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Telecom’s biggest vendors – 2Q24 edition

By Arun Menon published on September 27, 2024

The Telco Network Infrastructure (NI) market is driven by telecom operator (telco) spending, making the financial health and spending trends of telcos critical to examine. While 2Q24 telco s... read more

Will the data center gold rush come to an end?

By Matt Walker published on September 26, 2024

This short brief is focused on data center demand and the role of generative AI in spurring an uptick in investments, particularly in the webscale sector. This brief supports our pending cap... read more

Review of 2Q24 capex and outlook for all segments

By Matt Walker and Arun Menon published on September 12, 2024

This brief report reviews actual capex through June 2024 and the full-year outlook for key companies in three segments of communications network operators: telco, webscale and carrier-neutra... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 2Q24 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on August 23, 2024

After declining 5% in 2023, webscale capex has been on a tear for the first two quarters of 2024, growing 25% and 51% in 1Q24 and 2Q24 respectively. That pushed 2Q24 annualized capex to $226... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 1Q24 edition

By Arun Menon published on August 14, 2024

The Telco NI market is fueled by spending in the telecom operator (telco) sector, so the financial health and spending patterns of the telco market are worth reviewing. In 1Q24, telco capex ... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 1Q24 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on August 1, 2024

After staging a rebound of sorts in the previous two quarters, single quarter revenues for telecom network operators (telcos) dipped slightly by 0.7% year-over-year (YoY) in 1Q24 to post $44... read more

India’s CDOT continues to punch above its weight

By Matt Walker published on July 16, 2024

This brief is a short profile of India’s Centre for Development of Telematics (CDOT). CDOT is a widely misunderstood “public sector undertaking” (PSU) of the Indian government. It p... read more

Telco vendors navigate major market shifts as 5G winter sets in

By Arun Menon published on July 10, 2024

This brief analyzes demand for network infrastructure solutions (hardware, software, and services) in the telecommunications (telco) industry as of mid-2024. The brief addresses prospects fo... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 1Q24 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on June 13, 2024

Total capex for the four quarters ended 1Q24 was $204B, up 1.5%. For 1Q24 alone, capex was $56.9B, up a whopping 24.7%. Moreover, the tech piece of capex has been surging: Network/IT and sof... read more

Carrier-Neutral Network Operators: 4Q23 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on May 17, 2024

This report reviews the growth and development of the carrier-neutral network operator (CNNO) market. The report tracks a wide range of financial stats for 47 CNNOs across the globe, from 1Q... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 4Q23 edition

By Arun Menon published on May 9, 2024

The Telco NI market is fueled by spending in the telecom operator (telco) sector, so the financial health and spending patterns of the telco market are worth reviewing. In 4Q23, telco capex ... read more

Network operator capex ends 2023 at $543B, down 3% YoY; webscalers guiding up, telcos moderating

By Matt Walker published on May 3, 2024

This note summarizes 2023 capex results for each of three segments of network operators tracked by MTN Consulting: telco, webscale, and carrier-neutral. The note also discusses capex-related... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 4Q23 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on April 12, 2024

After staging a rebound in the previous quarter, single quarter revenues for telecom network operators (telcos) continued an upward march in 4Q23 by growing at a modest rate of 1.7% YoY to p... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 4Q23 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on April 8, 2024

Revenues for the webscale sector floundered in 2022, but the opposite happened in 2023. In 2023, global economic growth improved, the digital ad market recovered, TikTok began to face some b... read more

LEO Satellite News Tracker: 1Q24

By Arun Menon published on March 7, 2024

The LEO (Low Earth Orbit) satellite industry is rapidly evolving, with advancements in technology, new launches, regulatory changes, and market developments shaping its trajectory. Keeping t... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 3Q23 edition

By Arun Menon published on January 9, 2024

The Telco NI market is fueled by spending in the telecom operator (telco) sector, so the financial health and spending patterns of the telco market are worth reviewing. In 3Q23, telco capex ... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 3Q23 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on December 23, 2023

Telco revenues staged a recovery of sorts in the latest single quarter, growing by a slender 0.3% on a YoY basis to post $437.8 billion (B) in the three-month period covered by 3Q23 (July - ... read more

Network Operator Forecast Through 2028

By Matt Walker published on December 21, 2023

This forecast report presents our latest projections for the network operator market, spanning telecommunications operators (telcos), webscalers, and carrier-neutral network operators (CNNOs... read more

Telecom industry needs to up its green game

By Matt Walker published on December 8, 2023

This note addresses carbon footprint trends in the telecom industry. We present data on emissions by the telecom services sector and their major suppliers in the 2020-22 period, and assess i... read more

Gen AI hype grips telecom industry as telcos unravel its potential

By Arun Menon published on November 24, 2023

This brief report explores the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) in two specific telco domains. The report also discusses the in-house Gen AI developmen... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 3Q23 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on November 23, 2023

This report reviews the growth and development of the webscale network operator (WNO) market since 2011. In the most recent 12 months (4Q22-3Q23), webscalers represented $2.32 trillion (T) i... read more

Capex forecast check, 3Q23: Telco spending slips

By Matt Walker published on November 15, 2023

This comment provides an early review of 3Q23 market growth and spending metrics for the telecommunications operator (telco) market. MTN Consulting’s latest forecast called for $320B of te... read more

Capex forecast check, 3Q23: webscale & CNNO

By Matt Walker published on November 8, 2023

This short note provides an early review of 3Q23 market growth and capex spending figures for two of the three operator segments we cover: webscale, and carrier-neutral. (Our third segment, ... read more

China’s digital silk road, Huawei, and the entity list

By Matt Walker published on October 16, 2023

This brief addresses the enduring power of Huawei in the market for telecommunications network infrastructure (Telco NI). Per MTN Consulting’s latest Telco NI vendor share report, Huawei r... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 2Q23 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on September 27, 2023

Capex declined again in the latest single quarter after managing a recovery of sorts in 1Q23. Telcos in the US, China, and Europe are moving past peak 5G capital investment levels and are lo... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 2Q23 edition

By Arun Menon published on September 13, 2023

The Telco NI market is fueled by spending in the telecom operator (telco) sector, so the financial health and spending patterns of the telco market are worth reviewing. The Telco NI marke... read more

Carrier-neutrals hope to ride the GenAI wave

By Matt Walker published on September 12, 2023

This brief is focused on the carrier-neutral network operator (CNNO) sector. CNNOs sell independent, carrier-neutral access to network infrastructure, including bandwidth (fiber), data cente... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 2Q23 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on September 4, 2023

This report reviews the growth and development of the webscale network operator (WNO) market since 2011. In the most recent 12 months (3Q22-2Q23), webscalers represented $2.28 trillion (T) i... read more

Operators fail to break energy addiction in 2022

By Matt Walker published on August 22, 2023

This brief examines energy consumption in the network operator industry, spanning telcos, webscalers, and carrier-neutral operators (CNNOs). The report assesses energy consumption trends alo... read more

Network Operator Forecast Through 2027: Mid-Year Update

By Matt Walker published on July 27, 2023

This forecast spreadsheet details MTN Consulting’s forecast for revenues, capex, headcount, and other metrics across three segments of network operators: telecom operators (telcos), websca... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 1Q23 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on July 21, 2023

Telco spending staged a modest recovery of sorts in the latest single quarter after consecutive declines in the prior two quarters. Capex grew by 0.8% on a YoY basis to post $77.7B in 1Q23. ... read more

Telco network energy efficiency rising 12% per year

By Matt Walker published on July 12, 2023

The group of 16 telcos included in this analysis represent over 40% of the global market, based on revenues. On a revenue basis, our data verify the well-known revenue-traffic conundrum: in ... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 1Q23 edition

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on June 30, 2023

The Telco NI market is fueled by spending in the telecom operator (telco) sector, so the financial health and spending patterns of the telco market are worth reviewing. Vendors in the Tel... read more

Telco Opex Analyzer, 2016-22

By Arun Menon published on June 13, 2023

This report examines opex trends in the telecommunications network operator (TNO, or telco) market. This new edition has expanded the sample telco group coverage from 30 to 33 companies, and... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 1Q23 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on June 2, 2023

This report reviews the growth and development of the webscale network operator (WNO) market. In the most recent 12 months (2Q22-1Q23), webscalers represented $2.25 trillion (T) in revenues ... read more

Vendors need green credentials to win telco business

By Matt Walker published on May 11, 2023

This brief report addresses telco procurement in the context of the rising importance of environmental sustainability. It discusses how telcos are tracking the greenness of their external sp... read more

Satellite players bet on direct-to-device (D2D), IoT, and cloud for next big liftoff

By Arun Menon published on May 11, 2023

This brief report explores three potential new growth markets for satellite operators who are looking to overcome intense competition, tough macro conditions, and the niche nature of their m... read more

Telcos pay 5G price: higher debt, lower margins in 2022

By Matt Walker published on May 3, 2023

This brief report presents data aimed at shedding light on the following question: can telcos afford to pay for their future investment needs? The report considers debt, cash, and margin met... read more

Telecom industry downsizes further in 2022

By Matt Walker published on April 26, 2023

This brief report addresses workforce trends in the telecom industry, with a focus on the telecom network operator (telco) sector. It presents data on telco sector employees over time, compa... read more

Energy costs spike 2022 opex for carrier-neutral sector

By Matt Walker published on April 20, 2023

This brief presents data on energy spending by operators of cell towers, data centers, and fiber networks, and discusses the implications of the data and likely future directions. Utilities ... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 4Q22 edition

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on April 17, 2023

The Telco NI market is fueled by spending in the telecom operator (telco) sector, so the financial health and spending patterns of the telco market are worth reviewing. In 4Q22, the telco... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 4Q22 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on April 3, 2023

Telco revenues plunged the most in more than a decade by 9.3% on a YoY basis to post $429.6 billion (B) in the latest single quarter ending 4Q22. The quarterly dip was also the fifth consecu... read more

Carrier-Neutral Network Operators: 4Q22 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on March 31, 2023

This interactive spreadsheet model is a detailed financial and operational review of the carrier-neutral network operator (CNNO) market for the 2011-2022 period. This report tracks 47 CNNOs ... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 4Q22 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on March 24, 2023

This report reviews the growth and development of the webscale network operator (WNO) market. In 2022, webscalers represented $2.23 trillion (T) in revenues (+4% YoY), $268 billion (B) in R&... read more

Telco NI vendor growth slips to 2% YoY in 2022

By Matt Walker published on March 16, 2023

This brief provides a snapshot of preliminary 2022 results for the telco network infrastructure (Telco NI) market. It discusses demand and supply trends in Telco NI based on revenue reports ... read more

Huge capex outlays for 5G fail to drive revenues

By Matt Walker and Arun Menon published on March 9, 2023

This brief presents a new data series compiled by MTN Consulting. We already publish quarterly total revenues for the global telco market. This new series provides a breakdown of revenues in... read more

Webscale capex exceeds $200 billion in 2022

By Matt Walker published on March 1, 2023

This brief provides a snapshot of 4Q22 financial results for the webscale network operator (WNO) sector. Financial results for the webscale sector are available for ~85% of the market. Ba... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 3Q22 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on December 29, 2022

Stalled revenue growth and macro pressures somewhat impacted the capex spend of telcos in the latest quarter. Telco investments declined, for the first time since 4Q20, by 5% on a YoY basis ... read more

Network Operator Forecast Through 2027

By Matt Walker published on December 16, 2022

Revenues from the aggregate of our three segments – telco, webscale, and carrier-neutral – were $4,121 billion (B) in 2021, and will grow to $5,755B by 2027. Three segment capex ended 20... read more

Carrier-neutral growth slows in 2022 amid consolidation

By Matt Walker published on December 14, 2022

This short note provides a brief review of the development of the carrier-neutral network operator (CNNO) market through the third quarter of 2022 (3Q22). CNNO revenues were approximately... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 3Q22 edition

By Matt Walker published on December 9, 2022

Early figures for the 3Q22 telco market are now available. Global telco revenues were $435.0B, down 6.6% YoY, the fourth straight decline in a row. That pushes annualized revenues to $1,821.... read more

Telco climate goals require vendor support

By Matt Walker published on December 6, 2022

This brief report addresses the role of the supply chain in telco efforts to reduce their overall measured carbon footprint across Scopes 1 (direct energy), 2 (electricity purchases), and 3 ... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 3Q22 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on November 24, 2022

This report reviews the growth and development of the webscale network operator (WNO) market. On an annualized (12 month) basis through 3Q22, webscalers represent $2.23 trillion (T) in reven... read more

Telco NI vendor revenue growth slows to 3% in 3Q22

By Matt Walker published on November 10, 2022

This brief report provides a preliminary review of the 3Q22 vendor market for Telco Network Infrastructure. As of November 9, third quarter 2022 (3Q22) earnings results are available for ... read more

Network operator power use grew 10% in 2021

By Matt Walker published on October 25, 2022

This brief examines power consumption in the network operator industry, spanning telcos, webscalers, and carrier-neutral operators (CNNOs). This is based on a bottoms-up review of sustainabi... read more

Huawei’s quest for resurgence

By Arun Menon published on October 4, 2022

To rebuild its supply chain, Huawei is aspiring to build end-to-end home-grown innovation to power both its hardware- and cloud-related businesses. While its chip subsidiary, HiSilicon, desi... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 2Q22 edition

By Matt Walker published on September 22, 2022

Despite stalled revenue growth and macro pressures, telcos continue to go on a spending spree. For the annualized 2Q22 period, telco capex was $329.5B, while the ratio of capex to revenues (... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 2Q22 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on September 20, 2022

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through June 2022 (2Q22). The report tracks revenue, capex and emp... read more

Data center spending surges in carrier-neutral market in 1H22

By Matt Walker published on September 15, 2022

MTN Consulting tracks three segments of network operators: telco, webscale, and carrier-neutral (CNNO). The CNNO market is by far the smallest, accounting for 2.2% of 2017-21 combined operat... read more

Optics demand strong on eve of ECOC

By Matt Walker published on September 15, 2022

Telco earnings reports from 2Q22 make clear that the spending climate remains strong. Capex climbed 3% YoY, pushing annualized capital intensity (capex/revenues) up further to 17.8% - the hi... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 2Q22 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on September 12, 2022

This report reviews the growth and development of the webscale network operator (WNO) market. On an annualized (12 month) basis through 2Q22, webscalers represent $2.21 trillion (T) in reven... read more

Telcos lean on new tech and partnerships to drive sweeping cost efficiencies

By Arun Menon published on August 23, 2022

Telcos worldwide are finally getting onboard the 5G bus, delivering high speeds with low-latency and seamless experience to enterprises and consumers. The latest connectivity standard presen... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 1Q22 edition

By Matt Walker published on July 21, 2022

Some of Telco NI’s recent growth is a bounce back from COVID-plagued 2020, when telco spending weakened. But more of the growth is due to high overall demand. Telcos are spending more on c... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 1Q22 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on June 30, 2022

ABSTRACT 1Q22 RESULTS SUMMARY Telco topline plunges again After a blockbuster year which saw telcos attaining the strongest annual growth rate (5.3%) in a decade, the telco topline... read more

Network Operator Forecast Through 2026 (June 2022 update)

By Matt Walker published on June 17, 2022

This network operator forecast aggregates expectations for three network operator segments: telco, webscale, and carrier-neutral (CNNO). In 2021, these three markets accounted for $4.116 tri... read more

Carrier-Neutral Network Operators: 4Q21 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on June 10, 2022

This interactive spreadsheet model is a detailed financial and operational review of the carrier-neutral network operator (CNNO) market for the 2011-2021 period. This report tracks 45 CNNOs ... read more

Telco Opex Analyzer, 2016-21

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on June 9, 2022

MTN Consulting’s Telco Opex Analyzer analyzes the opex trends of a subset of key telcos in the telecommunications sector. The report’s dashboard allows a user to dig into overall spendin... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 1Q22 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on May 31, 2022

This report reviews the growth and development of the webscale network operator (WNO) market. On an annualized (12 month) basis through 1Q22, webscalers represent $2.19 trillion (T) in reven... read more

Telcos aim for the cloud by partnering with webscale cloud providers

By Arun Menon published on May 26, 2022

Telcos worldwide are deploying 5G connectivity services at a brisk pace. And with that comes the challenges of being able to monetize the new 5G-based services, ensure network operations eff... read more

Data Center Investment Tracker: 1Q22

By Matt Walker and Arun Menon published on May 23, 2022

Multiple types of companies are investing heavily in data center assets. Two years ago, the data center market was already vibrant, but COVID-19 gave this a boost as enterprises accelerated ... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 4Q21 edition

By Matt Walker published on April 8, 2022

The telco network infrastructure (Telco NI) market had a blockbuster year in 2021. Vendor revenues in the telco vertical surged 7.8% from 2020 to end the year at $232.1 billion (B). This was... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 4Q21 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on April 8, 2022

ABSTRACT 4Q21 RESULTS SUMMARY Final quarter decline tapers full-year topline growth to 5.3% After four growth quarters propelled by a pandemic-induced low base period, non-service ... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 4Q21 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on April 1, 2022

Revenues for the webscale sector of network operators ended 2021 at $2.14 trillion. That’s up 25% from 2020, and nearly 3x the total recorded in 2011. One reason for this is a dramatic upt... read more

Telco capex jumps 10% in 2021 to hit $325B

By Matt Walker published on March 16, 2022

The year 2021 was an unusual one in telecom. After a COVID-plagued 2020, telcos saw the strongest revenue growth in a decade: full-year 2021 revenues were $1,891 billion (B), up 5.5% from 20... read more

Data Center Investment Tracker: 4Q21

By Matt Walker and Arun Menon published on February 15, 2022

Multiple types of companies are investing heavily in data center assets. Two years ago, the data center market was already vibrant, but COVID-19 gave this a boost as enterprises accelerated ... read more

Amazon and Microsoft power 4Q21 webscale capex

By Matt Walker published on February 8, 2022

Preliminary fourth quarter earnings results from the webscale segment of network operators (WNOs) indicates a continued strong appetite for data center and cloud investment. Companies report... read more

Tencent: Tech Spending Profile

By Matt Walker published on February 4, 2022

Tencent is China’s largest Internet company. It has built a huge network in China to support growth of its vast digital ecosystem of services, both those provided directly and by partners.... read more

India’s quest to conquer the 5G summit

By Arun Menon published on January 20, 2022

The Indian telecom sector is amid a dramatic transformation, thanks to the advent of the fifth generation (5G) telecommunications technology. 5G has the capability to connect almost everythi... read more

Network Operator Forecast Through 2026

By Matt Walker published on December 18, 2021

Global economies have recovered from the worst of last year’s pandemic, but COVID-19 has caused some long-term shifts in market dynamics. Network traffic growth rates have accelerated, new... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 3Q21 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on December 17, 2021

ABSTRACT 3Q21 RESULTS SUMMARY Telco revenue growth unscathed but slowing down After unusually high growth in the past two quarters mainly due to a pandemic-induced low base period, ... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 3Q21 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on December 16, 2021

Revenues for the webscale sector of network operators passed the $2 trillion mark in 3Q21, on an annualized basis, growing 29.1% YoY to reach $2.06T. The cloud is part of this; for the top t... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 3Q21 edition

By Matt Walker published on December 13, 2021

Telco markets are rising again. Vendor revenues in the telco network infrastructure (telco NI) market totaled $54.9B in 3Q21, up 5.7% YoY. Annualized telco NI revenues through 3Q21 were $225... read more

Telco Opex Analyzer, 2016-20

By Matt Walker and Arun Menon published on November 26, 2021

MTN Consulting’s Telco Opex Analyzer analyzes the opex trends of a subset of key telcos in the telecommunications sector. The report’s dashboard allows a user to dig into overall spendin... read more

Highlights from Nokia’s 2021 analyst event

By Matt Walker published on November 24, 2021

Nokia held an online forum for industry analysts last week. Over four days of presentations, the company presented a compelling case for why it will remain a top tier supplier to telcos as t... read more

Oracle Cloud rollout ramps up with Singapore opening

By Matt Walker published on November 10, 2021

Oracle announced the launch of its 33rd cloud region this week, in Singapore. It plans to expand its footprint to 44 regions by year-end 2022. Oracle has prioritized a rapid expansion across... read more

Facebook leading webscale network R&D

By Matt Walker published on October 29, 2021

The webscale sector of network operators spent nearly $1 trillion on R&D in the last decade. A rising portion of that R&D has targeted innovations in how their networks are built and... read more

Telco NI vendor revenues trending upwards

By Matt Walker published on October 29, 2021

The purpose of this report is to provide an early view of telco network spending trends by the vendors and a short outlook based on 3Q21 earnings.... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 2Q21 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on October 4, 2021

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through June 2021 (2Q21). The report tracks revenue, capex and emp... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 2Q21 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on October 1, 2021

Webscale revenues now $1.96 trillion over four quarters, more than telecom The step change in revenue growth for webscalers that appeared in late 2020 has continued. Year over year (YoY) ... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 2Q21 edition

By Matt Walker published on September 30, 2021

What a difference a year makes. Vendor revenues in the telco network infrastructure market (telco NI) grew again in 2Q21, rising 5.1% YoY after a 10.0% jump in 1Q21. Overall for the first ha... read more

Network Spending Profile: Swisscom

By Matt Walker published on September 13, 2021

Swisscom is Switzerland’s incumbent telco, 51% owned by the Swiss government. Its telco operations are in Switzerland and Italy. In 2020, total revenues were $11.8B, up 2.7% from 2019. Swi... read more

Network operator capex to hit $591B in 2025

By Matt Walker published on August 23, 2021

Summary This commentary explains the network spending forecast update issued in August 2021, comparing it to the forecast published in December 2020 (“Network operator capex to hit $520... read more

Competitive Intelligence Briefing: Data Center Chips

By Arun Menon published on August 12, 2021

Summary The battle is getting intense in the lucrative data center chips market amid supply chain shortages and delays caused by Covid-19 pandemic. Central to this battle is the Intel-AMD... read more

Carrier-Neutral Network Operators: 4Q20 Market Review

By Matt Walker and Arun Menon published on July 17, 2021

Over the last decade, the carrier-neutral network operator (CNNO) sector has evolved into a key part of the communications industry landscape. The CNNO model has helped telcos to slim down a... read more

Tomorrow’s carrier-neutral operators to integrate tower, fiber and data center assets

By Matt Walker published on July 16, 2021

MTN Consulting segments the carrier-neutral network operator (CNNO) market into three parts based on asset focus: towers, data centers, and bandwidth (fiber). These dividing lines have alway... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 1Q21 edition

By Matt Walker published on June 30, 2021

After struggling for the first three quarters of 2020, the telecom network infrastructure (telco NI) market has surged in the last two quarters. That is due to recovery from the worst of COV... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 1Q21 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on June 29, 2021

Webscale surges to $1.84 trillion in revenues, on par with the telecom sector   The webscale sector’s growth accelerated in 2020. The sudden, widespread need to work and study from home... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 1Q21 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on June 28, 2021

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through March 2021 (1Q21). The report tracks revenue, capex and em... read more

Telco Capex: 1Q21 Results & Outlook

By Matt Walker published on June 19, 2021

Revenues for the telecom sector saw a rebound in 1Q21, up 7.3% from 1Q20, to $473.2 billion. This is the fastest growth in at least a decade. Three factors are responsible. First, the base p... read more

Webscale Capex: 1Q21 Results & Outlook

By Matt Walker published on June 9, 2021

The webscale sector of network operators shows no signs of slowing up. After webscale network operator (WNO) revenues surged by 18% in 2020 to $1.7 trillion (T), growth accelerated in 1Q2... read more

Network Spending Profile: Etisalat

By Matt Walker published on May 25, 2021

The Emirates Telecommunications Group, better known as Etisalat, is the UAE’s largest telco group and the second largest in the MEA region. In 2020 Etisalat reported annual revenues of $14... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 4Q20 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on May 20, 2021

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through December 2020 (4Q20). The report tracks revenue, capex and... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 4Q20 edition

By Matt Walker published on April 27, 2021

The market for telecom network infrastructure (telco NI) vendor products and services declined by a relatively modest 0.6% in 2020, surprisingly, despite widespread economic downturns relate... read more

Network Spending Profile: Orange

By Matt Walker published on April 15, 2021

Orange is one of the largest telcos in the world. As of the end of 3Q20, its global rank was 9 based upon total employees and annualized capex, and 12 if based upon annualized revenues. With... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 4Q20 Market Review

By Matt Walker published on April 8, 2021

Webscale surges to $1.71 trillion in revenues, about to overtake telecom sector The webscale market of operators continued blockbuster growth in 2020, ending the year with just over $1.71... read more

Telco Capex: 4Q20 Results & Outlook

By Matt Walker published on March 30, 2021

The global telecom industry bounced back in 4Q20 with 3.4% and 1.2% YoY growth in revenues and capex, respectively. Revenues for CY2020 declined 1.1% to $1.794 trillion. This is not exactly ... read more

Biden aims to revamp US chip & telecom prowess amid China conflict

By Matt Walker published on March 19, 2021

The November 2020 election of Joe Biden to become the 46th President of the United States is having a number of sweeping effects. The most crucial one relates to the COVID-19 pandemic: Biden... read more

LEO satellite boom: Will the ‘second coming’ endure?

By Arun Menon published on March 8, 2021

The space communications industry is in the midst of a dramatic transformation, thanks to the advent of space technology companies such as SpaceX, and OneWeb. Both these new-age operators st... read more

Network Spending Profile: Comcast

By Matt Walker published on March 2, 2021

Comcast Corporation is a global media and communications conglomerate with two divisions offering telecommunications services based upon a cable TV-centric network infrastructure. The two un... read more

Network Spending Profile: Axiata

By Matt Walker published on February 12, 2021

Axiata is a Malaysia-based multinational mobile operator with presence in 11 Asian markets. Axiata provides digital telco services to mobile, home and enterprise customers; digital financial... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 3Q20 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on January 29, 2021

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through September 2020 (3Q20). The report tracks revenue, capex an... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 3Q20 edition

By Matt Walker published on January 15, 2021

Introduction The market for telecom network infrastructure (telco NI) vendor products and services grew in 3Q20, surprisingly, despite widespread economic downturns related to the COVID-1... read more

Network operator capex to hit $520B in 2025

By Matt Walker published on December 30, 2020

KEY FINDINGS Revenue growth for telco, webscale and carrier-neutral sector will average 1, 10, and 7% through 2025 Telecom network operator (TNO, or telco) revenues are on track for a ... read more

Visualizing World Markets, 2011-19

By Matt Walker published on October 27, 2020

The purpose of this report is to provide a compilation of demographic, economic and telecommunications statistics for a large number of countries (167) in a user-friendly format. Users simpl... read more

Intel’s Road to Redemption

By Arun Menon published on October 6, 2020

Summary After years of delay with 10nm chips, production roadblocks are again haunting Intel. The company has confirmed that its new line of server processors and chips based on 7nm proce... read more

Telco Capex: 2Q20 Results and Outlook

By Matt Walker published on October 1, 2020

Summary Webscale capex hit an all-time high in 2Q20, but the opposite happened in telecom. Telco capex in 2Q20 amounted to $65.5B, down 6.2% from the 2Q19 period. That pushed telco capex ... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 2Q20 edition

By Matt Walker published on September 25, 2020

Vendors signal a weak 2H in telco market after another YoY decline in 2Q20; China boosts Huawei Vendor revenues in the telco network infrastructure (telco NI) market declined again in 2Q2... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 2Q20 Market Review

By Subramanian Venkatraman published on September 22, 2020

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through June 2020 (2Q20). The report tracks revenue, capex and emp... read more

Commentary: Webscale Capex in 2Q20

By Matt Walker published on September 16, 2020

Summary Economies across the globe remain ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, with high unemployment and steep declines in GDP. Yet webscale network operators (WNOs) reached all-time highs ... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 2Q20 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on September 11, 2020

Shrugging off COVID-19 concerns, the webscale sector witnessed yet another strong quarter in 2Q20 aided by continued investments in network infrastructure. Single-quarter revenue growth inch... read more

Building the cloud: Webscale network supply chain analyzer (2Q20 edition)

By Arun Menon published on August 28, 2020

The world's largest technology companies are investing heavily in webscale networks. These are centered around enormous webscale, also known as "hyperscale" data centers, and the web of infr... read more

CNNO Playbook: Crown Castle

By Subramanian Venkatraman published on August 17, 2020

The big three U.S. telcos (AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile) have historically owned and operated their own towers. However, with rising debt and heavy costs involved in deploying the networks... read more

Webscale Playbook: Tencent

By Arun Menon published on August 14, 2020

Tencent’s meteoric rise into one of the leading internet businesses coincides with China’s internet boom that started at the end of 20th century. According to the ITU estimates, just ~1.... read more

Automation’s rise and the telecom engineer

By Matt Walker published on August 13, 2020

Automation is the key to telcos controlling their network engineering costs The telecommunications industry as a whole has been in “running to stand still” mode for at least a decad... read more

Telco Playbook: Jio Platforms Limited

By Matt Walker published on August 4, 2020

Jio Platforms has come a long way since its inception. It launched its own greenfield 4G operation in late 2016 and used aggressive pricing and careful planning to go from zero subscribers t... read more

Commentary: Politics cloud Huawei’s future

By Matt Walker published on July 11, 2020

Summary Huawei held its global industry analyst summit (GAS 2020) in late May, just days after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded its Entity List restrictions on the company. The new r... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 1Q20 Market Review

By Subramanian Venkatraman and Matt Walker published on July 1, 2020

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through January 2020 (1Q20). The report tracks revenue, capex and ... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 1Q20 Market Review

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on June 30, 2020

Webscale networks are centered around immense, “hyperscale” data centers and undersea cable systems that support network traffic from the tech companies' online retail, video, and social... read more

Commentary: Webscale Capex in 1Q20

By Matt Walker published on June 25, 2020

Summary While the telco sector struggled to achieve any growth at all in the first quarter of 2020 (1Q20), the webscale network operator (WNO) sector leveraged its strong balance sheet an... read more

Commentary: Telco Capex in 1Q20

By Matt Walker published on June 20, 2020

Summary Telecom network operator (telco) capital expenditures (capex) declined by approximately 1.3% year-over-year (YoY) to $70.2 billion in the first quarter of 2020 (1Q20), not nearly ... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 1Q20 edition

By Matt Walker published on June 10, 2020

Telco NI market undergoing disruption in 2020, from COVID-19, Huawei, and the webscale sector MTN Consulting has now finalized its analysis of vendor sales of network infrastructure (NI) ... read more

Carrier-Neutral Network Operators: 4Q19 Market Review

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on June 2, 2020

This is MTN Consulting’s comprehensive, Excel-based assessment of the Carrier-Neutral Network Operator (CNNO) market sector, including detailed financial & operational results from 201... read more

Telco software capex on the rise

By Matt Walker published on May 4, 2020

Software is central to telco efforts to compete Over the last two decades, software has become the key ingredient to delivering value in networks. That has accelerated in the last five ye... read more

The spectrum cost challenge to 5G

By Matt Walker published on April 27, 2020

Success of 5G relies heavily on affordable spectrum Telecom operators are in the midst of an expensive network upgrade to support 5G mobile communications. Buying the spectrum — the rad... read more

Telecom’s biggest vendors – 4Q19 edition

By Matt Walker published on April 17, 2020

This report is focused on technology spending by telecommunications network operators (TNOs, or telcos), covering 121 vendors from 2013-2019. Telco NI vendor revenues down 2% in 2019 I... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 4Q19 Market Review

By Subramanian Venkatraman and Matt Walker published on April 16, 2020

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through December 2019 (4Q19). The report tracks revenue, capex and... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 4Q19 Market Review

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on April 10, 2020

"Webscale networks are centered around immense, “hyperscale” data centers and undersea cable systems that support network traffic from the tech companies' online retail, video, and socia... read more

Operators facing power cost crunch

By Matt Walker published on March 27, 2020

For many years, telecommunications network operators (TNOs, or telcos) have faced slow revenue growth. Telco revenues grew 1-2% in 2017 and 2018, and declined 1.6% for the four quarters ende... read more

Building the cloud: Webscale network supply chain analyzer

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on March 4, 2020

MTN Consulting's "Webscale Network Supply Chain Analyzer" tracks technology spending in this sector by digging deep into the webscale-related supply chains of each operator. The Analyzer tra... read more

Bumpy road ahead for 5G transition

By Matt Walker published on February 25, 2020

Report summary Telecommunications network operators (TNOs, or telcos) have struggled for many years with flat revenues. They have faced a declining core market, yet have had to make conti... read more

Webscale Playbook: Apple

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on February 24, 2020

Apple has come far since its inception in 1976. It has progressed from selling user-friendly computer systems (Macintosh, iMac) and portable media players (iPod), to become a dominant force ... read more

Webscale Supply Chain Developments in 2019

By Matt Walker published on January 31, 2020

Deploying 5G will be expensive and many telcos are already short on cash. Telcos are seeking ways to benefit from the webscale sector’s scale & software expertise, while not giving up ... read more

Telecommunications Network Operators: 3Q19 Market Review

By Subramanian Venkatraman and Matt Walker published on January 13, 2020

This market review provides a comprehensive assessment of the global telecommunications industry based on financial results through September 2019 (3Q19). The report tracks revenue, capex an... read more

Webscale Network Operators: 3Q19 Market Review

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on January 8, 2020

"After successive slumps in capex during the first two quarters of 2019, global webscale operators loosened their purse strings somewhat in 3Q19. Capex spend grew slightly by 1% YoY in 3Q19 ... read more

Carrier-Neutral Network Operators: 2Q19 Market Review

By Arun Menon published on October 4, 2019

This is MTN Consulting’s comprehensive, Excel-based assessment of the Carrier-Neutral Network Operator (CNNO) market sector, including detailed financial & operational results from 201... read more

Webscale Playbook: Facebook

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on July 2, 2019

This report is the sixth in MTN Consulting’s Webscale Playbook series, which analyze the “Super 8” webscale network operators (WNOs), i.e. Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Baidu, Face... read more

TNO Playbook: AT&T

By Subramanian Venkatraman published on June 18, 2019

This report is the first in MTN Consulting’s TNO Playbook series. This report was prepared as part of MTN Consulting’s Global Network Infrastructure tracker. Our GNI tracker covers three... read more

Building the cloud: Webscale network supply chain analyzer

By Matt Walker and Arun Menon published on June 3, 2019

MTN Consulting's "Webscale Network Supply Chain Analyzer" tracks technology spending in this sector by digging deep into the webscale-related supply chains of each operator. The Analyzer tra... read more

Webscale Playbook: Microsoft

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on March 4, 2019

This report is the fifth in MTN Consulting’s Webscale Playbook series, which analyze the “Super 8” webscale network operators (WNOs), i.e. Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Baidu, Face... read more

Telecommunications Labor Market Review: Canada

By Matt Walker and Subramanian Venkatraman published on January 29, 2019

This report is the first in MTN Consulting’s “Telecommunications Labor Market Review” series. This series provides country-level analysis of labor markets in the telecommunications net... read more

Webscale Playbook: Baidu

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on December 14, 2018

This report is the fourth in MTN Consulting’s Webscale Playbook series, which analyze the “Super 8” webscale network operators (WNOs), i.e. Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Baidu, Fac... read more

Webscale Playbook: Alphabet

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on December 3, 2018

This report is the third in MTN Consulting’s Webscale Playbook series, which analyze the “Super 8” webscale network operators (WNOs), i.e. Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Baidu, Face... read more

Egypt: Network Infrastructure Overview

By Matt Walker published on October 25, 2018

This report is the first in MTN Consulting’s series of country-level network studies, focused on Egypt. The objective of this report is to assess Egypt's telecommunications market, address... read more

Webscale Playbook: Alibaba

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on October 25, 2018

This report is the second in MTN Consulting’s Webscale Playbook series, which analyze the “Super 8” webscale network operators, i.e. Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Baidu, Facebook, ... read more

Webscale Playbook: Amazon

By Arun Menon and Matt Walker published on September 27, 2018

This report is the first in MTN Consulting’s Webscale Playbook series, which analyze the “Super 8” webscale network operators (WNOs), i.e. Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Baidu, Face... read more