Telecom Capex to grow at a one percent CAGR by 2022, according to Dell’Oro Group

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – April 3, 2020 – According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, the trusted source for market information about the telecommunications, networks, and data center IT industries, the telecom capex outlook remains favorable, even with the increased uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Worldwide telecom capex – the sum of wireless and wireline telecom investments – is projected to grow at a one percent CAGR between 2019 and 2022.

“While we are operating in unchartered territories and it is somewhat unorthodox to project solid capex growth in the middle of a pandemic, we envision that healthy end user fundamentals, positive 5G momentum, and an improved understanding about the importance of access to consistent broadband will ultimately outweigh the downside risks due to COVID-19,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President and analyst with the Dell’Oro Group.

Additional highlights from the March 2020 3-Year Telecom Capex Forecast:

• Wireless capex is projected to grow at a faster pace than wireline capex, underpinning projections that 5G capex will accelerate rapidly over the forecast period.
• Worldwide capital intensity ratios – wireless plus wireline – are projected to advance at a one percent CAGR between 2019 and 2022, driven primarily by a healthy uptick in wireless capex/revenue.
• Wireless investments in China, propelled by the rapid shift from 4G to 5G, are projected to drive the lion share of the capex upside over the 2019 to 2022 forecast period.
• Following three years of elevated investment levels in the U.S. telecom market, wireless investments will be characterized by robust mid-band capex, increasing millimeter wave investments, and some moderation in low-band projects.