Synopsis
Much of Central, Eastern and south Eastern Europe are undergoing transformation due to requirements to join the European Union (EU) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Markets have been liberalised and incumbents privatised. The region’s mobile market, once viewed as underdeveloped, has reached saturation in some countries and is growing rapidly in others. The impact of increased mobile usage is evident through fixed-line for mobile substitution. Fixed-line incumbents, faced with growing competition in liberalised markets and falling revenue from fixed-line to mobile substitution, are leveraging the reach of their networks and turning to broadband as a source of revenue growth. Mobile operators are also turning to data as saturated markets mean that they can no longer grow easily through acquiring new subscribers.