Worldwide telecommns market grows by four per cent

Global telecoms service provider revenues were up four per cent in 2010 to $1.85 trillion, according to new figures from Ovum.

The increase was headed by particularly impressive growth in the mobile market in Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The independent telecoms analyst examined the 2010 financial data of telecoms operators, including VoIP providers, and found that the four per cent growth recorded for 2010 was in stark contrast to 2009, when revenues actually dropped by four per cent.

Matt Walker, Ovum principal analyst and author of the report, said: "It's too early to break out the champagne just yet, but within the context of a slowly improving global economy, the telecoms sector is returning to sustainable growth."

In terms of the opportunity for providers, although service provider capex fell three per cent in 2010, this was significantly better than the nine per cent capex decline in 2009.

Infonetics Research forecast in March that the combined business and residential VoIP services market would grow to $74.5 billion in 2015.