Study on future trends and business models in communication services : executive summary

The study investigates competitive pressures telecom operators experience from internet-based communication services. Developments in the European market show an accelerating increase in usage of online communication services (OCS); end-users increasingly regard OCS as substitutes for traditional telecom services ("electronic communication services", ECS). Similar developments are also observed in non-EU regions. The impact of OCS on ECS is clearly observed in mobile revenues, which have declined due to OCS. The study finds no impact of OCS on fixed telecom. To face the competition, ECS providers can offer new services or develop new revenue models. The introduction of new services is not restricted by legal barriers. New revenue models may have more potential, but legal rules restrict the use of user data as a key asset. Asymmetric legal protection of end-users appears only justified in case of differences between ECS and OCS. As privacy risks are similar when using ECS and OCS, asymmetric privacy and data protection seems difficult to justify.