Telco positioning in W. Europe

Telco positioning in W. Europe

It is no more the good old days for European incumbents. Monopolies are ended, competition is fierce and market shares are down. When put in figures, the situation is somewhat different according to the country and local regulations, but on average, incumbents lost about 40% market share to alternative carriers. The “worst” situation is in the UK where BT holds less than 32% of its market. The UK was the first to open its market, more than 20 years ago, and a lot of competitive carriers entered the market. BT, however, reported last week good financial results, without being excluded of potential pray list (see rumor: DT/BT deal ). Deutsche Telecom in Germany lost almost 45% of its market to competitive carriers and the move was accelerating since 2002. France Telecom and Telefonica have similar figures, retaining about 62% of their respective local market, but here also the downwards trend is accelerating. It is clear, the wind is north and freezing, but the weather could turn south and more sunny again, when the market will have made consolidation, elimination of black ducks, retain competitive, professional and customer care proof offerings. Outside of niche markets, only mammoth carriers should be in a position to offer global bundled services across Europe.