Telstra registered a 14% increase in brand value to US$12.4 billion in 2017, retaining the title of the most valuable telecoms brand in Australia and climbing one spot to 13th place globally in the Brand Finance Telecoms 300 rankings.
According to Brand Finance Australia, the strength of the brand contrasts with the decline in Telstra’s market value of 21%, highlighting the “ever increasing role of the brand in the organisation’s overall business strategy”.
“Telstra continues to perform exceptionally well across a number of brand attributes, and is now reaping the benefits of its customer-focused investments,” said Mark Crowe, managing director, Brand Finance Australia.
“Telstra has formally launched a 5G Innovation Centre on the Gold Coast to house tests of new technology based on the emerging next-generation wireless standard and we look forward to the formal rollout of its 5G services in 2019.”
{loadposition peter}In the Asia Pacific region, Brand Finance says the biggest success story from China in the 300 league table is China Telecom which saw a 36% growth to its brand value, rising through the ranks to 7th place this year, from 10th last year.
The China Telecom brand is now valued at almost US$24.0 billion as the company steps up efforts towards 5G deployment, with plans to run a phased testing period for capacity and performance of 5G networks across six cities from 2017 to 2019 before launching commercially in 2020.
“China Telecom is also the country’s biggest fixed-line network services provider,” Brand Finance notes.
Brand Finance reports that American telecoms players continue to dominate the Telecoms 300 league table, with AT&T retaining the title of the sector’s most valuable brand, but most US brands have experienced a loss in value as they fend off competition from Internet giants.
“Challenges presented by technology brands, such as Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Microsoft-owned Skype, have meant American telecoms must update their voice and video calling service offerings to stay relevant.
“Telecoms revenue growth has been in decline since 2013 as more customers opt for Over-The-Top messaging services to remain in touch. With Microsoft (Skype), Facebook (Messenger, WhatsApp), Amazon (Alexa), Tencent (WeChat), Google (Hangouts) and many other firms expanding their services in this space, demand for OTT services is causing telecoms brands to adapt fast.
“However, 79% of mobile customers worldwide think that demand for OTT is outpacing the ability of telecoms brands to adjust, according to a 2017 Mobile Economy report by the GSMA.”
David Haigh, chief executive of Brand Finance, commented: “While American telecoms brands are at the top of the table, they are grappling against falling brand values as they find themselves navigating a complex regulatory environment and competitive offerings from the internet challengers, all whilst battling sinking revenues. In order to survive in the digital era, telcos must put up a strong fight by adopting innovative strategies.”
But while American telecom brand values fall, Brand finance says that when taking a snapshot of brand representation by country, the US still dominates as American brands hold the largest share or 28% of the total brand value in the 300 league table.
“By comparison, China and Japan each account for 11% of the brand value in the telecoms sector and British telecoms brands occupy 8% of the league table,” the report notes.
Under the Brand Finance table, AT&T maintained its position as the leading global telecoms brand, despite its brand value falling 5% from US$87.0 billion to US$82.4 billion over the past 12 months.
According to Brand Finance, AT&T struggled with the loss of post-paid mobile phone subscribers as lower pricing for its unlimited plans failed to attract customers in a saturated US market.
And, looking to the future, Brand Finance says the AT&T brand is now involved in new 5G network investments and participating in intensive testing for vehicle-to-everything networks.
America’s largest wireless network, Verizon, came in second place on the league table with a brand value of US$62.8 billion, down from US$65.9 billion last year, dropping 5% in brand value.
Also placed within the top 10 in 6th spot is American brand Xfinity, the wireless and TV service owned by the wider Comcast network and valued at US$26.1 billion.
“Another American brand which has seen its brand value drop is independent business connectivity provider, Spectrum, which came in 12th place whilst contending with a 15% fall in brand value,” Brand Finance reports.
China features again in the in the Brand Finance Telecoms Infrastructure 10 league table, with Chinese brand Huawei coming out on top, valued at US$38.0 billion, up 51% from last year’s US$25.2 billion.
“Huawei’s phenomenal global rise continues with its smartphone business now firmly in third place behind Apple and Samsung,” Brand Finance says.
“The core networking business, which delivers the bulk of global revenue, is growing with the expectation of 5G services coming online soon. Since 2012, Huawei has grown nearly 700% from US$4.8 billion to US$38.0 billion, trailblazing Chinese efforts to build home-grown brands,” the report notes.
Noting that Nokia has made a comeback, Brand Finance says: “Favoured Finnish brand Nokia is the third most valuable telecoms infrastructure brand worldwide, reaping the benefits of refreshing its well-loved mobile phones.
“Nokia’s brand story in the past few years can be likened to that of a phoenix rising from the ashes. Nokia has seen a 71% increase in brand value to US$8.4 billion in the past year, quadrupling since the low point of US$2.0 billion in 2014."