Spending on Telecom Services and Pay TV Will Reach $1,647 Billion in 2020

Worldwide spending on telecom services and pay TV services will reach $1,633 billion in 2019, an increase of 0.8% year on year, according to IDC. The analytics company expects this figure to reach $1,647 billion in 2020, representing an increase of 0.9%.

Mobile remains the largest segment of the market, accounting for 52.8% of the total in 2019. The mobile market is set to post a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.3% over the 2019-2023 period, driven by the growth in mobile data usage and M2M applications, which is offsetting declines in spending on mobile voice and messaging services.

Fixed data service spending represents 21.7% of the total market in 2019, with an expected CAGR of 3.3%, driven by the need for higher bandwidth services. Spending on fixed voice services will post a CAGR of negative 4.8% over the forecast period and will represent only 8.5% of the total market by 2023. Rapidly declining TDM voice revenues are not being offset by the increase in IP voice.

On a geographical basis, the Americas was the largest services market, with revenues of $630 billion in 2019, driven by the large North American sector. Asia Pacific was the second largest region, followed by Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). The markets with the fastest year-on-year growth in 2019 were EMEA, driven mainly by emerging markets, followed by the Americas.

The introduction of 5G, the latest big thing to hit the global telecommunications market, has recently begun to make an impact. Promising improved architectures, speeds, and services that will remake the mobile landscape, this technology has already been launched in more advanced markets such as Korea, the U.S., U.K., Germany, and China. IDC forecasts that the number of mobile 5G subscriptions will surpass one billion by 2023.

“By introducing extremely high speeds and ultra-reliable low latency, 5G will create the infrastructural foundation for a smarter and even more connected world," says Kresimir Alic, research director with IDC's Worldwide Telecom Services. "It will also generate new opportunities for telecom services operators. More than ever before, these companies will be expected to create, innovate, and educate, becoming true leaders of the global digital revolution.