Telecom Lead Europe: European cable operators expect a
revenue growth of over 5 percent per year until 2014, mainly driven by
opportunities in broadband, mobile, next-gen TV and B2B.
A survey by Solon Management Consulting said EBITDA
margin will expand by 2 percent up to 48 percent on average during the same
period.
The survey found that majority of cable operators has
moved into the mobile and the B2B business.
After experiencing initial draw-backs in gaining a
foothold in these segments, these operators are now reporting an increase in
revenues and expect strong growth in the coming years.
“TV customers increasingly prefer tailor-made video
offerings rather than 20-30 analog channels. TV customers look for HD TV,
digital recorders as well as movies and TV series on demand. This is the reason
why 86 percent of participating cable CEOs put next-generation-TV on top of
their strategic agenda,” said Christian Teichmann, managing director at
Solon Management Consulting in London.
For the first time, cable operators forecast a declining
basic TV penetration while the pay-TV penetration is forecast to continue to
grow.
The survey noted that next-generation TV services are the
main tool to protect the TV customer base of cable operators
In addition, the survey said that major elements of
future TV services include multi-screen, TV-everywhere and next-generation
STBs.
The survey found that the uptake of online video usage on
multiple devices in consumers’ homes will lead to a further increase of average
bandwidths.
“The Solon Survey of European Cable Communication
clearly shows that cable operators are planning to continue the battle for
dominance with telecoms incumbents by pushing quadruple-play offers (TV,
broadband, telephony and mobile) as well as B2B services,” Teichmann
added.
