Despite the widespread economic turmoil, contractors and design firms in the global telecommunications market are optimistic. “Some European companies are waiting to see what will happen, assessing their capital, and may reconsider making investments in upgrades or expansions. But most are moving ahead with projects that are already under way or have already been budgeted,” says Yossi Mayraz, marketing manager in the Baran Group’s Israel office. “If companies did have to make tough decisions about where to invest because of lack of capital, it’s likely that many will choose to introduce service or expand networks in fast-growing emerging markets where subscriber penetration rates are lower, rather than increase capacity or improve coverage in saturated markets in developed countries.”
The optimism is driven by a robust global telecommunications industry services market, which is projected to grow 8% over the next five years and reach $3 trillion by the end of 2013 in spite of the financial crisis, says a report from Boonton, N.J.-based market research firm Insight Research Corp.