2015 Spain - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media - Statistics and Analyses

Spain’s fibre network sharing helps boost growth in FttP connections

In recent years the value of Spain’s telecom market has fallen, with the sector affected by the poor economic climate resulting in high unemployment and reduced disposable income among consumers. However, a five-year recession, with tumbling GDP, effectively ended in 2014 when the economy showed a steady return to growth for four quarters in succession. Growing confidence among investors was palpable during 2015, and the improved business climate augurs well for the sector into 2016.

Mobile penetration is high and growing steadily, while broadband uptake is backed by continuing investment in infrastructure among operators in a bid to provide improved bundled services and so compete more effectively against other players. The regulator has fostered competition by providing access to the incumbent’s DSL and FttP networks, which has stimulated fibre roll-outs. The newly elected conservative government will be pressed to implement policies which encourage the ICT sector, secure the development of NGNs, and ensure that Spain has a vibrant telecoms infrastructure to enable it to compete in a global economy.

The strong growth in the number of fibre broadband connections is beginning to tell on the broadband sector’s dynamics, with fibre becoming one of the strongest areas. Although several operators are investing in fibre, Telefónica is by far the dominant player. Operators are continuing to invest in their own networks, as well as networks being built through sharing arrangements.

Spain has one of the largest mobile markets in Europe, with effective competition from four MNOs and a growing number of resellers and MVNOs. This competition, together with regulated roaming and termination rates, has driven down the cost of mobile calls in recent years. The auction of additional spectrum early in 2016 will help operators keep pace with the growth in demand for mobile data. In late 2015 Telefónica set up a test bed in Madrid to develop 5G technologies. Both Orange Spain and Vodafone Spain have acquired fixed-line operators in a bid to compete more effectively with Movistar in their bundled service offerings.

The digital media market has also developed strongly in line with investments in fixed-line infrastructure. This has resulted in rapid increases in the number of in next generation network access lines. The focus on faster networks, encouraged by the government and facilitated by regulatory measures promoting access to networks, is increasingly dependent on fibre. The videostreaming market is increasingly competitive, with Netflix having entered the market in mid-2015, competing with Telefónica’s popular Yomvi service and Vodafone’s new Vodafone One service.

This report assesses the key aspects of the Spanish telecom market, providing statistics on the fixed-network services sector and profiles of the main players. The report examines the telcos’ strategies to address an increasingly competitive environment, and also assesses the main regulatory issues, noting the status of interconnection, local loop unbundling, number portability and carrier preselection. In addition, the report reviews the fixed and wireless broadband markets, together with developments in related technologies such as fibre, and broadband powerline. It includes statistics and market analyses on the mobile sector, detailing the major providers and MVNOs and analysing a range of mobile data services.

Key developments:

• Telefónica moving to a virtual network for a third of its international infrastructure by 2016;
• New government pressed to revitalise telecoms sector;
• Euskaltel completes its acquisition of the Galician operator R Cable;
• Movistar boosts fibre to 300Mb/s;
• Regulator sets pricing for competitors to access Telefónica’s fibre network;
• Vodafone scales back joint fibre agreement with Orange following its acquisition of Ono;
• FttP accounting for a third of all fixed-line broadband connections;
• Netflix launches services in Spain;
• Jazztel launches Jazzbox OTT platform;
• Regulator prepares to auction spectrum in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands, increases spectrum allowance which telcos can hold;
• Vodafone trials LTE broadcast technology, progresses with VoLTE and VoWi-Fi;
• Telefónica launches home security service based on M2M;
• Orange Espana investing up to €1.5 billion to provide 95% population coverage with LTE by 2017;
• Report update includes the regulator’s market data to October 2015, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q3 2015, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Orange, Telefónica, Jazztel, Ono, Movistar, Vodafone, Lebara, Lycamobile, MasMovil, YouMobile, Canal+, Prisa TV.