October 3, 2003 -- Market conditions have improved significantly in the last two months, according to a survey of more than 100 telecom service providers by Sage Research Inc., a Boston-area market research firm.
Significantly, service providers said the current revenues are improving and their expectations of future revenue have "made a dramatic turnaround," according to Sage.
"The first three quarters of 2003 mark a significant upward trend in service provider confidence from the depths of the 'telecom bust' of 2001-2002," Sage said in its analysis.
"We started to see some tepid signs of recovery early in the year, and then a leveling off in March through May," said Sage Research Director Chris Neal. "But we're really seeing a definite upward trend over the summer months. This matches up with what we're hearing anecdotally from providers."
Neal said the September report was the most optimistic in the 18 months that the firm has been surveying telecom providers. The participants in the survey represent a cross-section of the telecom industry, with ILECs (23 percent), ISPs/web hosts (18 percent) and wireless companies (16 percent) representing the largest portion of the sampling. About 60 percent of the providers are based in North America.
The improved outlook is not limited to any one sector or region.
"We pretty much see it across the board," said Neal. "More service providers are increasing their level of spending, and more importantly, their actual revenues have been increasing."
Factors driving the improved revenue could include popular new features on wireless phones, as well as better adoption of broadband Internet access.
"It could also mean a lot of the competition has been weeded out," said Neal. "My sense is that a lot of the consolidation has run its course."
Founded in 1993, Sage Research is an independent full-service market research and consulting firm providing global demand-side research to technology product and service providers.