An eye for an i: risks and opportunities in the telecommunications sector

The list of items to check before you leave the house every morning is changing: where once just keys and a wallet were enough to see the day through, disaster strikes if, when you arrive at the office, your mobile phone is still lying mockingly on the kitchen table.

To call that device a "mobile phone" almost seems like an injustice, given that mobile phones have effectively evolved to become pocket computers. 'Smartphones' are removing the need to carry around multiple devices such as cameras, MP3 players and even laptops. They are already capable of unlocking car doors and paying for goods, and their functionality continues to increase by the day, along with our reliance upon them.

We believe that the move towards a more highly connected world presents an exciting global range of investment opportunities, but it also entails risks. Inherent in the development of communications is the erosion of geographical boundaries, which makes the sector ideal for the global thematic research that we conduct at Newton. In this article we explore some of the pressing issues surrounding the growing use of smartphones, and how our themes, particularly 'networked world' and 'smart', help us to assess investment opportunities and risks in the global telecommunications sector.