Hung Up on Price

January 25, 2016 By FTI Consulting

In 2015, the debate around European telecoms chiefly focused on price when considering the impact of telecoms consolidation on consumers. In 2016, regulators’ attention may shift towards price per unit, the need for investment, innovation and customer service.

Research by FTI Consulting shows that the telecoms network operators face higher consumer expectations of network quality and availability, as a result of providing essential enabling technology for the broader internet ecosystem and meeting the ever-growing demand for data.

A consistent trend across all countries surveyed was for bandwidth satisfaction to lag behind concerns about money. Consumer dissatisfaction will only intensify with bandwidth-hungry applicaitons driving demand for ever-faster connections. The consistent picture of customers being marginally happier with price than service suggests that there may be room for network operators to increase prices if this can be clearly associated with an increase in service quality and bandwidth.

From a regulator’s perspective, with 5G on the horizon, network operators need sufficient incentive to make the necessary investments and this might be undermined by aggressive regulation.

Each month, FTI Consulting takes a look at some of the most shared stories from the Telecom, Media & Technology sector. This month’s insights predict what 2016 might bring in the form of cyber-security, consumer electronics, drones, and telecoms networks.

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The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of FTI Consulting LLP, its management, its subsidiaries, its affiliates, or its other professionals, members or employees.