Operators increase their focus on the SME market as SME revenue grows faster than enterprise revenue

Business revenue continued to grow more quickly than the total revenue for most telecoms operators in 1H 2024, though the rate of business growth has declined. A difference between revenue growth from small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) customers and that from enterprise customers has emerged; SME revenue is growing more quickly than enterprise revenue. This is because increased competition in the enterprise segment has kept ARPU down, while pricing trends in the SME market have been better able to track those in the consumer market (resulting in an increase in ARPU). Furthermore, operators’ SME business units are generally less exposed to falling legacy connectivity revenue than enterprise divisions.

Many operators have rightly increased their focus on the SME market recently to take better advantage of its growth potential. Operators without this focus may struggle to address SMEs’ concerns and could miss out on a revenue growth opportunity.