Telcos need to step up to keep up

THE Covid-19 outbreak is keeping mobile subscribers home and quashing their spending power. But new 5G technology should give telcos an opportunity to rebuild their revenues.

The mobile market has faced significant setbacks, and was on a downward jag even before the pandemic.

Mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), which lease capacity from incumbents, had crowded the market and spurred a brutal price war. Meanwhile, handset sales suffered from a slowdown in upgrading and an exodus to lower-margin SIM-only plans.