Middle East telcos' annual revenue growth slowed to 4.8% in FY-2023, with 85% reporting positive growth. ARPU remains stagnant at ~USD 13. Telcos are targeting B2B segment, embracing AI, and focusing on 5G infrastructure. EBITDA margin remains stable at ~38%.CAPEX spending declined to ~18% of overall revenue. ARPU growth rates have stalled due to competitive intensity and a challenging macroeconomic environment. Nearly 88% of the 16 telcos reported growth in net profit, indicating better capital utilisation. Telcos should continue to invest and monetise their 5G infrastructure for innovative service offerings. Telcos focus on cybersecurity implementations to address vulnerabilities arising from rapid 5G rollout and evolving network complexities.

APAC telcos' annual revenue growth moderated to 5.1% in FY-2023, with 88% reporting revenue growth. ARPU levels remained flat at ~USD 11. Telcos are focusing on enterprise and non-connectivity revenue streams for growth. Generative AI and FWA present significant opportunities for growth. EBITDA margin stabilized at 38.7% in FY-2023. Telcos are strategically shifting focus to "beyond connectivity" offerings. Average CAPEX intensity declined in FY-2023. ARPU levels stabilized with ~72% of APAC telcos reporting growth in FY-2023. Key suggestions and recommendations include focusing on "beyond connectivity" offerings, adopting Generative AI, digitalizing network management capabilities, and focusing on enterprise non-connectivity offerings.

Top 5 telecom vendors saw 4.4% revenue growth in FY-2023, led by Cisco and Huawei. Ericsson and Nokia saw declines. 5G deployments in developed markets and challenging macroeconomic scenarios impacted overall growth. Cisco's revenue increased by 7.7% YoY, while Ericsson's revenue fell by 3% YoY and Nokia's revenue declined 10.6% YoY. Huawei's revenue surged 9.6% YoY, and ZTE's revenue grew 1.1% YoY. Overall carrier network business revenue increased by 2.6%, and overall enterprise sales grew from 18.2% to 19.2% of total revenue. All vendors (except Cisco) increased R&D spending. India boosted revenues for Cisco, Ericsson, and Nokia, but Indian telcos plan to regulate CAPEX spending in 2024. Cisco, Ericsson, and Nokia announced workforce reductions. Cloud-native solutions, 5G, Open RAN, network monetisation, and optical networks are key themes shaping telecom engagements in FY-2023. The market is expected to stabilise as operators focus on 5G Standalone, Open RAN architecture, and monetising 5G services to meet growing capacity needs and new use cases.