Synopsis
Spain’s telecom market was worth €42.8 billion in 2008, a 3% fall year-on-year. Mobile penetration is high and growing steadily, particularly in the 3G sector, while broadband take-up is backed by considerable investment in infrastructure in a bid to address the relatively slow data speeds available. Cable operators have launched 100Mb/s services, while Telefónica in October launched a 30Mb/s service based on a hybrid fibre/ADSL2+ network. These upgrades are required to stimulate the market for triple play, Video-on-Demand and other IP-delivered offers. The regulator has fostered competition by providing access to the incumbent’s DSL networks through LLU, as well as to its fibre networks through regulating access to ducts and infrastructure. This report introduces the key aspects of the Spanish telecom market in 2010, providing statistics on the fixed network services sector, and profiling the main players and their strategies to meet an increasingly competitive environment. The report also assesses the main regulatory issues, noting the status of interconnection, local loop unbundling, number portability and carrier preselection.