There now is growing evidence that 5G capex actually will not lead to much of an increase in service provider investments, at least for many tier-one service providers. Three UK, Swisscom and Verizon are among the service providers who maintain that 5G investments will be made within the typical capex budget ranges each of the firms historically has maintained, at least compared to other periods when the next-generation mobile network has to be built.
Others, including AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile US, might well find capex increasing, partly as a cyclical matter. Capex requirements always build at the start of a new mobile generation, then taper off as the new network reaches completion.
“I think you'll see capex stay within reasonable bounds of what you've seen from us in the past,” says Matthew Ellis, Verizon CFO. By that he means capital expenditures for the full year 2018 will be between $16.6 billion and $17.0 billion. That noted, Verizon and AT&T have spent in 2018 more than originally forecast by company executives.
No comments:
Post a Comment