We need to talk about Capex
Global capex levels in the telecommunications industry have soared from $50 billion to $325 billion, in real terms, over the last thirty years.
PwC analysed the financial performance of 78 fixed line, mobile and cable telecoms operators around the world. We supplemented this work with a qualitative survey of 22 senior telecoms executives from a representative cross-section of companies in terms of size, services, location and financial performance. Many of the survey respondents admitted they are aware of their capex problem (and could waste as much as $65 billion per year). They also admitted they are unsure of how to solve their capex problems.
This paper explains the four key reasons telecom companies allocate capital inefficiently. It identifies 12 shared attributes of a well designed capital management programme and is applicable to any type of organisation: fixed, mobile or cable, whether a new entrant to the market or an established major telecoms operator.