Verizon FiOS Repeats As Most Competitive Telecom Provider in 2008

The wRatings Corporation, an independent competitive research firm, announced today the results of the annual Most Competitive Media & Telecom Study, which was sponsored by software house, SAP. In the report, Verizon FiOS repeats as No. 1 for Telecom Providers with a W Score of 73.0. Two business segments of Google, their Shopping/Services and their Search engine, rank as the No. 1 and 2 Media Properties with W Scores of 88.8 and 88.2 respectively. A W Score of 100 means the business built the highest consumer and economic advantages when compared with the 540+ companies in the wRatings national coverage.

"In turbulent times, consumers become highly selective and seek out only the companies best meeting their expectations," said Gary A. Williams, CEO & Founder of wRatings. "And expectations today are much different than ever before. The answer in the early 2000Ã's downturn was for companies to return to the basics and shred non-core business segments. WhatÃ's different in 2008 is that the most competitive companies are breaking outside of traditional industry boundaries to weave all their segments into a cohesive business. Just look at Apple, Google, News Corp. and Verizon, where they are all reaching beyond their core industry to build a competitive edge."

The Most Competitive report series from wRatings identifies the best performing companies or business segments through a patented method that blends financial and consumer data. To arrive at the rankings, wRatings independently conducts 50,000+ consumer interviews each quarter to rate how well companies meet their expectations. The 2008 Media & Telecom ratings are based on Q1-2008 data. Specifically, wRatings measures a company's ability to achieve higher economic profit than rivals and sustain that advantage through competitive moats, or barriers to entry, as rated by consumers. Each W Score blends a companyÃ's historical economic profit with its forward-looking ability to meet consumer expectations.

One of the world's greatest investors, Warren Buffett, doesn't invest in a company without a moat to protect its profits. The wRatings approach identifies nine moats that create a durable advantage and measures them in a consistent way across every industry. Just as investors compare key financials between companies, W Scores allow anyone to compare consumer advantages between sectors, industries and any individual company. The rankings paint a clear picture of those companies projected to perform the best financially and meet their forecasts.

Top 20 Most Competitive Telecom Properties

Being a slow growth industry that typically requires substantial investments, the Telecom industry continues to struggle to find competitive strengths. No doubt they remain integral and essential to the end consumer's experience. The challenge for Telecom providers is to find sources of advantage that cannot be easily duplicated by rivals. For the past five years, the industry has looked to pricing packages and bundles that are relatively easy to copy.

Contrasted with other providers, Verizon is building a significant barrier to entry with consumers. Verizon FiOS, ranked #1 two years in a row, is highly unique although expensive to build. But the payoff likely lifted their traditional wireline service from #20 in 2007 to #6 in 2008 due to their innovative approach.

The 2008 edition of Most Competitive Media & Telecom companies shows a breakdown of the top 20 in each industry, unveils critical trends in consumer expectations and pricing power, and spotlights several companies in the top 20. SAP is offering a complimentary version of the report for a limited time here: http://www.sap.com/usa/industries/media/index.epx.

Posted to the site on 2nd July 2008