Operator revenue growth and innovation strategies: together with connectivity and beyond connectivity

Operator revenue growth and innovation strategies continue to evolve as the industry seeks to capture new B2C and B2B opportunities. There is no one size fits all in terms of revenue growth strategy. Most operators are focusing on leveraging enhanced connectivity (mobile and fixed) to provide incremental value to customers. A range of major operators are pursuing both enhanced connectivity and diversification strategies, with non-connectivity services now a key component of their growth stories. For most of the diversified operators, enhanced connectivity is a key enabler of progress beyond connectivity.

There is often scepticism about operator success beyond traditional core telecoms services (a growing and diverse range of B2B and B2C services). But our research – based on rigorous and consistent analysis of the financial results of major operator groups – shows that operators continue to make progress. The average contribution to total revenues of services beyond traditional core telecoms reached 24% in 2021 for the operators analysed, up from 18% in 2017. Such contributions vary significantly (around 15–45%) among operators. Japanese and South Korean operators lead on diversification, but operators in China are catching up. While progress has been organic for most, five operators have made major acquisitions and/or divestitures/JVs/spin-offs of businesses beyond traditional core telecoms during 2017–2021.

Building on our operator revenue/service diversification research and longstanding relationships with operators, this report analyses operator progress and achievements beyond traditional core telecoms, the speed of growth, key trends and drivers by service, and provides case studies on China Telecom, KT and Turkcell.