usage can also expose users to risks such as the spread of malicious content, identity hijacking, and online slander, it is crucial for telecom operators to provide comprehensive cyber security services and solutions.

The service portfolio and the methods for offering these services can vary greatly between operators. Some are better than others in packaging and upselling cyber security.

Example from AT&T

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the cyber security offerings in 14 different markets, Tefficient conducted a thorough analysis of all of the cyber security offerings from all telecom operators in those markets. The analysis categorised the offerings according to:

Continue reading Making sense of operators’ cyber security offerings in 14 countries →
5G, Analysis, data monetisation, fixed data usage, FWA, mobile data usage, South Korea

Further slowdown in data usage growth causes positive ARPU development to soften

Tefficient’s 35th public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data compares the trends of 46 countries from around the world. In our previous reports, we observed that the pandemic drove an increase in mobile data usage. However, during the second half of 2021 and into 2022, the demand for more mobile data slowed.

Greece experienced the fastest growth in mobile data usage, with a 45% increase. On the other end of the spectrum, Qatar, Peru, Malaysia, and Austria saw unusually slow growth rates of just 1-3%.

Continue reading Further slowdown in data usage growth causes positive ARPU development to soften →

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