Nation (26th January, 2012) - DATA SERVICES IS NEXT GROWTH OPPORTUNITY FOR TELCOS
As communications revenue growth weakens in the face of increased competition and saturation of the voice market, data traffic is expected to be an avenue for telecommunications operators to shore up their ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) earnings, a new report by FBN Capital has said.
According to the report by the asset management and investment arm of the First Bank of Nigeria, telecommunications operators are at a turning point in the evolution of their industry; their traditional source of revenue, which is voice, is being commoditised, making it harder to raise the funds needed.
With the market saturating, communications revenue growth as a whole is beginning to stall. In response, operators are moving away from the traditional structures into far-reaching horizontal business models that cut across operators’ boundaries and are adapted to the hypercompetitive markets.
FBN Capital analysis of subscriber data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for November 2011 showed that the number of active telecoms lines in the country continued to grow in H2 (Second Half) of 2011 after a lacklustre H1 (First Half). The report noted that active lines grew 1.6 per cent month on month, being the fastest since January 2011, to 95.4m
