The telecommunications giants have responded well to the first wave of the pandemic of Covid-19 from the point of view of the service offered, despite the generalized lockdowns having exponentially increased data traffic, putting a strain on the networks. However, the economic parameters of the companies paid for the costs of the pandemic, weighed down by the increase in costs and the reduction in revenues caused by the "bundle" offer model, widespread all over the world.
These are the main data contained in the last one survey by the Mediobanca Research Area on the 30 largest global groups in the telecommunications sector with a turnover of more than 30 billion euros.
DATA TRAFFIC
All locked up at home, with smartphones in hand or with eyes focused on the PC screen to find out what was happening in the world. The result of these behaviors was a real one explosion of data traffic in the lockdown periods between March and May, with the peaks moving from the city centres, where the offices are located, to the residential areas, where instead there are homes. This is the trend observed worldwide and Italy has not been outdone, on the contrary. In the months between March and May, the average monthly values of daily data traffic on the fixed network increased by 75,5%, while on the mobile network the increase was 74,9%. The increase in data consumption on mobile devices - underlines the study - was higher in areas with the lowest penetration rates of residential fixed networks.
In any case, the big names in the TLC sector have shown that they know how to handle pressure well, offering a service that is up to the situation on almost all occasions
REVENUES: THE RANKING OF THE MAIN COMPANIES
In the first half of 2020, the aggregate turnover of the world's top 30 operators fell by 2% compared to the same period of 2019, falling to 540,8 billion euros. The impact was more contained in Asia (-0,4% of revenues to 220,7 billion) and Europe (-1% to 147,8 billion) and strongest in the Americas (-4,8% of revenues to 172,3 billion).
Remaining in the old continent, the revenue ranking for the first six months of 2020 is dominated by Deutsche Telekom, which recorded a turnover of 47 billion euros, up 1,5% compared to the first half of 2019. Second place for Vodafone Groupe with 21,8 billion in revenues (+1,5%), third for Telefonica (21,7 billion and -10%). Followed by Orange (20,8 billion and +1%), BT Group (11,9 billion and -5,3%) and Tim with 7,8 billion (-13,7%).
ITALIAN REVENUES
In our country, the first half of 2020 was characterized by a drop in the aggregate revenues of the main operators of -8%, with the mobile network overall in less trouble (-6,5%). The turnover in mobile services of the top 3 operators (Tim, Wind Tre and Vodafone) decreased by approximately 500 million, weighed down by the closure of shops and reduced roaming traffic to and from abroad.
Speaking of the main operators, the boom shown by Iliad stands out, whose turnover grew by 75,6% to 132 million euros. Fastweb (+5,3%) also did well, while Wind Tre (-3,1%), Vodafone (-5,1%) and Tim (-13,7%) recorded decreases.
"Although during the lockdown there was a surge in connectivity, Agcom expects a contraction in the sector's revenues in Italy for the whole of 2020 between 6% and 10%", highlights the report.
TLCs IN ITALY BEFORE COVID-19
Going back in time, according to the Communications Guarantee Authority, in 2019 the telecommunications sector represented 1,67% of GDP and 2,42% of household spending. Revenues were already down before Covid. Suffice it to say that the total turnover of TLCs was equal to 29,8 billion in 2019 (-4,4% on 2018), while in 2010 it amounted to 42,2 billion.
Speaking of companies, Tim is also first in terms of turnover in 2019 (13,1 billion; -5,5% on 2018) ahead of Vodafone (5,7 billion; -5,2%) and Wind Tre (5,1 billion; -6,5 .XNUMX%).
In the long run, Fastweb is the company that has grown the most. "Excluding the start-ups (Iliad and Open Fiber) and the smaller ones Eolo and Linkem, in the five-year period Fastweb is the only one to grow (+27,8% revenues), with industrial investments higher than the Italian average.", he underlines Mediobanca. Wind Tre, on the other hand, is the operator with the highest profitability (ebit margin at 17,4%) followed by Tim (16,5%), both of which returned to profit in 2019, no longer weighed down by write-downs and extraordinary charges.
