Lawrence Surtees 
Research Vice President, Communications | International Data Corporation (IDC)
Toronto, ON, CANADA
Over thirty years of experience advising clients on new technologies and trends impacting the Canadian communications market
Biography
Lawrence Surtees manages IDC Canada's communications research agenda and is IDC's lead analyst covering the Canadian communications services sector, including the wireline, wireless and Internet segments, new network technologies and policy and regulatory issues (including the CRTC). Lawrence also works on related IDC consulting projects.
Widely regarded as one of Canada's foremost telecommunications experts (he was also the global authority on Nortel Networks), he has covered the telecom sector for more than three decades.
Prior to joining IDC Canada in Sept. 2000, Lawrence spent 17 years as a reporter at The Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto where the bulk of his tenure was spent on the Report on Business where he covered telecommunications and related high-technology companies. (He was also The Globe's medical reporter from 1988 to 1990.) He has written more than 3,000 articles published in newspapers and magazines in Canada and the United States and has won numerous awards for his writing, including a National Newspaper Award in 1993. Lawrence began his journalism career in Ottawa in 1981 where he was editor of a weekly newsletter on communications policy and regulatory issues. Lawrence also served as an advisor on New Media technologies to the telecommunications committee of the Canadian Daily Newspaper Association's Board of Directors from 1994 to 1996. A biographee in the Canadian Who's Who, Lawrence is also the author of two bestselling books on the Canadian telecommunications industry: Pa Bell, his history of BCE, was published in 1992; and Wire Wars, the inside story of the long-distance competition battle, was published in 1994.
He is in frequent demand as an industry speaker, media commentator and university lecturer and holds a B.A. in political science from the University of Toronto and an M.A. in journalism from the University of Western Ontario.
Areas of Expertise (10)
Canadian Communications Policy and Regulatory Issues
Canadian Communications Service Providers
Wireless Communications
Telecom Industry Structure and Trends
Optical Network Technology
Canadian Telecom History
Telecom and National Security
Green ICT
5G Networks
Internet Technologies
Spotlight
Media
Publications:
Documents:
Videos:
Audio:
Associated IDC Services (3)
- Canadian Communications Market Drivers and Strategies
- Canadian Telecom Market Forecaster
- IDC Canada Communication Service Providers Practice
Education (2)
University of Western Ontario: MA, Journalism 1981
University of Toronto at Scarborough: BA (Honours), Political Science; History; Biology 1980
Languages (1)
- English
Links (3)
Media Appearances (44)
IDC Canada Releases New Groundbreaking Study on How Critical Networks Provide Critical Care During the COVID-19 Crisis
IDC Canada online
2020-06-08
International Data Corporation (IDC) Canada today released a groundbreaking report on communications and healthcare titled, Critical Networks Provide Critical Care: Role of Communication Networks to Treat and Prevent COVID-19 (IDC# CA45063420).
"The urgent imperative to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus has had an unanticipated immediate consequence on the delivery of healthcare in most countries that will have both permanent and beneficial impacts," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst at IDC Canada.
Canadian telcos tap Ericsson, Nokia for 5G gear, ditching Huawei
Reuters
2020-06-02
Two of Canada’s largest telecoms firms on Tuesday teamed with Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia Oyj to build fifth-generation (5G) telecoms networks, ditching China’s Huawei Technologies for the project.
The announcements put “a real monkey wrench into the spanner” for Huawei’s business ambitions in Canada, said Lawrence Surtees, lead research analyst on communications at IDC Canada.
Bell, Telus award 5G contracts to European firms, Huawei shut out
CTV News
2020-06-02
Huawei Technologies Inc.'s ambitions to be a player in Canada's 5G network are very much in doubt after two of the country's three largest telecom companies announced partnerships with the Chinese tech giant's European rivals.
[IDC Canada vice-president, Lawrence Surtees] said that Canada and the United Kingdom both have national security structures that analyzed Huawei equipment thoroughly without finding it to be a security threat....
Huawei's ambitions for Canada stalled by rift with China, security expert says
The Canadian Press
2020-05-28
Huawei Technologies Co.'s push to become a leading supplier of 5G technology in Canada appears to be in jeopardy after the Chinese tech giant's CFO suffered a legal setback in a B.C. court, prompting an angry response from Beijing.
IDC Canada vice-president Lawrence Surtees agreed that the Meng case may have given the Trudeau government a way to defer its decisions on Huawei but noted that the main government agency involved with the decision, the Canadian Security Establishment, hasn't found a reason to block the company.
Internet use may be surging, but telecoms are not immune to pandemic pressure
Financial Post
2020-04-17
Canada’s telecom giants have emerged as one of the foundations of the stay-at-home economy, but that doesn’t mean their normally rock-solid business models aren’t under pressure amid the COVID-19 pandemic..
Lawrence Surtees, an industry analyst at research firm IDC Canada, said that the core telecommunications market — home phone, wireless, and internet — is roughly a $46 billion business in Canada, with cable and satellite TV adding another $9 billion on top of that. Nearly half of that core telecom market comes from businesses, Surtees said.
My internet seems slow: How is the coronavirus affecting internet providers?
Financial Post
2020-04-03
Lawrence Surtees, an industry analyst focused on telecom and communication for IDC Canada, said that the reason Canada hasn’t needed to do that kind of downgrading is because network operators have installed a lot of fibre optic cable, which has significantly increased bandwidth.
"If we didn’t have fibre networks that we’ve been (building) in the last five years, I think we would be faced with collapsing networks"
IDC Expects Canada’s Telecom Market to Face a Significant Revenue Slowdown in 2020 and Beyond
IDC Canada online
2020-04-06
The global COVID-19 pandemic and the necessary containment measures put in place by governments will substantially impact the Canadian telecommunications services market producing negative growth in 2020 before rebounding in 2021.
Compared to Canada's IT market, the C$48-billion-dollar telecom services sector has been historically more resilient or “recession-proof,” said Lawrence Surtees, Research Vice-President of Communications at IDC Canada. Even during the 2008-2009 financial crisis, telecom services retained positive annual growth. A decade later, telecom services have become further insulated to crisis as consumers and enterprises are more dependent on these services, especially internet and wireless.
Internet networks feel the strain as COVID-19 sparks surge in Canadians working from home
Financial Post
2020-03-24
nternet traffic in Canada typically peaks on Sunday nights and weekday evenings, but over the past week or so, usage rates have started to look like Sunday night a good chunk of the time.
Lawrence Surtees, an industry analyst focused on telecom and communication for IDC Canada, said that the reason Canada hasn’t needed to do that kind of downgrading is because network operators have installed a lot of fibre optic cable, which has significantly increased bandwidth.
Cheap wireless plans should be a right. Here’s why
Toronto Star
2020-02-03
“In wireless data, it isn’t so much the monthly price that was the issue, but in how much data you get” IDC Canada's Larry Stolte speaking to the Toronto Star in regards to the government desire to lower wireless rates by 25%.
Why it's way too early to declare a winner in Canada's 5G wars
Financial Post
2020-01-21
A 5G network logo will appear on cell phone screens sometime in 2020 or 2021, but the real transformative improvements won’t materialize until much later.
That likely won’t happen until around 2025 or so, according to Lawrence Surtees, an analyst who covers telco issues for IDC Research. In fact, Surtees said many of the details still haven’t been fully hammered out.
“The international standards for 5G are many and varied, and all the pieces have not been fully worked out yet, and the deadline for that is later near the end of 2020,” Surtees said.
IDC talks 5G Canadian network plans and consumer use cases
Channel Daily News
2019-04-26
Given that it’s still in the early stages of deployment, carrier plans for 5G networks are still uncertain. CDN spoke with Lawrence Surtees, IDC’s vice-president of communication research, to understand what barriers operators are currently facing.
In Canada, Surtees foresees that it won’t be the big three — Bell, Rogers, and Telus — who will be the first ones to roll out unlimited 5G plans. Instead, he expects smaller carriers like Freedom (Shaw) to be the first ones to do it.
As Canada reviews Huawei's role in 5G networks, opportunities open for other telecom suppliers
Financial Post
2019-01-30
As it stands, China’s Huawei, Sweden’s Ericsson and Finland’s Nokia Corp. are the top three vendors of radio gear in Canada and around the world, according to research firm IDC.
While the Canadian government mulls whether to block Huawei in its 5G security review, telecom operators continue to invest in network equipment to prepare for the launch of 5G as early as 2020, IDC analyst Lawrence Surtees said.
It would be a “really big pain” for Bell and Telus if the government bans Huawei from a deployment perspective, Surtees said.
Some businesses hanging up on the desk phone
CBC News
2018-12-23
Companies are increasingly using VoIP or programs like Skype instead of traditional phones.
"It's almost like the last resort is a paperweight, tethered desk phone," says Lawrence Surtees, vice-president of communications research at IDC Canada, which does market research on information and communications technology.
"The non-smartphone is a dying thing."
Surtees say smaller businesses in Canada went wireless earlier than larger ones, which are now making the switchover due to cost, convenience, increasing trust in cloud computing, and an overall rise in cord-cutting in daily life.
China threatens Canada over Huawei CFO arrest
CityTV News
2018-12-09
The Chinese government has warned Canada will face grave consequences if the Huawei CFO is not released. As Caryn Ceolin reports, Meng Wanzhou was arrested at the request of the United States.
Little-known among consumers, Huawei has high profile in Canadian tech networks
The Toronto Star
2018-12-08
Lawrence Surtees, vice-president for communications research at IDC Canada, says Britain and Canada are the second and third most important Five Eyes partners after the United States and ahead of Australia and New Zealand.
“My take is, both Ottawa and London are in a position to say ... we do lots with you in the intelligence sharing and we’re not going to jeopardize our networks. We know what to do.” Surtees says Huawei equipment has already been used in at least five Canadian wireless networks that use fourth-generation LTE technology, and it would be expensive to replace.
Huawei is also working with Bell and Telus to develop equipment for 5G wireless networks that are expected to become increasingly vital to carriers and their customers over the next decade. “The magnitude of the contracts that Huawei has here would be a factor, with the Canadian carriers saying to Ottawa that it’s kind of too late now,” Surtees says.
Manitoba's newest wireless carrier launches next week
Winnipeg Free Press
2018-11-07
Xplore Mobile, the company that regulators mandated to become the fourth wireless competitor in Manitoba after the Bell acquisition of MTS, will officially go live on Nov. 14.
Lawrence Surtees, research vice-president with International Data Corporation (IDC) said, "There is an established tri-opoly of Bell Telus and Rogers. If a new player enters the market they have to do something different. They have to incent customers to come to them or leave the other guys. And this is one of the few ways to do it... and it's not going to bust the bank."
He said, "Customers will say, 'Why should I come to you?' If they do the same thing the other three guys do no one is going to go to them."
Why new subscribers are proving the lifeblood of the wireless gameplan
Financial Post
2018-08-29
[...] wireless will remain the driver of telecom growth over the next five years, according to industry analyst IDC Canada’s market study released in August.
“The burgeoning popularity of wireless, coupled with a growing mobile workforce and increasing wireless substitution, strengthens the primacy of wireless as the preferred method of communications and the engine of telecom revenue growth in Canada,” study author Lawrence Surtees said in a statement.
IDC’s predictions for wireless penetration, however, are less bullish than the telecoms. It predicted the number of wireless subscribers will grow to 34 million by 2022, an 89-per-cent penetration rate based on the estimated population.
'Amazing' Manitoba double-data offers spark questions over why only some provinces get the best phone deals
CBC News
2018-05-31
While many Manitobans are revelling in a double-data phone deal, Canadians elsewhere are left wondering why they can't get the same offer.
Surtees said there are also strong regional competitors in other regions: Eastlink on the East Coast, and Freedom Mobile, which has been shaking up the market in B.C., Alberta and Ontario with deals such as Canadawide calling and 10 GB for $60 a month.
Head of Apple’s Canadian sales division Brent Johnston leaves company
BNN Bloomberg
2018-05-30
Brent Johnston has left Apple’s Canadian division, according to sources familiar with the matter, after serving as senior managing director for more than two years.
“He’s a veteran,” Lawrence Surtees, a telecom analyst with IDC Canada, told BNN Bloomberg in a phone interview. “He definitely has more opportunities than most.”
IDC Canada predicts two million new wireless subscriptions by 2022
Mobile Syrup
2018-05-23
89 percent of Canadians will have some form of wireless device by 2022, says IDC Canada's Lawrence Surtees.
IDC Canada predicts a fair amount of wireless subscribers will be up for grabs over the next five years — two million, to be exact.
“Going forward, I think a big story continues to be wireless,” said Lawrence Surtees, vice-president of communications research and principal analyst at IDC Canada, in an interview with MobileSyrup.
Shaw completes first 5G test as wireless players ramp up to build next-gen networks
Financial Post
2018-05-22
Follows the Big Three into race to build 5G networks, which are expected to power such technologies as automated vehicles and smart cities.
Shaw Communications Inc. has completed its first technical trial of 5G technology as Canada’s wireless giants ramp up their investments in the next-generation networks.
IDC Canada Releases 7 New Forecasts for Canadian ICT Market: Many Markets Exceed Expectations in 2017, as the Canadian Economy and the Race Toward Digital Transformation Encourage ICT Spending
IDC online
2018-05-22
IDC Canada release 7 new forecast documents including Canadian Telecom Services Forecast, 2018-2022: Telecom Inside Out (IDC#CA42532118). Lawrence Surtees provides comments on this forecast.
5G corridor coming to Ontario and Quebec
CBC News
2018-03-19
5G, the “blisteringly fast” internet surface that businesses need for continued innovation, is coming to the bordering provinces of Ontario, and the mainly French-speaking province of Quebec.
With the financial help of the two provincial governments and the federal government and some companies, a combined $400 million (Cdn) investment will phase in the 5G network over the next three of four years.
Super-fast, next-generation 5G wireless to get $200M research boost from governments
CBC News
2018-03-19
The federal, Ontario and Quebec governments say they will spend $200 million to help fund research into 5G wireless technology, the next-generation networks with download speeds 100 times faster than current ones can handle.
The so-called "5G corridor," known as ENCQOR, will see tech companies such as Ericsson, Ciena Canada, Thales Canada, IBM and CGI kick in another $200 million to develop facilities to get the project up and running.
What is a 5G network and how can it change your life?
CBC News, The National tv
2018-03-13
5G cellular networks — the next step up from 4G — are being developed for testing in some cities but won't be fully functional until 2020. It's touted as being 100 times faster than 4G, but while 5G's benefits have the potential to change the way cities work, implementing it could prove to be quite costly
Big telcos set to hit many Canadians with internet price hikes
CBC News
2018-03-09
Canadians' thirst for fast, reliable internet service has surged in recent years, and so has the amount we're paying to stay connected. For many customers, the cost of home internet is about to get even more pricey as the big telecom companies hike rates once again.
Telecommunications consultant Lawrence Surtees says telcos do have added costs when they expand their networks. However, he's not certain that explains why internet prices have continued to creep up over the past couple of years.
Cogeco Peer 1's new Software-Defined WAN solution helps businesses unlock the power of the cloud
Marketwired
2018-01-31
Cogeco Peer 1, a global provider of essential business-to-business products and services, today announced a new software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) service, partnering with Nuage Networks from Nokia, to help businesses ensure that their connectivity is a true enabler in their digital transformation.
Huawei's latest attempt to enter U.S. worries lawmakers — but Canada doesn't share its concern
CBC News
2018-01-19
For the past decade, Chinese tech company Huawei has found no shortage of success in Canada. Its equipment is used in telecommunications infrastructure run by the country's major carriers, and some have sold Huawei's phones.
The company has struck up partnerships with Canadian universities, and say it is investing more than half a billion dollars in researching next generation cellular networks here.
Freedom Mobile confirms it will carry iPhones
Mobile Syrup
2017-10-16
Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile has confirmed to MobileSyrup that it will carry iPhones in the future.
IDC Canada analyst predicts 5G-driven wireless growth and the rise of unlimited data
Mobile Syrup
2017-08-25
5G will drive increased growth in an already growing wireless market, according to Lawrence Surtees, vice-president of communications research and principal analyst at IDC Canada. In his Canadian Wireless Services Forecast for the years 2017 to 2021, co-authored with Nikhil Anand, Surtees reports five percent revenue growth in the Canadian wireless market over this past year — which is only slightly decreased from 5.5 percent growth the year before. Subscriber growth, meanwhile, is a little below that, at almost 4 percent for consumers and 3 percent for business — an area where Surtees sees abundant room for growth. “My thesis is that having much greater wireless broadband capacity and speed [with 5G] will fuel bandwidth intensive business applications,” Surtees told MobileSyrup.
Businesses are hanging up on the desk phone
Financial Post
2017-07-12
The days of cradling a desk phone between your head and shoulder on a long conference call are over for KPMG LLP’s Canadian employees.
The accounting and advisory firm has deactivated desk phones for all of its approximately 5,000 employees, who now have to make voice calls with an app on their laptops connected to headsets or puck-sized speakers.
Rogers and Telus step up wireless promotions to counter serious threat from Freedom Mobile
Financial Post
2017-06-27
Canada’s major wireless players appear to be treating Shaw Communications Inc.’s mobile business as a more serious threat after its latest play to expand its network, a move some researchers see as a welcome, but preliminary sign, of increased competition in the national arena.
Ten reasons why cloud collaboration tools have become a competitive necessity
IT World Canada
2017-06-22
Over 60 per cent of Canadian enterprises are now using some form of unified communications to drive a culture of collaboration, according to an IDC study.
Unified communications (UC) provides new ways for organizations to engage with customers, partners and employees, anywhere and at anytime. It’s a rapidly evolving market, with an increasing number of users adopting UC services in the cloud, Lawrence Surtees, research vice president with IDC Canada told participants at a recent ITWC webinar.
Canadians' thirst for wireless data is growing — and so is the cry for unlimited plans
CBC News
2017-06-11
Canadians don't talk as much as they used to on their mobile phones, but the country's telecom market is still booming thanks to an unquenchable thirst for wireless data.
That leads some customers to question why unlimited wireless data plans are almost non-existent in Canada. Meanwhile, every major U.S. carrier offers one.
Millennials driving next-gen telecom: IDC report
Zayo Group
2017-06-07
If you believe recent headlines, people born between 1980 and 2000 are ‘just saying no’ to drugs on a massive scale, will ‘never’ be able to afford their own homes and are even to blame for weak sales figures at Pottery Barn.
You may want to take some or all of that with a grain of salt. But millennials really are causing massive shifts in the enterprise telecom space, according to IDC’s new five-year forecast for the Canadian telecom services market.
IDC Canada analyst forecasts half a million new wireless subscriptions in 2017
Mobile Syrup
2017-04-13
The Canadian wireless market will see incremental growth in 2017 in both subscribers and value due mainly to increased demand for mobile data, according to Lawrence Surtees, IDC Canada’s vice-president of communications research.
How 5G mobile data will enable the next generation of VR, autonomous cars and more
Canadian Business
2016-10-13
Low latency will also enable and improve Internet of Things applications. Video doorbells and home security cameras, for example, won’t have the same lag when connecting to users’ smartphones as they do today.
When combined with better speeds and more throughput, lower latency is also expected to enable ubiquitous augmented reality, virtual reality and video.
How a new wave of startups are bringing law enforcement into the digital age
“You’ll be able to stream full-motion high-quality video while on a train that’s going 250 kilometres an hour,” says Lawrence Surtees, research vice-president for communications at analysis firm IDC. “You can’t do that now.”
Start the bidding at $4.1B, Premier Brad Wall indirectly puts pricetag on SaskTel
CBC News
2016-08-24
Premier Brad Wall suggested on Tuesday that any offer for SaskTel would need to cover certain criteria, including being able to eliminate the province's operating debt, which is currently $4.1 billion.
Wall reiterated earlier statements that the province does not have an offer on the table for the Crown corporation...
Lawrence Surtees is a telecom expert who has been studying the industry in Canada for more than 35 years.
He said the premier is being pragmatic about any potential sale and has set a high bar for any potential suitor.
"I think if someone were to come and offer and it was significantly below what the debt amount is the province wouldn't even look at it I think that's basically between the lines of what he's saying," Surtees said.
Yahoo’s latest acquisition is all about digital content, according to analysts
IT World Canada
2016-07-26
Regardless of the acquisition’s outcome, it’s unlikely to affect Canada anytime soon, IDC Canada Ltd. telecom analyst Lawrence Surtees says.
Instead, it’s a rare example of an American telecom giant catching up to its northern counterpart.
“When I looked at the deal that Verizon did a year ago with AOL, and the executive rationale, I kind of smiled to myself and said, ‘it’s almost like Verizon is taking a page out of BCE’s playbook in Canada,'” Surtees says. “We’ve been doing this for two decades… and they’re just starting to go down this route now.”
Too early to fear for the future of SaskTel: analyst
CBC News
2016-06-21
Telecommunications consultant Lawrence Surtees says the only possible risks to SaskTel are hypothetical at this point, after an independent review found SaskTel at risk of reduced profits following the proposed sale of Manitoba Telecom Services to Bell.
Bidding war for SaskTel could draw in Bell, Telus: analyst
CBC News
2016-05-18
A billion-dollar bidding war could erupt if SaskTel is put up on the auction block, a telecommunications analyst says.
Bell Canada and Telus would both be interested, according to Lawrence Surtees, a telecommunications consultant with IDC Canada.
BCE deal for Manitoba Tel carries tax benefit
BNN
2016-05-02
BCE's purchase of Manitoba Telecom Services could give the firm a boost on the tax side, as MTS has tax loss carryforwards that could ease the bill at the end of the year. For perspective, BNN is joined by Lawrence Surtees, Vice-president & Principal Analyst, IDC Canada.
SDN: Your network is about to get a lot smarter
ExpertIP
2016-03-09
Double-digit growth for a particular product category is one thing, but growth of more than 50 per cent, per year, usually demands a double take — and software-defined networking is set for a 53.9 per cent compound annual growth rate from 2014 to 2020, according to IDC.
BCE meets Street, raises payout
BNN
2016-02-04
BCE Inc. (BCE.TO) is raising its dividend five percent after fourth-quarter adjusted earnings met expectations and amid what the company’s CFO calls a “very strong” financial foundation.
Event Appearances (3)
5G: The Next Wave of Wireless
IDC Directions 2019 Canada Toronto
2019-05-02
CSPs of the Future: 5G Wireless in Canada
IDC Canada Web Conference Online via BrightTalk
2018-06-20
Toward the CSP of the Future
IDC Canada Web Conference Online via ON24
2015-07-15
Reports (48)
Lawrence Surtees
2020-06-08
This IDC study examines the growing appreciation of the critical importance of communication networks and wireless healthcare-based applications to more safely treat patients and to adopt novel public health measures to efficiently contain the global COVID-19 pandemic.
"The urgent imperative to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus has had an unanticipated immediate consequence on the delivery of healthcare in most countries that will have both permanent and beneficial impacts," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst at IDC Canada. "The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has done more in only two months to promote acceptance of digital virtual care technologies by both large medical institutions and individual practitioners than decades of proselytizing by proponents. Despite the role of communication network and digital technologies such as the use of innovative mobile apps and wireless data in public health to mitigate and contain the spread of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for improved cooperation between governments, the ICT sector, and researchers for more effective global surveillance of humans infected with COVID-19."
Manish Nargas, Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong
2020-05-29
This IDC study examines consumer wireless voice and data, residential dial-up and high-speed internet, and residential wireline voice services and addresses the current state of these markets in Canada. It provides forecasts for both subscriptions and revenue as well as the key drivers and inhibitors behind the forecast.
Manish Nargas, Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong
2020-05-29
This IDC study examines the forecast for Canadian consumer TV services subscribers and revenue. It also addresses the factors shaping the market as well as the key drivers and inhibitors underlying the forecast.
Lawrence Surtees, Manish Nargas, Meng Cong
2020-05-28
This IDC study presents IDC Canada's five-year forecasts for communications services spending by market and customer segments, company size, industry sector, and region for 2020–2024 based on the annual update of IDC Canada's custom Communications Market Model and replaces our previous comprehensive spring and fall 2019 forecasts (see Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong, and Manish Nargas, Canadian Communications Services Forecast, 2019–2023: Telecom Inside Out, IDC Canada #CA43809119, May 2019).
"Communications providers are largely recession proof and fortunately investments in next-gen network technologies and architectures are allowing communications SPs to cope with unrivalled demand," says study coauthor Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst at IDC Canada Ltd. "But the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic is still a great unknown and its associated economic shocks could dramatically impact the current forecast."
Lawrence Surtees
2020-05-09
This IDC Market Perspective updates IDC Canada's previous analysis of Canadian communications service providers' 2019 capital expenditure (capex) forecasts. We analyze major drivers of capex spending including 5G wireless and the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
"The COVID-19 pandemic is placing unprecedented strain on all communication networks and fortunately previous network investments in fibre optics and 4G wireless, for example, have enabled providers to cope with exploding demand," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst at IDC Canada. "Service providers face a twin challenge of meeting that increased demand while also investing in new next-generation networks as the commercial rollout of 5G wireless begins this year. While pre-COVID-19 capex budget guidance leads to total estimated spending of almost C$11.3 billion in 2020, according to IDC Canada's annual communications capital expenditure study, meeting current extraordinary network traffic growth may result in unanticipated spending increases."
Lawrence Surtees
2020-05-06
This IDC Market Perspective reviews the wave of communications infrastructure acquisitions made in the fibre-optic and cellular tower distribution businesses by two major emerging global infrastructure players in recent months before the COVID-19 pandemic. We also examine the deals among players that have an impact on the C$55 billion-a-year communications landscape.
"Rather than being a brake on telecom infrastructure deals later in 2020 and early 2021, the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely stimulate further infrastructure acquisition opportunities in the wake of revenue slowdowns, depressed share prices, and difficulties obtaining access to capital," says Lawrence Surtees, report author, vice president, and principal analyst, Communications Research at IDC Canada.
Lawrence Surtees
2020-04-30
This IDC Market Perspective analyzes the federal government's policy demand that Canada's Big 3 wireless providers reduce prices by 25 per cent in two years, a regulatory proposal to spur wireless resellers (so-called MVNOs) and considers their impact on Canada's C$22 billion-a-year wireless communications sector.
"The federal government's wireless price and MVNO policies are ill-considered, based on flawed analysis and horribly timed, coming when the sector must invest heavily in 5G next-generation network rollouts starting this year and cope with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic," says Lawrence Surtees, study author and vice president of Communications Research and Principal Analyst at IDC Canada.
Lawrence Surtees, Patty Bu
2019-12-25
This IDC Survey focuses on adoption, spending, and vendor preferences across a broad range of communication services and technologies in Canadian enterprises. This Survey is a refresh of IDC Canada's annual survey conducted with businesses of all sizes and across all regions in Canada on their current and planned communications usage.
Lawrence Surtees
2019-12-19
This IDC study presents the executive summary and key recommendations of a major study conducted for the Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN) undertaken for a broad segment of stakeholders in the Next Generation Network (NGN) ecosystem, including vendors, network operators, enterprise customers, and policy makers. Continued and future economic and technological leadership will increasingly be tied to the mastery of Next Generation Networks and those underlying elements, which are rooted in fundamental and applied scientific research, development, and innovation. Development and support of a strong Canadian position in NGN technologies transcend individual levels of government, separate economic and industry sectors, and individual firms.
"Ensuring that Canada's economy remains in the global game will require a whole-of-society collaborative effort among all levels of government along with all businesses and organizations in every sector, academe, and players in the NGN ecosystem," states study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president, Communications Research at IDC Canada.
Lawrence Surtees
2019-12-10
This IDC Market Perspective provides an update on the status of Canadian 5G wireless spectrum allocation. The timing of 5G wireless network development and its ultimate success will be largely contingent upon the availability and timely release of a sufficient supply of radio frequency spectrum.
"Forthcoming spectrum auctions and current capital investments will equip Canadian wireless providers to exploit the release of new 5G spectrum over the next three years," says Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research at IDC Canada and study author.
Lawrence Surtees
2019-12-09
This IDC Perspective investigates global Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations to extend high-speed broadband internet and wireless to unserved areas.
"Renewed interest in Low Earth Orbit satellite constellations has resulted in a new space race," says Lawrence Surtees, report author and vice president, Communications Research at IDC Canada. The planned launch of more than a dozen LEO constellations within the next five years to extend high-speed broadband internet and wireless to unserved areas coincides with deployment of next-generation high-speed 5G wireless. "Telesat Canada has emerged as a key player and is in a strong position to compete with the largest well-healed new entrants," said Surtees.
Jason Bremner, Meng Cong, Lawrence Surtees
2019-09-30
This IDC study outlines IDC Canada's forecast for the Canadian information, communications, and technology (ICT) market for the 2019–2023 forecast period. It updates our previous forecast published in Canadian ICT Forecast, 2018–2022 (IDC #CA42529318, December 2018).
Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong
2019-09-27
This IDC study is the fifth iteration of the Canadian business TV services forecast and updates Canadian Business TV Services Forecast, 2018–2022 (IDC Canada #CA43232018, July 2018).
"Over-the-top video and planned 5G wireless networks will further change the nature of video delivery technology and challenge providers to grow the business video market," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst of IDC Canada. "Competition for customers' wallet share will increase as next-generation wireless, cable TV, and over-the-top networks and services come onstream."
Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong
2019-09-25
This IDC study updates IDC Canada's annual forecast of the Canadian wireless communication services market.
"The advent of next-generation 5G wireless networks will further drive adoption and spending on wireless data at the end of the current forecast period and beyond," says Lawrence Surtees, study coauthor and vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst at IDC Canada. "The need to invest in next-generation network (NGN) infrastructure technologies is an urgent imperative beyond preparing for 5G wireless."
Lawrence Surtees
2019-06-19
This IDC Survey Spotlight focuses on SD-WAN adoption in Canada. A significant degree of confusion is apparent among Canadian enterprises in the nascent market for SD-WAN as providers are not currently seeing the level of adoption cited by respondents to a recent IDC Canada survey. SD-WAN providers need to redouble marketing efforts to increase awareness and to educate potential customers about SD-WAN services, especially as interest in the service appears to be rising. Existing communication service providers are positioned for leadership in the SD-WAN market and enjoy the strongest vendor preference cited by survey respondents.
Manish Nargas, Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong
2019-05-29
This IDC study examines the forecast for Canadian consumer TV service subscribers and revenue. It also addresses the factors shaping the market as well as the key drivers and inhibitors underlying the forecast.
Lawrence Surtees
2019-05-23
This IDC study examines the Canadian communications services sector market shares and provides a competitive overview of each market segment for the full year 2018. The importance of novel next-generation network technologies is moving to the fore as the global ICT sector undergoes a profound transformation engendered by an unprecedented data explosion.
"An examination of communications market revenue and shares continues to show stagnating growth in most traditional segments," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president and principal analyst in the Communications Practice at IDC Canada Ltd. "Communication service providers will increasingly need to seek growth from new technology applications and use cases from next-generation networks to compensate."
Manish Nargas, Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong
2019-05-22
This IDC study examines consumer wireless voice and data, residential dial-up and high-speed internet, and residential wireline voice services and addresses the current state of these markets in Canada. It provides forecasts for both subscriptions and revenue as well as the key drivers and inhibitors behind the forecast.
"As the willingness of Canadian consumers to spend on 'cornerstone' services such as residential internet, for which value proposition is clear, continues to grow on account of their data-intensive habits and needs, consumers will expect that level of access and bandwidth to the internet to become simply ubiquitous and less limiting," says author Manish Nargas, senior analyst for Consumer Services and Mobility. "With 5G networks on the horizon, communication service providers (SPs) can potentially offer that level of ubiquity. However, those communication SPs that showcase the strength of the ubiquity by not talking about its complexity will benefit rather than those touting only its next-generation specifications."
Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong, Manish Nargas
2019-05-17
This IDC study presents IDC Canada's five-year forecasts for communications services spending by customer segment, company size, industry sector, and region for 2019–2023 based on the annual update of IDC Canada's custom Communications Market Model and replaces our previous comprehensive spring and fall 2018 forecast documents (see Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand, Manish Nargas, and Emily Taylor, Canadian Telecom Services Forecast, 2018–2022: Telecom Inside Out, IDC Canada #CA42532118, May 2018, and Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong, and Nikhil Anand, Impact of IFRS 15 Accounting Rule Change on Canadian Communications Services Forecast, 2018–2022, IDC Canada #CA43232418, September 2018).
Communication SPs continue to face twin challenges of market erosion by new and established entrants in their core markets, coupled with increased wireless substitution, which will further exacerbate revenue erosion in traditional communications market segments over the five-year forecast period.
"The need to invest in next-generation network (NGN) infrastructure technologies is an urgent imperative beyond preparing for 5G wireless," says study coauthor Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst at IDC Canada Ltd. "NGN infrastructure is the future of the provider franchise and is both a competitive necessity for survival and a strategic enabler of new revenue sources."
Lawrence Surtees
2019-04-13
This IDC Market Perspective updates IDC Canada's previous analysis of Canadian telecommunications service providers' 2018 capital expenditure forecasts. Communications providers are facing a transition to become service providers of the future to face the twin challenges of market erosion by new entrants and cable players in each other's core markets coupled with stalled penetration in wireless. These forces will sustain capex spending at almost C$12 billion in 2019, according to IDC Canada's annual communications capital expenditure study.
"The move to software-based virtualized networks has become a competitive necessity and an imperative for the next-generation of 5G wireless networks," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president and principal analyst in the Communications Practice at IDC Canada Ltd. "These investments in next-generation network technologies will provide many compelling benefits to providers who make them."
Lawrence Surtees
2019-03-11
IDC's take on the acquisition of Cogeco Peer 1 Inc. (CP1) by U.S. infrastructure investment fund Digital Colony. M&A Announcement Highlights and IDC's Point of View.
Lawrence Surtees
2018-12-22
This study in IDC Canada's occasional Communications Service Providers of the Future series is IDC Canada's first detailed examination of network function virtualization (NFV) technology and explores:
- NFV technology and architecture
- The need and benefits of NFV and use cases
- The obstacles to greater adoptions and the international efforts to standardize NFV open source and to solve integration hurdles with different variants, vendors, and legacy OSS/BSS back-office systems
- Current and planned adoption of NFV by seven major Canadian communications service providers, their positions on the technology, and some of their lessons learned to date
- Guidance and advice to providers
"Communications service providers continue to face challenges in adopting the next-generation network technology of network function virtualization," says Lawrence Surtees, study author and vice president of Communications Research at IDC Canada. "But the move to software-based virtualized networks has become a competitive necessity and an imperative for future 5G wireless networks. Despite the hurdles, Canadian carriers have stepped up to adopt NFV."
Lawrence Surtees
2018-10-16
This IDC study, which is IDC Canada's first published estimate of the size and five-year forecast of the still-nascent business SD-WAN services market, focuses on the annual recurring revenue accruing to communication service providers and other firms from subscription and license of SD-WAN services, which are hosted and delivered by those providers to an enterprise customer. In this study, hosted/cloud SD-WAN revenue excludes SIP trunk sessions, which we class as a communication access service and forecast separately.
"Communication SPs are well positioned to capture emerging opportunities for SD-WAN managed services," says Lawrence Surtees, study author, principal analyst, and vice president of Communications Research at IDC Canada. "However, SD-WAN is a good example of a disruptive 'over-the-top' enterprise service spurring many entrants from the ICT ecosystem that will vie for market share."
Lawrence Surtees, Meng Cong, Nikhil Anand
2018-09-29
This IDC Presentation presents our high-level summary of the impact of a major International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) accounting rule change on IDC Canada's Canadian Communications Services Forecast, 2018–2022. This fall update refreshes IDC Canada's annual Communications Market Model and forecast study released in May 2018.
A major revision to our top-line and segmented markets revenue has occurred in this fall update due to the impact of a major IFRS accounting rule change, IFRS 15, that took effect for fiscal reporting periods after January 1, 2018. We estimate the impact of adopting the IFRS 15 rule change will result in a C$3.7 billion reduction of Canadian communications service provider 2018 revenue to C$55.5 billion according to our fall estimate. The bulk of that impact on Canadian communications providers' revenue will be in the wireless services market segment.
This Presentation should be reviewed in conjunction with the May 2018 study, Canadian Telecom Services Forecast, 2018–2022: Telecom Inside Out (IDC Canada #CA42532118, May 2018) for detailed market assumptions and drivers which remain largely unchanged.
Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand
2018-08-08
Aug 2018
This IDC study updates IDC Canada's annual forecast of the Canadian wireless communication services market.
"The burgeoning popularity of wireless, coupled with a growing mobile workforce and increasing wireless substitution, strengthens the primacy of wireless as the preferred method of communications and the engine of telecom revenue growth in Canada," says Lawrence Surtees, study author and vice president of Communications Research at IDC Canada. "The advent and need for next-generation 5G wireless networks will further drive use of and spending on wireless data at the end of the current forecast period and beyond."
Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand
2018-07-26
This IDC study is the fourth iteration of the Canadian business TV services forecast and updates Canadian Business TV Services Forecast, 2017-2021 (IDC #CA41921117, July 2017).
"Although business video services are viewed by Canadian communication service providers as a significant opportunity, competition for customers' attention and dollars will increase as next-generation cable TV and over-the-top services come on stream," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst of IDC Canada. "This changing nature of video delivery technology means providers will be challenged in attempting to grow the business video market."
Lawrence Surtees
2018-07-24
This IDC study is IDC Canada's 17th annual examination of Canadian communications services sector market shares and a competitive overview of each market segment for the full year 2017.
"Disruptive technologies such as over-the-top service delivery in both consumer and enterprise markets, and the global transformation of ICT platforms, are spawning new competitors while changing the economics of service delivery," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president and principal analyst in the Communications Practice at IDC Canada Ltd. "The imperative of investing in next-generation network technologies provides many compelling benefits for service providers to undertake this journey now and has taken on a new urgency as preparations begin for the looming rollout of next-generation 5G wireless networks."
Lawrence Surtees, Patty Bu
July 2018
This IDC Survey focuses on adoption, spending, and vendor preferences across a broad range of communication services and technologies in Canadian enterprises. This survey is a refresh of IDC Canada's annual survey conducted with businesses of all sizes and across all regions and vertical markets in Canada on their communications usage.
Lawrence Surtees
June 2018
This IDC Presentation provides a global overview and Canadian perspective on the status of 5G wireless, the looming next generation of broadband mobility network technology. We answer some of the most frequent questions about 5G: What is it? When is it? Where is it, and Where is Canada with it? What will 5G mean, and Why does 5G matter? We explain why we believe the importance of 5G far transcends just wireless and that "5G is not just another wireless G." It was originally delivered as a live webcast on June 20, 2018, and slide notes are provided.
Emily Taylor, Manish Nargas, Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand
May 2018
This IDC study examines consumer wireless voice and data, residential dial-up and high-speed internet, and residential wireline voice services, and it addresses the current state of these markets in Canada. It provides forecasts for both subscriptions and revenue as well as the key drivers and inhibitors behind the forecast.
Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand, Manish Nargas, Emily Taylor
May 2018
This IDC study presents IDC Canada's five-year forecasts for communications services spending by customer segment, company size, industry sector, and region for 2018–2022 based on the annual update of IDC Canada's custom Communications Market Model and replaces our previous comprehensive forecast document (see Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand, and Manish Nargas, Canadian Telecom Services Forecast, 2017–2021: Telecom Inside Out, IDC Canada #CA41246217, May 2017).
Readers should note the adjustments made in this study and rely on this forecast for 2018 planning purposes. This study addresses the following questions:
How does current and projected spending on Canadian telecom services differ by:
- Market segment?
- Customer segment?
- Company size?
- Region?
- Industry vertical sector?
Which industry sectors, customer segments, company size, and regional segments of the Canadian communications services market are poised for growth, and which are the best opportunities for communication service providers (CSPs) over the new five-year forecast period?
CSPs continue to face twin challenges of market erosion by new and established entrants in their core markets, coupled with stalled penetration in wireless. The advent and adoption of lower-cost technological substitutes such as SIP trunks and new software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) data service along with increased wireless substitution will further exacerbate revenue erosion in traditional telecom market segments over the five-year forecast period.
"The imperative of investing in next-generation network technologies provides many compelling benefits for CSPs to undertake this journey now and has taken on a new urgency as preparations begin for the looming rollout of next-generation 5G wireless networks," says study co-author Lawrence Surtees, vice president and principal analyst in the Communications Practice at IDC Canada Ltd. "CSPs can seize new opportunities in the IT services and video markets, but disruptive technologies such as SIP trunks, 'over the top' (OTT) service delivery in both consumer and enterprise markets, and global transformation of ICT platforms are spawning new competitors while changing the economics of service delivery."
Lawrence Surtees
May 2018
This IDC Market Perspective updates IDC Canada's previous analysis of Canadian telecommunications service providers' 2017 capital expenditure forecasts. CSPs are facing a transition to become service providers of the future to face the twin challenges of market erosion by new entrants and cable players in each other's core markets coupled with stalled penetration in wireless. These forces will sustain Canadian CSP capex spending at almost C$12.1 billion in 2018, according to IDC Canada's annual communications capital expenditure study.
"The imperative of investing in next-generation network technologies provides many compelling benefits for CSPs to undertake this journey now and has taken on a new urgency as preparations begin for the looming rollout of next-generation 5G wireless networks," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president and principal analyst in the Communications Practice at IDC Canada Ltd.
Lawrence Surtees
April 2018
This IDC Market Note examines converged voice over WiFi and voice over LTE services on Shaw's Go WiFi hotspot network and Freedom Mobile's public wireless network.
"We believe consumer preference of WiFi for wireless access will result in carrier-grade WiFi network expansion, new models to monetize public hotspots, and development of new converged devices," says Lawrence Surtees, document author and vice president of Communications Research at IDC Canada.
Lawrence Surtees
April 2018
This IDC Market Note discusses the newly created public/private ENCQOR partnership between the governments of Canada, Ontario, and Québec with five of the world's largest tech firms to create a next-generation 5G wireless network test bed in Canada's two largest provinces. We believe this C$400 million, five-year initiative is essential because of the novel complexities faced in evolving to 5G from 4G wireless.
Lawrence Surtees, Patty Bu
2019-12-25
This IDC Survey focuses on adoption, spending, and vendor preferences across a broad range of communication services and technologies in Canadian enterprises. This Survey is a refresh of IDC Canada's annual survey conducted with businesses of all sizes and across all regions in Canada on their current and planned communications usage.
Lawrence Surtees, Patty Bu
October 2017
This IDC Presentation provides top-line survey findings from IDC Canada's most recent annual Business Communications Survey conducted in August–September 2017. The slide deck contains important data and observations on the uptake of communications services and spending intentions by Canadian enterprises, with responses shown by business size segment. IDC Canada moved this survey to an online methodology in 2016. The sample size was also increased to 400 online business telecommunications and network decision makers. We have refined and added new questions on SIP trunk sessions, cloud delivery, wireless WiFi guest access, SD-WANs, unified communications and collaboration, and business spending on TV video.
Lawrence Surtees
October 2017
This IDC study examines cloud-based unified communications and collaboration as a service (UCCaaS) in Canadian enterprises and should be used as an adjunct to our first forecast of the Canadian hosted UCC-as-a-service market (see Lawrence Surtees and Nikhil Anand, Canadian Enterprise Unified Communications and Collaboration-as-a-Service Forecast, 2017–2021: CSPs of the Future, IDC Canada #CA41920817, September 2017). These studies are based on our more detailed forecasts contained in IDC Canada's Communications Market Model. Clients using this document are also urged to familiarize themselves with the telecom service taxonomy and segment definitions detailed in the Market Definition section of this document.
"The market for next-generation cloud-based UCCaaS and voice services has become highly competitive in Canada and includes a variety of different services offered by a multiplicity of different providers," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst of IDC Canada. "Propelled by strong growth of cloud services, we believe the UCCaaS delivery model has become more popular than customer-owned premise-based services."
Lawrence Surtees
October 2017
This IDC study examines SD-WAN service launches and plans in Canada.
"Canada's major communications service providers are beginning to launch their first services based on the next-generation software-defined network (SDN) platform. But SD-WAN is just the tip of a looming iceberg," says Lawrence Surtees, study author and vice president of communications research at IDC Canada Ltd. "The combination of the three next-generation network technologies of SDN in the core network, with the addition of Network Function Virtualization (NFV) over the next one to three years, followed by deployment of true 5G wireless in the next four to five years, will completely transform every aspect of a CSP's business and communications services."
Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand
September 2017
This IDC study examines the hosted and cloud-based segment of the Canadian UCC market. This study includes only a partial summary view of the more detailed forecasts contained in IDC Canada's Communications Market Model. Clients using this document are also urged to familiarize themselves with the telecom service taxonomy and segment definitions detailed in the Market Definition section of this document.
"Hosted and cloud-based UCC offerings have recently emerged as a viable deployment option by CSPs," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst of IDC Canada. "We believe that propelled by strong growth of cloud services, the UCC-as-a-service (UCCaaS) delivery model has become more popular than customer-owned premise-based services."
Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand
August 2017
This IDC study updates IDC Canada's annual forecast of the Canadian wireless communication services market.
"The burgeoning popularity of wireless, coupled with a growing mobile workforce and increasing wireless substitution, strengthens the primacy of wireless as the preferred method of communications and engine of telecom revenue growth in Canada," says Lawrence Surtees, study author and vice president of Communications Research at IDC Canada. "The advent and need for next-generation 5G wireless networks will further drive use of and spending on wireless data at the end of the current forecast period and beyond."
Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand
July 2017
This IDC study is the third iteration of the Canadian business TV services forecast and updates Canadian Business TV Services Forecast, 2016–2020 (IDC Canada #CA40658016, October 2016).
"Business video services are viewed by Canadian communication service providers (CSPs) as a significant opportunity," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president of Communications Research and principal analyst of IDC Canada. "But the dramatic changing nature of video delivery technology and increased competition looming from over-the-top and wireless providers means CSPs will be severely challenged in trying to grow the business video market."
Lawrence Surtees
July 2017
This IDC Market Note discusses the proposed Chinese takeover of Norsat. A proposed Chinese acquisition of Vancouver-based Norsat International Inc. and the federal government's approval earlier in June of the bid for the Canadian high-tech satellite communication antenna system equipment maker has garnered politically motivated attacks that the deal is harmful to Canadian and United States national security. We believe the Trudeau government conducted an adequate review and Hytera's acquisition of Norsat should proceed.
Manish Nargas, Emily Taylor, Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand
June 2017
This IDC study examines the forecast for Canadian TV service subscribers and revenue. It also addresses the current state of cable TV, satellite TV, and IPTV markets as well as the key drivers and inhibitors underlying the forecast.
Lawrence Surtees, Nikhil Anand, Manish Nargas
May 2017
This IDC study presents IDC Canada's five-year forecasts for communications services spending by customer segment, company size, industry sector, and region for 2016–2021 based on the annual update of IDC Canada's custom Communications Market Model and replaces our previous comprehensive forecast document (see Canadian Telecom Services Forecast, 2016–2020: Telecom Inside Out, IDC Canada #CA40658516, May 2016).
Manish Nargas, Nikhil Anand, Lawrence Surtees, Emily Taylor
May 2017
This IDC study examines consumer wireless voice and data, residential dial-up and high-speed internet, and residential phone services and addresses the current state of these markets in Canada. It provides forecasts for both subscriptions and revenue, as well as the key drivers and inhibitors behind the forecast.
April 2017
This IDC Market Perspective examines the rationale and benefits of cloud-based unified communications and collaboration (UCC) and details of the offerings of Telus.
"Cloud-based unified communications and collaboration offerings have recently emerged as a viable deployment option by communications service providers (CSPs)," says Lawrence Surtees, report author and vice president of Communications Research at IDC Canada.
April 2017
This IDC Market Perspective updates IDC Canada's previous analysis of Canadian telecommunications service providers' 2016 capital expenditure forecasts. CSPs are facing a transition to become service providers of the future to face the twin challenges of market erosion by new entrants and cable players in each other's core markets coupled with stalled penetration in wireless. These forces will sustain Canadian CSP capex spending at C$11.5 billion in 2017, according to IDC Canada's annual communications capital expenditure study.
"The imperative of investing in next-generation network technologies has become urgent for incumbent service providers to enable them to compete against global newcomers that are unencumbered by legacy networks but also provides many compelling benefits for CSPs to undertake this journey now," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president and principal analyst in the Communications Practice at IDC Canada Ltd.
April 2017
This IDC study is IDC Canada's 16th annual examination of Canadian communications services sector market shares and a competitive overview of each market segment for the full year 2016. Unlike previous years in which we published the full Who's Who guide with 75 vendor profiles, we will supplement this overview with two other studies in the Canadian Telecom Market Drivers and Strategies program that cover the range of developments affecting telecom markets in Canada and include detailed vendor profiles: Canadian Communications Service Provider Capex Budgets, 2016–2017 (forthcoming), which is IDC Canada's annual telecom capital expenditure study, and a second study profiling players in a specific market segment that will change each year (see Lawrence Surtees, CSPs of the Future — High Fibre: Canadian Fibre-Optic Networks, IDC Canada #CA40308516, April 2016).
"Disruptive technologies such as "over-the-top" service delivery in both consumer and enterprise markets, and the global transformation of ICT platforms, are spawning new competitors while changing the economics of service delivery," says study author Lawrence Surtees, vice president and principal analyst in the Communications Practice at IDC Canada Ltd. "CSPs face compelling reasons to urgently make the transition to become the service providers of the future to face the twin challenges of market erosion coupled with lower-than-expected growth and stalled penetration in wireless. CSPs that eagerly and swiftly make the transition will not perish."
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