Capex intensity trends among telecoms operators and big tech companies are heading in opposite directions
"Big tech may be approaching a crisis of overproduction."
As recently as 2022, the combined capex of the largest US and Chinese hyperscale tech businesses was around half the total for telecoms operators worldwide. This trend has changed dramatically due to the surge in AI-related investment, and because of the slow decline in telecoms capex intensity brought about by the end of initial 5G roll-outs and the inevitable slowdown in FTTP spend.
This report explores the differing capex profiles, and highlights areas of overlap between big tech and telecoms operator investment.
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Author
Rupert Wood
Research Director, expert in communications infrastructure and network business analysisRelated items
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