Middle East telcos must diversify service offerings

DUBAI, UAE: Voice revenues, traditionally the largest source of profits, for telecom providers in the Middle East are declining as customers have started utilizing smartphone applications to meet their communications needs, reports Prologix.

The company provides IT solutions and distributes in the telecommunications segment, works closely with a number of major telcos in the region and states that these operators are all witnessing growing demand for data, cloud and managed services whereas their traditional voice and SMS revenue streams are steadily shrinking.

This reflects a global trend which is captured in a recent report by Infonetics Research which predicts that telecom voice will account for only 50 percent of mobile service revenue by 2017.

Sarwan Singh, director of sales and operation, Prologix LLC said: "In Q2 this year, smartphone sales in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) surpassed feature phone sales for the first time. With these devices, consumers now have easy access to a multitude of internet based communications applications. Even businesses are employing technologies such as VoIP and IP telephony to reduce operational expenses. All of this is driving business away from voice services and forcing telcos to look at new offerings."