Across Europe, telecom prices are taking a nosedive, and Italy is leading the pack. According to AGCOM’s 2025 survey, Italians are paying 30% less for telecom services than they did a decade ago. France isn’t far behind with a 26% reduction, and even the broader EU27 bloc has seen prices fall by nearly 10%. It’s a consumer’s dream, right?
Well, not so fast. While we’re all enjoying cheaper broadband, the telecom sector is facing a major challenge. Prices are shrinking just as the need for investment in 5G, fiber expansions, and future infrastructure is skyrocketing. If telecom services have effectively halved in real terms, what incentive is there for operators to fund these upgrades?
Telecom: The Odd One Out
While other essential utilities like gas, power, and water have all increased in price over the past four years, telecom services have bucked the trend. In Italy, for instance, gas prices climbed by 76%, power by 64.5%, and even water and waste services saw increases. Meanwhile, the cost of a large basket of communications services fell by almost 11%. Telecom has made itself the exception, but at what cost?
Investment vs. Revenue: A Widening Gap
Despite a decade of heavy investment, telecom revenues aren’t keeping pace. From 2015 to 2022, global telco capital expenditure remained above $300 billion per year, with peaks driven by 5G rollouts and fiber expansions. But global telecom service revenues are only expected to grow from $1.14 trillion in 2023 to $1.3 trillion by 2028 – a growth rate below expected inflation.
So, while networks are getting stronger, the financial foundation beneath them is growing weaker. And regional differences complicate the picture: while China invested $58.3 billion in telecom capex in 2022 alone, many Western markets pulled back.
Leaner Workforces, Outsourced Expertise
To cope with these challenges, many telecom companies have been streamlining their operations and increasing profitability. This has led to a significant reduction in overall telecom employment over the past decade. The combined workforce of the top 20 global operators fell from 1.8 million employees in 2015 to 1.3 million in 2024.
Thousands of jobs once central to national operators are now absorbed into shared-service models, tower companies, or managed service providers owned by external companies. While this model lowers costs and provides access to specialized expertise, it also erodes institutional knowledge and internal career pathways.
The AI Factor
The promise of AI to simplify workflows has further accelerated these changes. An estimated 52,000 jobs have been ‘lost’ to AI in just the past year, with British Telecom alone announcing plans to cut 10,000 positions over seven years, much of it stemming from AI and automation initiatives.
Finding Balance
The paths forward are many, but none are simple checklists. Operators will need to gradually shift competition away from pure price, potentially through deeper bundling of services or focusing more on enterprise services. Policymakers also have a part to play, with regulation that encourages long-term investment rather than reinforcing price wars.
Telecoms can’t remain the lone deflationary utility forever. Whether through smarter collaboration, regulatory foresight, or innovation in services, sustainability must become the sector’s guiding principle. Only then can cheaper today also mean better tomorrow.
