New players could shake up the broadband market, which
is set to make $75bn (£40bn) in worldwide total revenues this year,
industry analysts believe.
The growing broadband market is set to top $145bn in revenues by
2010, attracting new players from different industries seeking a
piece of the pie, a new report from analyst firm Arthur D Little
says.
The report, Next Generation Networks in Europe - Broadband in
2011 and Beyond, argues that although broadband providers now
compete over speed and price, this will change as bandwidth becomes
a commodity and service bundling will be the main driver of
growth.
Today’s major telecommunications providers are likely to face
sharp competition from internet firms such as Yahoo, MSN, Google
and Apple acting as content aggregators and service providers, the
report says.
Operators will compete to provide more flexible packages for
users, with integrated fixed and mobile services. Arthur D Little
believes this competition will spark further infrastructure
investments into next generation networks as well as squeezing
prices.
Michael Natusch of Arthur D Little said, “We believe that the
market will converge and consolidate. The growth in broadband
subscribers has been impressive and is expected to show
double-digit growth in important global markets.”