Broadband growth spurs managed services opportunity

A new report claims that the growth in demand for broadband managed services in the SME market is creating a new potential source of revenue for suppliers of broadband access services.

Research and Markets says that "billions of euros in additional annual revenue are ready to be shared among suppliers that can provide SMEs with the right service packages to complement basic internet access".

The company predicts that over the next four years the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) buying broadband access for the first time will fall year on year, as broadband penetration of SMEs approaches its limit.

"Growth in customer numbers will slow dramatically and competition will continue to drive prices down. As a result, the value of the SME market for broadband access will reach a peak, then start to shrink," Research and Markets said in statement.

The solution, says the company, is to drive new revenue growth through selling broadband managed services to SMEs.

However, it says this will be far from straight-forward as competition among providers of broadband managed services is increasing, customer requirements are exacting and establishing credibility can be a hurdle for providers to overcome.