The world is in the grip of a financial recession that has shaken the global economic system to its foundation. But what is the consequence for the telecom sector? After all, telecommunications and the Internet are now vital platforms, underpinning trade, industry, finance, and personal communications worldwide.

Services are coming under pricing pressure and margins are eroding, which in turn will affect investment in infrastructure and new technology. Will the credit
crunch derail investments in NGNs and converged services? Does the dot-com bust earlier in the decade provide clues for the way forward? Furthermore,
how will OEMs fare during the economic maelstrom, where are the opportunities for operators, what are the risks, and which operators are best equipped to weather the crisis?

This report explores the impact of the financial crisis on the telecom sector in quantitative terms, especially on capital investments such as optical equipment and fiber and Ethernet and Sonet equipment. The focus of the analysis will be on operators in North America, key EU member states, and select Asian countries.