More than half of telecoms companies plan to increase outsourcing in the next 12 months, according to research from Firstsource Solutions. Cutting costs is the main driver according to the research of 85 leading telecoms companies across the world.

The research showed that the recession has led to more than half of telecoms companies reporting lower customer spend, and over a quarter of telcos said that they have witnessed a rise in customers delaying payment of their bills. Telcos are also experiencing increased customer churn due to the search for better deals from competitors.

Those telecoms companies surveyed that already outsource reported substantial cost savings: 67 percent said that they had cut their costs by up to 40 percent through outsourcing, and nearly 20 percent reported cost savings of more than 40 percent.

Matthew Vallance, Firstsource's President Telecoms & Media and Financial Services, said: "Telecoms companies must continue to take cost out of their businesses, as we can expect consumers to take a cautious approach to spending for some time, in spite of evidence that the recession might be bottoming out. Outsourcing is a proven strategy for cutting cost directly and for transforming fixed costs into variable costs."

Although cutting costs will continue to be the main catalyst for outsourcing, telcos reported other important drivers, such as improving the quality of customer service (through tapping into a larger pool of experienced customer management staff) and lengthening the customer service day.