GSMA’s 2022 Internet Value Chain Report shared significant market imbalances between network operators who pay for underlying infrastructure investments and other players who offer online services.
The study finds that revenues across the Internet value chain nearly doubled in five years, from $3.3 trillion in 2015 to $6.7 trillion in 2020. Much of this growth came from online services which saw a 19% increase in revenue per annum in 2020.
Yet the return on investment in infrastructure for network operators was far lower, between 6% and 11%. The report highlighted average sub-10% returns on capital as a big concern. This is due to pressure on telecom operators to keep investing CapEx at rates of up to 20% of revenue.
Source: https://www.gsma.com/publicpolicy/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Internet-Value-Chain-2022.pdf