1.1 Presentation and definition of the installation of telecommunication networks in the UK

The telecommunications industry is part of information and communication technology. Its purpose is to make communication around the globe possible using different means of transmission, such as electrical signals over metallic wires, radio waves through the air and space, light signals through optical fibers. These are used in communication services such as landline and mobile telephony, internet, cable and satellite television and many others. In general, these types of transmission differ according to the frequency of the signal produced and consequently to the distance.

The telecom industry has been critical to global growth, especially during the outbreak of the pandemic. Thanks to the progress of IT information technologies it has been possible to support remote work, to see people online who otherwise, due to the limitations imposed for the covid, would not have seen each other.

The telecommunication are used in the transmission systems that involve three elements: transmitter, transmission medium and receiver. In turn, the transmission systems, created with the technologies of fiber optic cables, copper wires, cellular, WI-FI, satellite, are used in the various telecommunications networks. The latter indicates the network of devices and equipment for the transmission of information and communication between users over long distance.

The telecommunications market can be divided into two large business areas: on the one hand, telecommunications services, offered by operators and which include various communication infrastructures and information transmitting technologies (like mobile devices, television, fiber optics and internet); on the other, telecommunications equipment, which includes the production and sale of, for example, mobile phones, routers, switches, antennas, cables, modems and other communication devices purchased mainly by end consumers.

For the operation of a telecommunication network, it is therefore essential:

The necessary equipment such as telephone components, cell phones, network switches and modems for building and operating the telecommunications infrastructure. They are made by telecom equipment providers.
The installation, management and maintenance of telecommunications infrastructures, such as fixed and mobile telephone networks, high-speed Internet networks and television broadcasting networks offered by network operators. The latter, also called telecom operators, invest a lot of money for the construction, through the equipment, and maintenance of the infrastructures to which the service operators will then have access.
Access to communication services, such as the internet, landline and mobile telephony, cable television and more. Service providers, also called telecom service providers, pay network operators to gain access to networks, which in turn is sold to end consumers.

Current state of the British telecommunication networks market

According to the Ofcom, the UK telecommunication industry should growth at an annual growth rate CAGR of 3,62% over the forecast period 2023-2027. Moreover, the United Kingdom is the fifth-largest country in terms of network infrastructure revenues.In the meantime, the next generation Fiber to the Premises (FTTP), or full fibre, and 5G networks are rapidly developing. For the latter technology, the United Kingdom ranks ninth in the world for cities covered, equal to 57 in 2022.

Moreover, the UK Government has implemented clear objectives related to the availability of full-fibre and 5G networks in the country. 15 million premises will be connected to full-fibre by 2025 and the whole country by 2033.

1.2 the telecommunications services and network infrastructure sectors in the world

In recent years, especially with the spread of the pandemic, the telecom industry has become essential for global growth. Every individual, economic sector and governments have started to make more use of communication means to send data, signals and messages.

Telecommunications services

In the past, the costs for installing and maintaining ...

1.3 The UK market, the fifth-largest country in terms of network infrastructure revenues worldwide

In the United Kingdom, there are roughly ** million inhabitants that are connected by the telecommunications industry. Over the past years, the telecommunication industry in UK has recorded a decrease in revenue up to ****, instead, in **** it recorded a growth of **.*% reaching USD **.** billion. The declines in revenue are partly due to ...

1.4 The trade balance in deficit

The following graph shows the development of imports and exports of:

Telephone sets, including telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data (***)

The graph below shows that from **** to ****, the value of imports was always higher than ...

1.5 Consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic

With the COVID-** pandemic, a large portion of the population had to work from home. This phenomenon, together with the increase in video calls, led to a considerable increase in the use of data services consumption. As a result, there was increased pressure on service providers to provide better quality of ...

2.1 Demand characteristics and drivers

It is now clear that the demand for telecommunications networks is constantly growing. This increase is due to a variety of reasons, including:

UK population growth

The growing population in the UK is increasing the demand for mobile and other devices with which information is transmitted via an internet connection. In ...

2.2 Coverage and premises of telecommunications networks

The demand for coverage of different telecommunication networks varies in different parts of the country. In general, urban areas need better coverage than rural areas such as Scotland, Wales and the North East. The reason is that urban areas have a higher concentration of inhabitants, economic activities and government offices that ...

2.3 Wireless technology innovation: 5G networks

For many people, it has become essential to connect to the Internet and to have a fast and secure connection. Towards these goals, manufacturers seek to develop increasingly innovative technologies and service providers seek to deploy these technologies in their networks. This push for innovation stems from the high user demand ...

3.1 Structure of the telecommunications network industry

Telecommunication is an asset-intensive and competitive market. The reason is that network infrastructure includes all the hardware resources of service providers, but also enterprise networks. Thus, routers, switches, broadband access, optical transport, enterprise telephony, storage area networks, infrastructure firewalls and many others. In the case of service providers' networks, they provide ...

3.2 Installation process

Before ****, the telecommunications industry was run by the government. As in a monopoly, the General Post Office GPO was the organisation that serviced the country. Today, the telecommunications industry is a more competitive market than for example ** years ago when there was only BT providing landlines in the UK. There are ...

3.3 Supply chain and distribution channels

Source: ****

Telecommunication operators can therefore obtain revenues by selling their services in different markets. Below, one can see the revenues in the UK of both wholesale and retail telecom operators. In both distribution channels, there has been a decline in sales compared to ****. In fact, in ****, there was a drop of ...

3.4 Main Players

In the UK, telecommunication networks are installed by several telecommunication companies and operators, both national and international. Among those operating in the UK, the most important are BT Group, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Vodafon and EE [***]. Each specialises in something. For example, BT provides fixed-line and mobile services, as does EE ...

4.1 Typology of the offer

There are different types of telecommunications networks, of which the most important are:

4.2 Costs of network installation and management

It is complicated to quantify expenditure on telecommunications infrastructures, given their complexity in terms of equipment and the amount of other elements required for their implementation. The graph below provides a global overview of how much telecommunications companies have spent of their capital on telecommunications infrastructure, IT infrastructures (***) and hyperscale infrastructure. ...

5.1 Regulatory framework

The Communications Act ****

This act, which replaces the previous Telecommunications Act ****, is important because it establishes Ofcom as the regulator for the broader communications industry. Prior to this act, there was a licensing regime for telecommunications. Today, however, general licences are granted to telecommunication service providers, who must comply with the ...