Inefficient asset management is costing telecommunications companies big, according to a report from Uniqus, which reveals that a significant percentage of capital expenditure is wasted annually due to poor planning and inadequate oversight of physical infrastructure.
As global operators accelerate the deployment of 5G networks and fiber optic infrastructure, the sheer scale of capital investment has reached a critical juncture. Fixed assets represent the largest investment category on a telecom balance sheet, and their effective management has become a strategic imperative for long-term financial performance and regulatory compliance.
Fixed assets are the single largest investment category for virtually every major telecom operator worldwide. Saudi Telecom Company (stc), the Middle East’s largest operator by market capitalization (approximately $57 billion), has consistently reported property, plant and equipment (PPE) exceeding $12 billion on its balance sheet. Etisalat (now e&), with growing pan-African and South Asian operations, reports tangible assets of approximately $14 billion.
Source: Uniqus
The research found that finance and operations leaders across the industry point to a persistent gap between the strategic importance of these assets and the rigor with which they are managed over their lifecycles.
The financial impact of asset management
The report highlights that inefficient asset utilization linked to poor planning makes Fixed Asset Management (FAM) strategy a critical financial matter for operators. When fixed asset registers are inaccurate, it leads to material misstatements in depreciation, inflated or deflated book values, and increased exposure to audit risk and regulatory non-compliance.
Source: Uniqus
The data underscores that telecom remains fundamentally an infrastructure business, where sustained capital deployment into tangible assets is a prerequisite for competitive relevance and license compliance. For instance, top-tier operators across the Middle East, such as Saudi Telecom Company, have reported property, plant and equipment balances exceeding $12 billion.
There is a notable threshold around 1.5x for the revenue-to-property, plant, and equipment ratio; operators above this level are extracting strong commercial value from their infrastructure, while those below 1.0x should examine their asset utilization, network modernization plans, and potential stranded or underutilized assets.
The top telecom players that have managed to get the most revenue out of PPE include Spain’s Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, and STC, a public Saudi company. Considering the importance of fixed assets, revenue-to-PPE makes a robust executive KPI alongside ROCE, asset turnover, and EBITDA metrics.
Source: Uniqus
Operational and regulatory challenges
Telecom operators face unique obstacles, including the need to manage assets scattered across thousands of dispersed sites. The emergence of infrastructure sharing models, tower leaseback arrangements, and IFRS 16 lease accounting standards has introduced new layers of complexity in asset classification and valuation.
In addition to that, field technicians often struggle with non-aligned identifiers for equipment, such as manufacturer serial numbers, NOC element IDs, internal asset tags, and ERP numbers, none of which correspond cleanly. That significantly complicates physical verification.
The report emphasizes that in populations not subjected to rigorous physical verification within three years, ghost and phantom assets are a well-documented industry challenge. Phantom assets understate capital investment while ghost assets – items still on the books that no longer exist – inflate depreciation and gross asset values, compounding financial reporting risk and impairing capital planning accuracy.
The role of AI in transformation
Digital transformation initiatives – including ERP modernization, IoT-enabled asset tracking, AI-driven predictive maintenance, and mobile field capture tools including drones – represent great opportunities to elevate asset management maturity. AI can analyze data from ERP systems, network platforms, procurement records, and maintenance databases to identify duplicate, missing or incorrectly classified assets.
There are also other emerging capabilities like AI-powered drones and computer vision technologies, which automate asset inspections, verify existence, assess condition, and identify discrepancies between physical assets and asset records. By moving from reactive to predictive maintenance, AI helps operators reduce downtime, extend asset life, and lower maintenance costs.
Ultimately, a structured approach to managing fixed assets can generate measurable bottom-line returns through improved capital allocation, accurate impairment testing, and optimized asset utilization.
“Fixed asset lifecycle management is not a back-office function. It is a strategic capability that sits at the intersection of finance, operations, technology, and compliance, and one that can unlock significant value for telecom operators willing to invest in getting it right,” said Dinesh Jangid, regional managing partner at Uniqus.
“The ability to manage fixed assets with precision, maintaining accurate records, deploying capital efficiently, maximizing asset utilization, and complying with complex accounting and regulatory standards is a genuine competitive differentiator.”
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