The Advancing Independent Telco Boom

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - (Business Wire) Despite the continuing decrease in landlines across the US, the overall independent telco market will climb from about 10% of the total lines to 18% by 2015, according to projections by Telecom Pragmatics. Sometime in the second half of the next decade, the number will be at least double the current number of lines. At that point, the industry will be back to a pre-1984 divestiture number of access lines.

A quarter of a century ago, the independents were making their profits selling voice lines to rural customers. In the future, they will increasingly offer quadruple play services in more Tier 2 markets – and even in several additional Tier 1 cities. There will be a substantial increase in the number of lucrative opportunities in both the business and residential sectors. Thus, they will be able to increase their margins significantly.

Most of the increase is not going to be driven by overbuilding, but rather by the inevitable transfer of lines by the RBOCs. If necessary, the RBOCs will pay the independents handsomely to take undesirable lines off of their hands.

Telecom Pragmatics recently published this information in the May issue of Independent Telco Tactics Monthly. Its authors include Sam Greenholtz, John Griffin, Mark Lutkowitz, and David Gross.

Telecom Pragmatics is an independent research firm specializing in telecommunications markets and related technologies since 2003.