Communications review

With a global circulation of over 18,000, PricewaterhouseCoopers' quarterly journal for communications executives is regarded as a must-read. Communications review showcases some of the best global practices and leading-edge thinking regarding management and financial issues in the communications industry. Articles are authored by partners in our Communications industry practice..

Volume 14, No. 3 — Striving for Efficiency

Today, the view increasingly reported in the media is that the worst of the economic downturn may be behind us. However, opinions on this issue remain sharply divided. The overall effect of the ongoing debate has been to replace the recent sense of despondency with deep uncertainty over the next movements in the global economy. Given communications operators’ central role in economic activity,
our exposure to an array of factors ranging from consumer confidence to corporate investment, and the fiercely competitive and fast-moving nature of our industry, means that this uncertainty is as acute in our sector as anywhere else.

It is time, therefore, for operators to propose a solid platform for recovery and to ensure that their business is equipped to withstand any further economic shocks. Those two objectives share one core imperative: making the business more efficient in every sense—operationally, financially, technologically, and culturally. With all that in mind, this edition of Communications Review examines how operators can rethink their business models and strategies to achieve the highest possible efficiency at the lowest risk, while facing the current economic and market issues alongside the perennial challenges of variations in customer demand and increasing competition.