Telecom Convergence Analysis

1. Executive Summary

The communications industry is facing unparalleled changes which are breaking down traditional industry boundaries. Providers from different technologies and backgrounds all focus on the same converged service offerings.

On the one hand, customer demand for convergent services and content provide new revenue opportunities. At the same time, intensifying competition from existing industry players and new market entrants, including cable, ISPs, content providers and consumer brands, bring renewed demands for innovation and differentiation. Increasingly discerning customers expect a value added services experience, irrespective of technology. At a time of rapid technology change, these factors add to existing pressures on telecom infrastructures and market expectations for growth.

IP technology is the catalyst for this disruptive change. Convergence brings together previously parallel networks (cellular, fixed, enterprise, Internet) onto a single IP-based infrastructure. Convergence enables integrated service propositions (Ў§tripleЎЁ and Ў§quadrupleЎЁ plays). Convergence enables virtually Ў§anytime, anywhere, anyhowЎЁ service delivery. Such changes present major challenges and demand renewed attention to strategies.

Convergence requires companies to take hard strategic choices on their positioning in the value chain, and ensure their investment and acquisition strategies are focused on building and accelerating revenues rather than shoring up declining legacy streams. PlayerЎ¦s responses to date reflect a number of different rationales: building scale and achieving cost synergies within discrete markets, extending the footprint to new geographies, and accessing new capabilities across industry boundaries. In this respect, GoogleЎ¦s strong brand and its proven ability to collaborate flexibly and in a gain-sharing way with a range of partners, notably content and technology providers