Global managed telecommunications service provider revenues could grow significantly over the next few years, according to Ovum.

The independent global analyst firm has predicted that telco service provider revenues will increase at a 9.9 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to more than $297 billion worldwide between 2015 and 2020.

Other Ovum predictions include:

In addition, Ovum noted that information and communications technology (ICT) services such as unified communications (UC) “represent the new generation of dedicated IT and IP communications services that [telco] service providers are able to offer under contracts with enterprise customers.”

“Telcos have relied on adapting traditional voice and data services to serve increasingly complex enterprise business users, but now have a powerful range of ICT services that have been integrated across the operators’ global networks,” David Molony, principal analyst for Ovum’s enterprise practice, said in a prepared statement. “Telco revenues from strategic ICT services are growing faster and, according to our calculations, will overtake legacy service revenues in 2018.”

Molony also noted that telco service providers could control 18 percent of the global ICT services market by 2020, up from 14 percent this year.

Ovum’s predictions are based on data from more than 9,000 managed services contracts between telco service providers and enterprise customers worldwide.

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