Telecom Business Intelligence: The Five Forces of a Highly Competitive Industry

Telecom Business Intelligence: The Five Forces of a Highly Competitive Industry: "Below are five areas that exemplify the concepts of the �five forces� and show how trends can really be pressures on an organization�s competitive nature:

Industry Consolidation: As we have seen in the wireless / cellular service provider market, this can mean threats from existing companies who consolidate their position and acquire additional market share by purchasing their competition (Rivalry).
Wireless Local-Area Networks: The Internet and broadband-based VoIP market could soon face competitors from the wireless / cellular service providers (Substitutes) via wireless local area networks, WLANs.
Security/Fraud: When you think about using a free VoIP service, like Skype, you do not necessarily think about fraud. However, when you start looking at the pay VoIP services, fraud becomes a much larger issue. Carolyn Schuk has written an excellent article on VoIP Fraud detailing these issues (Barriers to Entry).
Pricing: Wireless / cellular and traditional phone service providers have seen demands from consumer�s drive their price per minute via lower tiered minute and flat rate plans. Pay VoIP providers are entering not at the top, but closer to the bottom of these pricing levels (Buyers).
Broadband Access: The penetration rate of broadband access in the United States, the lifeblood of pay VoIP services, is around 55 to 60 percent. This effectively caps the number of customers that have access to VoIP services and places more power in the hands of the broadband access providers (Suppliers)."