Global Network Operator Capex to Hit $520B in 2025

Dublin, March 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Network Operator Capex to Hit $520B in 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Telecom network operator (TNO, or telco) revenues are on track for a significant decline in 2020, with the industry hit by COVID-19 even as webscale operators (WNOs) experienced yet another growth surge as much of the world was forced to work and study from home. For 2020, telco, webscale, and carrier-neutral revenues are likely to reach $1.75 trillion (T), $1.63T, and $71 billion (B), amounting to YoY growth of -3.7%, +12.2%, and 5.0%, respectively. Telcos will recover and webscale will slow down, but this range of growth rates will persist for several years. By 2025, the webscale sector will dominate with revenues of approximately $2.51 trillion, followed by $1.88 trillion for the telco sector and $108 billion for carrier-neutral operators (CNNOs).

Network operator capex will grow to $520B by 2025

In 2019, telco, webscale and carrier-neutral capex totaled $420 billion, a total which is set to grow to $520 billion by 2025. The composition will change starkly though: telcos will account for 53% of industry capex by 2025, from 9% in 2019; webscale operators will grow from 25% to 39% in the same timeframe; and, carrier-neutral providers will add 8% of total capex in 2025 from their 2019 level of 6%.

By 2025, the webscale sector will employ more than the telecom industry

As telcos deploy automation more widely and cast off parts of their network to the carrier-neutral sector, their employee base should decline from 5.1 million in 2019 to 4.5 million in 2025. The cost of the average telco employee will rise significantly in the same timeframe, as they will require many of the same software and IT skills currently prevalent in the webscale workforce. For their part, webscale operators have already grown from 1.3 million staff in 2011 to 2.8 million in 2019, but continued rapid growth in the sector (especially its ecommerce arms) will spur further growth in employment to reach roughly 4.8 million by 2025. The carrier-neutral sector's headcount will grow far more modestly, rising from 90 million in 2019 to about 119 million in 2025. Managing physical assets like towers tends to involve a far lighter human touch than managing network equipment and software.

This report presents the publisher's first annual forecast of network operator capex. The scope includes telecommunications, webscale and carrier-neutral network operators. The forecast presents revenue, capex and employee figures for each market, both historical and projected, and discusses the likely evolution of the three sectors through 2025. In the discussion of the individual sectors, some additional data series are projected and analyzed; for example, network operations opex in the telco sector.

The forecast report presents a baseline, most likely case of industry growth, taking into account the significant upheaval in communication markets experienced during 2020. Based on their analysis, the publisher projects that total network operator capex will grow from $420 billion in 2020 to $520 billion in 2025, driven by substantial gains in the webscale and (much less so) carrier-neutral segments. The primary audience for the report is technology vendors, with telcos and webscale/cloud operators a secondary audience.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Key Findings and Recommendations

2. Summary

3. Telco Market Forecast

4. Webscale Market Forecast

5. Carrier-neutral Market Forecast

6. Appendix 1: Forecast results

Companies Mentioned

• Affirmed

• Alcatel-Lucent

• Alibaba

• Alphabet

• Altiostar

• AMD

• Ampere

• Apple

• Arm Semiconductor

• AT&T

• AWS

• Azure

• Baidu

• BCE

• BSNL

• BT

• Cellnex

• China Tower

• ChinData

• Chorus

• CK Hutch

• Crown Castle

• DataBank

• Digital Colony Partners

• Digital Realty

• eir

• Equinix

• Ericsson

• Facebook

• FiberHome

• Fujitsu

• GCP

• GDS Data Centers

• GTT Communications

• HPE

• Huawei

• I Squared Capital

• IBM

• InSite Wireless

• Intel

• Interxion

• INWIT

• Jio Platforms

• KT

• Level 3

• Lumen Technologies

• Metaswitch

• Microsoft

• MTNL

• NBN Australia

• NEC

• Nokia

• NVIDIA

• Oracle

• Orange

• Packet

• Parallel Wireless

• Phoenix Tower

• Radisys

• Rakuten

• Reliance Industries

• Rogers Communications

• Samsung Electronics

• SAP

• SBA Communications

• SingTel

• Softbank

• Tech Mahindra

• Telecom Italia

• Telefonica

• Telxius

• Tencent

• Terremark

• Time Warner

• TSMC

• Twitter

• Vantage Ventures

• Verizon

• Vodafone

• Yahoo!

• Yandex

• Zayo

• Zoom

• ZTE

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8bc2mr

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