Service Providers and Markets
CSPs will continue to maintain their focus on cybersecurity, cloud, and IoT while gradually incorporating computing solutions.
Omdia expects communication service providers (CSPs) to progress their quest to explore high-growth services beyond traditional connectivity services.
In 2025, the B2B transformation opportunities will reach $2.7tn and service providers are determined to gain a larger share of it – alone but more often in partnership. From the product perspective, CSPs will continue to maintain their focus on cybersecurity, cloud, and IoT while gradually incorporating computing solutions (e.g., GPUs) to support the growing demand for AI-driven computation. CSPs have identified B2B-sales capabilities, implementation, integration and managed service as key differentiators in the competitive enterprise-IT market. By 2025, we anticipate CSPs will continue investing in customer-facing initiatives to capture a larger share of B2B sales.
Growth beyond connectivity in B2C will continue in traditional areas such as gaming, financial services, smart home, e-health, e-learning, home security, and even utilities such as gas and electricity. However, some operators are aiming higher: Can they tap into the vast search and advertising market as Google faces mounting challenges from antitrust actions, regulatory scrutiny, and AI-native competitors? This will be a key development to watch in 2025.
By 2025, some long-awaited 5G capabilities are set to achieve mass-market adoption.
CSPs have successfully reversed the decade-long decline of the $1.3tn connectivity market, but growth remains small, barely keeping pace with inflation. By 2025, some long-awaited 5G capabilities are set to achieve mass-market adoption. As of mid-2024, CSPs representing 55% of the global subscriber base will have deployed 5G Standalone (SA) with some also adopting 5G-advanced. This enables effective segmentation and differentiation of connectivity services including premium tiers, through features such as enhanced uplink, low latency, prioritization (where regulations permit) and improved QoS.
Additionally, Network APIs have reached a critical mass among CSPs: Omdia forecasts APIs will generate $750 million in 2025 – a modest figure relative to the total connectivity market. However, hyperscale operators have fully embraced most aspects of CSP-supplied APIs, paving the way for app developers and enterprises to experiment with premium connectivity features. This could flood the telecom market in 2025 with innovative use cases.
For more service providers and markets trends, visit:
2025 Trends to Watch: European Service Provider Markets
2025 Trends to Watch: Latin America
2025 Trends to Watch: Service Provider Market in the US
2025 Trends to Watch: Service Provider Markets in Asia & Oceania