LONDON – 26 February 2009 – Telecom operators believed they had found the next killer application after the IPTV debut in 2000. Since growing almost 85% from less than 3 million subscribers in 2006, to 5.5 million in 2007, adoption rates are slowing steadily. Experts predict a weak economic atmosphere through 2010. With this in mind, Frost & Sullivan revised the previous year's growth forecast of a 3-year CAGR 29% downwards to less than 15%. A change in media consumption patterns should mark a turning point in the telecommunications and media industries.

"A disappointing IPTV performance is not the end of the road for Telecom incumbents but it has spurred new service creation and more innovative business models across the value chain. As end user media consumption patterns change, both telcos and broadcasters face a window of opportunity to invest and/or collaborate to meet the evolving user demand," states Yiru Zhong, an analyst for Frost & Sullivan's Information & Communication Technologies group.

Video seems to be the way of the future. To tap that end user's consumption of videos, broadcasters and other high definition content aggregators have operational needs to demand higher quality and secure network for delivering content to users. Telecom operators on the other hand can bridge the gap between users and broadcasters and other content aggregators by enabling a communication network with varying QoS at different price levels. This is an important change in order to compensate for the decline in bundled service margins.

Once operators and media providers are able to deliver and customize the video content to end users' expectations, the TV revenue potential could add between 15-22% of telecom operators' retail revenue in the top 5 Western European markets. In the UK alone, it is expected that TV revenues could grow at an 8% 5-year CAGR, which is a more robust rate than both the fixed and mobile communications sectors. However, the current lack of momentum is not sufficient to rejuvenate overall revenue growth in telecommunication services yet. Operators will need to continue to improve QoS, extend coverage and distribution, form more alliances and create more innovative services.

Two big players in the industry, BT Vision and Virgin Media focus on expanding their service portfolio to cover as much as the end user's entertainment, media and communication needs. BT Vision hopes to boost revenues through alliances, with products such as Microsoft's Xbox to capture the gaming community within the residential segment. Virgin Media took a different route, focusing more on the trend of service convergence such as its much hyped "QuadPlay" offering in UK. Virgin Media has also leveraged shifting end user habits of media consumption and the emergence of Over-the-Top (OTT) media players such as BBC's iPlayer. These are just two UK examples of telecom operators accelerating their service portfolio expansion to capture end users' media consumption habits.

"Competition combined with a cap in consumer's willingness to pay for entertainment and communications services had led to less profitable service bundles. Having said that, the emergence of a change in media consumption habits point the way to a brighter outlook for the industry," says Yiru Zhong.

For more information about IPTV and/or the telecommunications market in Europe, please email Joanna Lewandowska at joanna.lewandowska@frost.com Please include your company name, query and contact information.

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Frost & Sullivan has expanded its flagship Global Congress on Corporate Growth - GIL Global - into several major cities around the world including London. For the first time ever in Europe, Frost & Sullivan will be hosting the Growth, Innovation and Leadership Congress 'GIL 2009: Europe' on 19-20 May, at the Sofitel St James in London. GIL Global is the industry's only event designed to support senior executives in their efforts to achieve sustainable, top-line growth. To register, obtain a programme agenda, explore sponsorship opportunities, or attend as a member of the media for GIL 2009: Europe, please contact Joanna Lewandowska, Corporate Communications for Frost & Sullivan in Europe, at Joanna.lewandowska@frost.com. One-on-One interviews with Frost & Sullivan senior growth consultants are also being scheduled. For more information you can also visit www.frost.com/gilglobal

Contact:

Joanna Lewandowska
Corporate Communications – Europe
P: +48 22 390 41 46
E: joanna.lewandowska@frost.com