Exertis UK and Ireland managing director Gerry O’Keeffe tells Mobile News his thoughts on what might happen this year, including exchange rate effects on the UK and new ownership for some telecom firms
This is an impossible task. What last year obviously demonstrated is that nobody has any change of predicting what will happen in 2017.
However things changed dramatically last year, which will undoubtedly shape things differently in 2017. The most significant factor is a fundamental change in exchange rates which make UK assets more attractive to oversees companies.
The plays for Arm and Sky are testament to this. The numbers on Vodafone and O2 are no doubt being looked at closely again by Liberty Global and SoftBank and I expect one or both to be under new ownership by the end of 2017.
A weaker pound is leading to the most significant level of price inflation the industry has even seen which will create real opportunities for those that can deliver maximum technology per pound in new products. The continuing growth in SIM Free as consumers increasingly “crack the code” will support this trend, with new entrants to the market in the shape of Sky and Nokia disrupting some of the establishment norms.
In addition, the repair, refurbishment and recommercing of products already in the market will become increasingly important as total product lifecycle management is something we all focus on.
