From telco to digital telco: navigating trends and drivers shaping revenue growth beyond connectivity

Operator revenue growth and innovation strategies continue to evolve as the industry seeks to capture new B2C and B2B opportunities in the digital era. A range of major operators have reshaped their growth strategies targeting transformation from a telco to a digital telco. This involves providing a growing and diverse range of B2B and B2C digital services. If taken individually, such services generate far lower revenues than connectivity. However, the total across all services is material. Enhanced, high-speed fixed/mobile connectivity is often a key enabler of progress for services beyond connectivity.

There is often scepticism around operator success beyond traditional core telecoms services, but GSMA Intelligence research (based on rigorous analysis of the financial results of major operator groups) shows operators continue to make progress, with services beyond traditional core telecoms now a key component of their revenue growth stories. The average contribution to total revenues of services beyond traditional core telecoms reached 26% in 2022 for the 16 operators analysed, up from 18% in 2017.

This report looks at how far major operators have progressed with revenues beyond traditional core telecoms, the operators leading in terms of revenue diversification and growth beyond connectivity, and the main trends and drivers of growth by service type.