If one assumes a global requirement to invest $57 trillion in non-telecom infrastructure between 2013 and 2030, about 60 percent more than was invested in global infrastructure in the most recent 18 years, there are some rather obvious conclusions for telecom investment.

Competition for capital roads, power, bridges and other infrastructure will be severe. The telecom itself will need to invest about $9.5 trillion between 2013 and 2030, McKinsey Group estimates.

Given debt loads most countries face, it is not likely there will be too much extra funding available to help service providers create all that new infrastructure. So the growing trend of serious regulator thinking about how to create incentives for investment is not misplaced.

Source: IPCarrier