Austria - Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts

Publication Overview

This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Austria’s telecommunications market. The report analyses the mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media sectors. Subjects include:

• Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;
• Facts, figures and statistics;
• Industry and regulatory issues;
• Infrastructure;
• Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, ARPU, MoU;
• Internet, VoIP, IPTV;
• Mobile Voice and Data Markets;
• Broadband (FttH, DSL, cable TV, wireless);
• Convergence and Digital Media;
• 3G subscriber and mobile ARPU forecasts to 2015;
• Broadband market forecasts for selective years to 2020.

Key developments:

Telekom Austria expands in CEE through additional acquisitions; infrastructure investment increases 25% in 2010; mobile sector revenue accounting for two-thirds of total telecom revenue; LTE to be available to a quarter of all Austrians by 2013; mobile TV streaming success with more than 50 channels available; 2011 Frequency Utilization Plan opening up 800MHz spectrum for 4G use; strong subscriber growth keeping mobile sector revenue steady; Xlink launches 10Gb/s FttH broadband offer; Telekom Austria targets connecting 2.3 million homes with FttH by 2013; mobile broadband subscribers approach two million mark; ASO completed in mid-2011 with 98% DTTV coverage; regulator prepares DTT Muxes for DVB-T2; regulator’s end-2010 market data; operator data to Q1 2011.

Companies covered in this report include:

Telekom Austria, UPC Austria, Xlink, Orange, 3 Austria, A1, T-Mobile, Tele2, tele.ring, eTel Austria.

Researcher:- Henry Lancaster
Current publication date:- July 2011 (10th Edition)

Executive Summary

Austria completes DTTV ASO, prepares reassignment of spectrum for mobile broadband

BuddeComm’s quarterly publication, Austria - Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts, provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in the telecommunications and digital media markets a key central European market. The report provides the latest regulator market data as well as operator data to Q1 2011

Although Austria’s telecom market has been progressively liberalised since the early 1990s, the incumbent Telekom Austria has remained the dominant player in all sectors despite Austria having one of the most competitive markets Europe. In the mobile sector, all four network operators are international players, with the incumbent’s A1 having a particularly strong presence in Central and Eastern Europe. T-Mobile and Orange have the full resources of their parent companies at their disposal, which has helped them secure the required technology upgrades for their networks. A small number of MVNOs has aided competition, though most resellers are owned and operated by the MNOs in a bid to secure market share in the no-frills segment.

Revenue from the telecoms sector began to decline in 2006, falling 5.9% between 2007 and 2008, 4.1% between 2008 and 2009 and a further 6% in 2010. The mobile sector (including mobile broadband) has become the largest in terms of revenue, representing about two-thirds of the total, while fixed-line telephony has a 22% share, fixed-line broadband a 10% share and leased lines the remainder. Revenues from fixed voice telephony fell almost 6% in 2010 while mobile services revenue fell 5% and fixed broadband revenue 4.5%. The trend in declining revenue is likely to continue during the next few years as operators adjust to competition and regulatory measure. In the mobile sector some respite is expected after 2013 as consumers make greater use of high-end mobile data services.

Nevertheless, infrastructure investment has recovered from the economic difficulties of 2008 and 2009, increasing substantially in 2010. Of the total investment of €693 million, some 7% went to spectrum auctions to provide for 4G and next generation mobile services, while the vast majority was spent on mobile and fixed-line infrastructure.

Digital switchover in Austria was completed in mid-2011 sequentially by region. Only 5% of TV subscribers make use of the service, while the remainder rely on cable and satellite reception. During the switch-off phase additional space was made available for a further six multiplexes, some of which will be based on the new DVB-T2 technology which can provide for more channels. Multiplex D has been reserved for mobile broadcasting.

Key telecom parameters – 2010 – 2012

(Source: BuddeComm)

 Market Highlights

• By the end of 2011 the regulator is expected to decide on future radio spectrum management and the use of GSM spectrum for 3G services released by the switch to digital broadcasting. The move follows the late-2010 auction for 2.6GHz frequencies which required MNOs to deploy LTE to 25% of the population by the end of 2013, though speeds of up to 100Mb/s or higher are expected in the long term. This will dramatically improve rural broadband connectivity in coming years.
• Fibre infrastructure was slow to gain traction in Austria, though considerable improvement is expected in coming years, albeit from only a small number of players. Telekom Austria has expanded its FttH infrastructure in Vienna, and by mid-2011 around 36% of households were passed by its GigaNet infrastructure. The company has a target to connect 2.3 million homes by 2013.
• All MNOs have advanced plans for LTE roll-outs, with T-Mobile in late 2009 having reached data rates at over 130Mb/s. MNOs have tested LTE in the 2.6GHz band using equipment from prominent suppliers The technology should see commercial launches by the end of 2011.
• Despite ASO having been completed in mid-2011, DTTV has only a small share of the TV market. The satellite TV sector is particularly strong in Austria, with the Astra system the market leader: about two thirds of digital TV households are Astra subscribers. Among DTH households, digital satellite has an 89% market share, compared to 39% for digital cable networks. The market has sufficient room to expand, with Austriasat introduced as a new competitor in late 2010.

This report is essential reading for those needing high level strategic information and objective analysis on the telecom sector in Austria. It provides further information on:

• Market liberalisation and regulatory issues;
• The impact of the global economic crisis;
• Telecoms operators – privatisation, acquisitions, new licences;
• Mobile data market developments in coming years in light of new spectrum auctions and awards;
• 3G developments, regulatory issues and technologies including HSPA and LTE;
• Broadband migration to an FttH architecture;
• Historical and current subscriber statistics and forecasts;
• ARPU statistics and forecasts.

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.

Table of Contents

• 1. Key Statistics
• 2. Telecommunications Market
  • 2.1 Overview of Austria’s telecom market
• 3. Regulatory Environment
  • 3.1 History
    • 3.1.1 EU regulatory framework
    • 3.1.2 Revised NFR
  • 3.2 Regulatory authorities
    • 3.2.1 Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications
    • 3.2.2 Telekom Control Commission
    • 3.2.3 Austrian Communications Authority (KommAustria)
  • 3.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Austria
    • 3.3.1 Privatisation of Telekom Austria
    • 3.3.2 Interconnect
    • 3.3.3 Access
  • 3.4 Number portability (NP)
  • 3.5 Carrier PreSelection (CPS)
• 4. Fixed Network Market
  • 4.1 Fixed network operators in Austria
    • 4.1.1 Telekom Austria
    • 4.1.2 Tele2UTA
    • 4.1.3 tele.ring
    • 4.1.4 UPC Austria
    • 4.1.5 eTel Austria
• 5. Telecommunications Infrastructure
  • 5.1 National telecom network
  • 5.2 Next Generation Network (NGN)
  • 5.3 Structural separation
  • 5.4 Wholesaling
  • 5.5 International infrastructure
    • 5.5.1 Submarine cable networks
    • 5.5.2 Satellite networks
• 6. Broadband Market
  • 6.1 Broadband market overview
    • 6.1.1 Regulating wholesale access
    • 6.1.2 Wholesale market
    • 6.1.3 Broadband statistics
    • 6.1.4 Government support
    • 6.1.5 Regional broadband
  • 6.2 Cable modems
    • 6.2.1 UPC Austria
  • 6.3 Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
  • 6.4 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) networks
  • 6.5 Mobile broadband
  • 6.6 Broadband Powerline (BPL)
  • 6.7 Wireless broadband
    • 6.7.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
    • 6.7.2 450MHz frequency band
    • 6.7.3 3.5GHz frequency band
    • 6.7.4 Wireless LANs/WiFi
    • 6.7.5 WiMAX
    • 6.7.6 Internet via satellite
• 7. Digital Media
  • 7.1 Convergence
    • 7.1.1 Key general trends
    • 7.1.2 Business models
    • 7.1.3 Regulatory issues
  • 7.2 Digital TV
    • 7.2.1 Overview
    • 7.2.2 TV-over-DSL (IPTV)
    • 7.2.3 Cable TV
    • 7.2.4 Satellite TV
    • 7.2.5 Digital terrestrial TV
    • 7.2.6 Free-to-Air (FTA) TV
    • 7.2.7 VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services
• 8. Mobile Communications
  • 8.1 Overview of Austria’s mobile market
    • 8.1.1 Mobile statistics
    • 8.1.2 Operator market shares
  • 8.2 Regulatory issues
    • 8.2.1 Regulatory authority
    • 8.2.2 Spectrum regulations and spectrum auctions
    • 8.2.3 Roaming
    • 8.2.4 Mobile number portability (MNP)
    • 8.2.5 Mobile termination rates (MTRs)
    • 8.2.6 Network sharing
  • 8.3 Mobile technologies
    • 8.3.1 Digital
    • 8.3.2 Third Generation (3G) mobile
  • 8.4 Major mobile operators
    • 8.4.1 Orange
    • 8.4.2 3 Austria
    • 8.4.3 A1
    • 8.4.4 T-Mobile
    • 8.4.5 Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO)
  • 8.5 Mobile voice services
    • 8.5.1 Prepaid cards
  • 8.6 Mobile Messaging
    • 8.6.1 Short Message Service (SMS)
    • 8.6.2 Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)
  • 8.7 Mobile data services
    • 8.7.1 General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)
    • 8.7.2 Push-to-Talk (PTT)
    • 8.7.3 Enhanced data for GSM Evolution (EDGE)
    • 8.7.4 High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA)
    • 8.7.5 High-Speed Circuit-Switched Data (HSCSD)
    • 8.7.6 High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)
    • 8.7.7 LTE
    • 8.7.8 Mobile TV
    • 8.7.9 Femtocells
  • 8.8 Mobile content and applications
    • 8.8.1 M-commerce
    • 8.8.2 Mobile VoIP
• 9. Forecasts
  • 9.1 Forecasts – broadband subscribers – 2007 - 2012; 2020
    • 9.1.1 Scenario 1 – higher broadband subscriber growth
    • 9.1.2 Scenario 2 – lower broadband subscriber growth
  • 9.2 Forecasts – mobile market – 2006 - 2010; 2012 - 2015
    • 9.2.1 UMTS forecasts
    • 9.2.2 Mobile ARPU forecasts
  • 9.3 Notes on scenario forecasts
• 10. Glossary of Abbreviations

• Table 1 – Country statistics Austria – 2011 (e)
• Table 2 – Telecom revenue and investment statistics – 2010
• Table 3 – Telephone network statistics – 2010
• Table 4 – Internet user statistics – Mar 2011
• Table 5 – Broadband statistics – 2011 (e)
• Table 6 – Mobile statistics – 2011 (e)
• Table 7 – National telecommunications authorities
• Table 8 – Retail telecoms revenue by sector – 2003 - 2010
• Table 9 – Retail telecoms revenue by sector – 2003 – 2010
• Table 10 – Telecom traffic by sector – 2003 - 2010
• Table 11 – Market share of retail telecoms revenue by sector – 2003 - 2010
• Table 12 – Telecom investments – 2004 - 2012
• Table 13 – LLU, shared access price – connection, monthly rental – 2006 - 2009
• Table 14 – Telekom Austria unbundled lines – 2008 - 2011
• Table 15 –Ported numbers by year– 2006 - 2010
• Table 16 – CPS and CbC lines – 2004 - 2010
• Table 17 – Fixed-line retail revenue – 1997 - 2010
• Table 18 – Telekom Austria Group financial data – 2001 - 2010
• Table 19 – Telekom Austria: PSTN and ISDN access lines – 2005 - 2011
• Table 20 – Telekom Austria: retail and wholesale DSL lines – 2005 - 2011
• Table 21 – Telekom Austria: retail and wholesale DSL lines – 2005 – 2011
• Table 22 – Telekom Austria traffic statistics in minutes – 2006 - 2010
• Table 23 – Telekom Austria traffic statistics, annual change – 2009 - 2010
• Table 24 – Telekom Austria financial data by sector and annual change – 2007 - 2010
• Table 25 – Tele2 financial data by sector – 2007 - 2011
• Table 26 – Tele2 subscribers – 2007 - 2011
• Table 27 – UPC Austria revenue and annual change – 2005 - 2010
• Table 28 – UPC Austria subscribers – 2006 – 2011
• Table 29 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1999 - 2012
• Table 30 – Online advertising spend – 2001 - 2010
• Table 31 – Broadband penetration of households – 2006 - 2012
• Table 32 – Bitstream access lines by type – 2004 - 2010
• Table 33 – Unbundled loops and access lines – 2004 - 2011
• Table 34 – Internet users and penetration rate – 1995 - 2012
• Table 35 – Total fixed-line broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 - 2011
• Table 36 – Total fixed-line broadband penetration – 2002 - 2012
• Table 37 – Broadband market share by technology – 2002 - 2010
• Table 38 – Revenue from retail and wholesale broadband connections – 2005 - 2010
• Table 39 – UPC Austria broadband subscribers – 2005 - 2011
• Table 40 – UPC Austria revenue and annual change – 2005 - 2010
• Table 41 – Telekom Austria ADSL subscribers – 2004 - 2011
• Table 42 – ADSL subscribers and annual change – 2000 - 2011
• Table 43 – Fibre broadband subscribers – 2007 - 2010
• Table 44 – Mobile broadband subscribers – 2005 - 2012
• Table 45 – Retail mobile broadband lines by type – 2008 - 2009
• Table 46 – A1 mobile broadband subscribers – 2009 - 2011
• Table 47 – Fixed-line wireless broadband subscribers – 2006 - 2009
• Table 48 – Household TV reception by technology – 2007 - 2009
• Table 49 – TV households by technology – 2000 - 2010
• Table 50 – Digital receiver sales by technology – 2006 - 2009
• Table 51 – Telekom Austria IPTV subscribers – 2007 - 2011
• Table 52 – Cable and satellite TV households – 2000 - 2010
• Table 53 – UPC Austria revenue and annual change – 2005 - 2010
• Table 54 – UPC Austria subscribers – 2006 – 2011
• Table 55 – Mobile call minutes – 2003 - 2012
• Table 56 – Mobile market revenue (regulator data) – 2007- 2012
• Table 57 – Mobile service revenue, retail and wholesale – 2000 - 2012
• Table 58 – Average subscriber use of services – 2008 - 2010
• Table 59 – Price development for mobile services – 2006 - 2012
• Table 60 – Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change – Mar 2011
• Table 61 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate (regulator data) – 1999 - 2012
• Table 62 – Mobile subscribers by operator (regulator data) – 2005 - 2010
• Table 63 – Mobile subscribers by operator (regulator data) – 2005 – 2010
• Table 64 – Mobile SIMs in use, 2G and 3G – 2004 - 2010
• Table 65 – Mobile market share by operator – 2006 - 2010
• Table 66 – GSM spectrum distribution among MNOs (MHz) – 2010
• Table 67 – 2.6GHz spectrum auction results – Sept 2010
• Table 68 – European roaming charges – 2007 - 2012
• Table 69 – Cumulative ported mobile numbers – 2004 - 2010
• Table 70 – Mobile termination charges by operator – 2008 - 2011
• Table 71 – 2G spectrum allocations by operator
• Table 72 – 3G spectrum allocations by operator
• Table 73 – 3G SIM cards in operation – 2004 - 2012
• Table 74 – 3 Austria subscribers – 2009 - 2011
• Table 75 – 3 Austria revenue and annual change – 2008 - 2010
• Table 76 – A1 group subscribers; Europe and Austria – 2000 - 2011
• Table 77 – A1 group subscriber breakdown – 2006 - 2010
• Table 78 – A1 - mobile financial data – 2004 - 2011
• Table 79 – A1 annualised monthly ARPU – 2004 - 2011
• Table 80 – T-Mobile Austria revenue – 2003 - 2011
• Table 81 – T-Mobile Austria subscribers – 2004 - 2011
• Table 82 – T-Mobile Austria annualised ARPU – 2006 - 2011
• Table 83 – Mobile numbers in use, contract and prepaid – 2004 - 2010
• Table 84 – A1 prepaid subscribers – 2005 - 2011
• Table 85 – SMS messages sent – 2004 - 2012
• Table 86 – A1 SMS sent – 2006 - 2011
• Table 87 – A1: data as proportion of revenue – 2004 - 2011
• Table 88 – MMS messages sent – 2005 - 2010
• Table 89 – Mobile data services revenue as proportion of total – 1999 - 2012
• Table 90 – Mobile data traffic – 2008 - 2012
• Table 91 – Forecast broadband subscribers – higher growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2020
• Table 92 – Forecast broadband subscribers – lower growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2020
• Table 93 – Forecast UMTS subscribers – 2006 - 2015
• Table 94 – Forecast mobile ARPU – 2005 - 2010; 2012 - 2015

• Chart 1 – Telecom traffic by sector – 2005 - 2010
• Chart 2 – Market share of retail telecoms revenue by sector – 2003 – 2010
• Chart 3 – Telecom investments and annual change – 2004 - 2012
• Chart 4 – Tele2 financial data by sector – 2007 – 2011
• Chart 5 – Tele2 subscribers – 2007 – 2011
• Chart 6 – UPC Austria revenue and annual change – 2005 – 2010
• Chart 7 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2000 – 2012
• Chart 8 – Total fixed-line broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 – 2011
• Chart 9 – Broadband market share by technology – 2002 – 2010
• Chart 10 – Revenue from retail and wholesale broadband connections – 2005 - 2010
• Chart 11 – UPC Austria revenue and annual change – 2005 – 2010
• Chart 12 – TV households by technology – 2000 – 2010
• Chart 13 – UPC Austria revenue and annual change – 2005 – 2010
• Chart 14 – Mobile service revenue, retail and wholesale – 2000 – 2012
• Chart 15 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate (regulator data) – 1999 – 2012
• Chart 16 – Mobile SIMs in use, 2G and 3G – 2004 - 2010
• Chart 17 – Mobile market share by operator – 2006 – 2010
• Chart 18 – 3 Austria subscribers – 2009 – 2011
• Chart 19 – A1 group subscribers; Europe and Austria – 2000 – 2011
• Chart 20 – A1 annualised monthly ARPU – 2004 – 2011

• Exhibit 1 – EU – The New Regulatory Framework (NRF)
• Exhibit 2 – Access and the local loop
• Exhibit 3 – Regional WLL licenses in 3.5GHz spectrum by operator – 2004
• Exhibit 4 – 450MHz frequency allocation overview – 2006
• Exhibit 5 – 3.5GHz frequency allocation – 2008
• Exhibit 6 – Overview of media convergence
• Exhibit 7 – Active mobile providers – 2011
• Exhibit 8 – 3G licence results - 2000
• Exhibit 9 – 450MHz licence results – 2006