UK's telcos continue to upgrade fixed and mobile networks amid economic turmoil
The UK telecoms market has seen declining revenue for several years, despite gains in subscriber numbers in some of the key growth areas of the market, particularly broadband, as well as in increases in data traffic, which was sustained at a lower level of growth following the easing of travel restrictions imposed during periods of lockdown in 2020. Revenue decline reflects the steady drop in ARPU which has resulted from an increased customer preference for bundling, as well as competitive pricing among all telcos.The telco market's gradual downward trend is also indicative of the tumultuous economic conditions within the UK. The effects of the pandemic and Brexit contributed to a 9.9% fall in GDP in 2020, a level more severe than all other G7 member states. Although GDP growth returned in 2021 and 2023, the IMF anticipated that growth for 2023 would be marginal. The OECD noted that GDP in the first quarter of 2023 was only 0.2%, year-on-year, far below the OECD average. This poor performance is reflected in economic hardship among households, which in turn has negatively impacted telcos revenue.
The government remains committed to maintaining a strong and competitive telecommunications environment. In policy and in investment, the industry is receiving a high level of government support for rolling out broadband throughout the country, with a focus on developing fibre infrastructure and upgrading from legacy copper networks. There is a particularly strong push to extend coverage into more rural and remote areas, with a national Full Fibre broadband access target set for 2033. One of the additional downsides to the UK's withdrawal from the EU, however, is that the country no longer has access to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which previously provided much of the cash for the development of broadband. The UK government must instead fund its fibre-broadband initiatives using internal resources.
Key Developments:
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Table of Contents
- Key statistics
- Regional Latin America Market Comparison
- Market characteristics
- Market Leaders
- Market Challengers
- Market Emergents
- TMI versus GDP
- Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
- Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration
- Country overview
- Telecommunications market
- Historical overview
- Market analysis
- Regulatory environment
- Regulatory authority
- Fixed-line developments
- Telecom sector liberalisation in Uruguay
- Privatisation
- Media Law - December 2014
- Ceibal Plan
- Internet for All (Universal Hogares)
- Universal Telecommunications Fund (FUT)
- Roaming
- Mobile network developments
- Spectrum allocations and spectrum auctions
- Spectrum auction - 2013
- Spectrum auction - 2017
- 5G-suitable spectrum - 2019
- 5G-suitable spectrum - 2022
- SIM card registration
- Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
- Interconnection
- Mobile market
- Market analysis
- Mobile statistics
- Mobile data
- Short Message Service (SMS)
- Mobile broadband
- Mobile infrastructure
- 5G
- 4G (LTE)
- 3G
- Mobile satellite
- Major mobile operators
- Antel
- Movistar (Telefonica)
- Claro (América Móvil)
- Fixed-line broadband market
- Market analysis
- Broadband statistics
- Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
- Digital economy
- Internet of Things (IoT)
- Electronic payments
- Fixed network operators
- Antel
- Telecommunications infrastructure
- Overview of the national telecom network
- International infrastructure
- Submarine cable networks
- Satellite
- Infrastructure developments
- Fixed-wireless and Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
- Wholesale
- Appendix - Historic data
- Glossary of abbreviations
- Related reports
List of Tables
List of Charts
List of Exhibits
Companies Mentioned
- British Telecom (BT)
- KCOM
- Virgin Media O2 (VMO2)
- Hutchison Three (H3)
- EE
- Vodafone
- Liberty Global
- Telefonica
- Ericsson
- Virgin Mobile
- Openreach
- Eutelsat
- Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC)
- COLT
- Dixons Carphone Group/Carphone Warehouse
- TalkTalk
- Sky
- OneWeb.
