2007 Europe - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Italy and Malta

Last updated: 27 Nov 2007 Update History

Report Status: Archived

Report Pages: 90

Analyst: Stephen McNamara

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Publication Overview

This report covers Italy and Malta, together representing one of the largest and most influential telecom markets in Europe, as well as one of the smallest yet technologically proficient. Trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media including VoIP, VoD and IPTV developments are provided. Subjects include:

Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;
Facts, figures and statistics;
Industry and regulatory issues;
Research, Marketing, Benchmarking;
Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, Prepaid;
VoIP, IPTV, VoD, digital TV and DTTV;
Converging media.

Executive Summary

BuddeComm’s Italy and Malta Annual Publication, 2007 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Italy and Malta, profiles two contrasting telecom markets. This report presents a concise overview of the telecom markets in Italy and Malta, providing key statistics on operators’ offers and performances together with their strategies to adapt to the increasingly competitive scenarios expected in coming years. It also assesses regulatory changes and their implications, and analyses the emergence of convergence and triple play services.

Italy’s mobile market is among the more dynamic in Europe, supported by a large population keen to adopt new services. The digital TV and broadband sectors have also progressed well. Italy also has one of the most advanced fibre infrastructures, with companies such as FASTWEB being among the top tier in Europe. Together with upgraded ADSL2+ networks, the widening fibre footprint has boosted popular take-up of triple play services, and will provide a strong foundation for IPTV, VoD and VoIP in coming years. For the country overview, see chapter 1, page 1.

Malta has Europe’s smallest telecom market but does not lag behind in technological developments. The incumbent was rebranded as GO in 2007, and its new owners have invested in infrastructure upgrades. By the end of 2007 there were three 3G licensees, and while GO is currently the island’s only quad play provider, Melita Cable and Vodafone both have ambitions to compete with full bundled services. For the country overview, see chapter 2, page 49.

Key Highlights

Malta has kept abreast with the rest of Europe in the digital TV sector. GO is a quad play service provider, offering fixed voice, mobile, broadband and DTTV, with TV services available to 95% of the population. For more information, see chapter 2.8.3, page 62.
Vodafone launched 3G in 2007, bringing Malta in line with the rest of Europe in this important market. Mid-year coverage was extended to most major settlements. GO Mobile launched its HSDPA network in early 2007, and soon afterwards reduced tariffs to make services more affordable to a wider range of users. For more information, see chapter2.9.4, page 66.
Malta’s third 3G operator was licensed August 2007. Network roll-out is being funded by Melita Cable, which will make the cableco the island’s second quad-play operator and providing greater competition against GO.
Italy’s mobile market is among the most competitive in Europe. Take-up of 3G has reached almost 24% of total subscribers by mid-2007, the highest proportion in Europe. Continued growth in coming years will be supported by the propensity to own multiple SIMs and by the popularity of emerging mobile data services. For more information, see chapter 1.8, page 35.
Italy’s triple play development remains one of the strongest in Europe, and continued to mature in 2007 on the back of ADSL2+ and fibre roll-outs. FASTWEB is one of Europe’s leading fibre players, investing €3 billion in infrastructure by 2010 to reach 11.4 million potential customers, representing about 50% of the market. For more information, see chapter 1.7.3, page 27.

Forecast broadband household subscriber growth Italy and Malta - 2007-2008

Year (e)	Italy	Malta
2007	33%	41%
2008	45%	52%

(Source: BuddeComm forecasts)

For those needing high level strategic information and objective analysis on this region, this report is essential reading and gives further information on:

The quadruple play offers from Malta’s GO and Melita Cable, together with Vodafone’s WiMAX ambitions to enable it to compete effectively;
The structural separation plans for Telecom Italia and the company’s commitment to convergence;
The improved Local Loop Unbundling conditions in Italy and their effect on increasing broadband competition;
The strong demand for triple play services stimulating higher bandwidth connections in both Italy and Malta;
The changing face of converged media with widespread triple play services becoming a standard feature in homes.

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


1.	ITALY
1.1	Key statistics
1.2	Telecommunications market
1.2.1	Overview of Italy’s telecom market
1.3	Regulatory environment
1.3.1	EU Regulatory Framework
1.3.2	Regulatory authority
1.3.3	Telecom sector liberalisation in Italy
1.4	Fixed network operators in Italy
1.4.1	Overview of operators
1.4.2	Telecom Italia
1.4.3	Wind
1.4.4	BT Italia
1.5	Telecommunications infrastructure
1.5.1	National telecom network
1.5.2	International
1.5.3	Infrastructure developments
1.6	Broadband market
1.6.1	Overview
1.6.2	Cable modems
1.6.3	Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
1.6.4	Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) networks
1.6.5	Wireless broadband
1.6.6	Broadband forecasts to 2017
1.7	Convergence
1.7.1	Overview of media convergence
1.7.2	Key general trends
1.7.3	Triple play models
1.7.4	Quad play models
1.7.5	Regulatory issues
1.7.6	Digital TV (DTV)
1.8	Mobile communications
1.8.1	Overview of Italy’s mobile market
1.8.2	Regulatory issues
1.8.3	Mobile technologies
1.8.4	Major mobile operators
1.8.5	Mobile voice services
1.8.6	Mobile data services
1.8.7	Mobile content and applications
2.	MALTA
2.1	Key statistics
2.2	Telecommunications market
2.2.1	Overview of Malta’s telecom market
2.3	Regulatory environment
2.3.1	History
2.3.2	Regulatory authority
2.3.3	Telecom sector liberalisation in Malta
2.3.4	Privatisation of Telemalta
2.3.5	Interconnect
2.3.6	Access
2.3.7	Carrier PreSelection (CPS)
2.3.8	Number Portability (NP)
2.4	Fixed network operators in Malta
2.4.1	GO
2.4.2	Melita Cable
2.5	Telecommunications infrastructure
2.5.1	National telecom network
2.5.2	International infrastructure
2.6	Fixed voice market
2.6.1	Overview
2.7	Broadband market
2.7.1	Overview
2.7.2	Broadband statistics
2.7.3	Cable modems
2.7.4	Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
2.7.5	Satellite
2.7.6	Wireless broadband
2.7.7	Wholesaling
2.7.8	Broadband forecasts to 2017
2.8	Convergence
2.8.1	Overview of media convergence
2.8.2	Triple play models
2.8.3	Digital TV
2.9	Mobile communications
2.9.1	Overview of Malta’s mobile market
2.9.2	Regulatory issues
2.9.3	Mobile technologies
2.9.4	Major mobile operators
2.9.5	Mobile voice services
2.9.6	Mobile data services
3.	GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS

Exhibit 1 - Principal backbone providers - 2007
Exhibit 2 – UMTS auction results – October 2000
Exhibit 3 – Mobile operators and spectrum allocation range – 2006
Exhibit 4 – 3G licence allocations – 2005; 2007

Table 1 – Country statistics Italy – 2007
Table 2 – Telecom revenue and investment statistics – 2006
Table 3 – Telephone network statistics – 2006
Table 4 – Internet user statistics – July 2007
Table 5 – Broadband statistics – March 2007
Table 6 – Mobile statistics – June 2007
Table 7 – National telecommunications authority
Table 8 – Fixed and mobile market investment (historic) – 2004 - 2005
Table 9 – Telecom Italia unbundled lines – 2005 - 2006
Table 10 – Unbundled loops and access lines – 2004 - 2007
Table 11 – LLU, shared access price - connection, monthly rental – 2004 - 2006
Table 12 – Numbers ported – 2002 - 2006
Table 13 – CPS lines – 2005 - 2006
Table 14 – Telecom Italia revenue by sector and annual change – 2006 - 2007
Table 15 – Telecom Italia Group revenue, EBITDA, CAPEX and annual change – 2005 - 2006
Table 16 – Telecom Italia Group revenue, EBITDA, net profit and annual change – 2007
Table 17 – Telecom Italia fixed-line revenue, EBITDA, CAPEX and annual change – 2005 - 2006
Table 18 – Telecom Italia fixed network traffic – 2006 - 2007
Table 19 – Wind revenue, EBITDA, net income and annual change – 2005 - 2006
Table 20 – Wind revenue, EBITDA, net profit and annual change – 2007
Table 21 – Wind subscriber statistics – 2006 - 2007
Table 22 – Telecom Italia network distance – 2006
Table 23 – Broadband market share by operator – June 2007
Table 24 – Internet subscribers and penetration – 1991 - 2007
Table 25 – Total fixed broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 - 2006
Table 26 – Broadband penetration by technology – 2004 - 2006
Table 27 – Broadband penetration – 2001 - 2006
Table 28 – Market share of broadband lines by operator – 2005 - 2006
Table 29 – Broadband lines by operator and technology – October 2006
Table 30 – ADSL subscribers – 2002 - 2006
Table 31 – Telecom Italia broadband subscribers – 2005 - 2006
Table 32 – FASTWEB revenue and EBITDA – 2005 - 2006
Table 33 – FASTWEB subscribers – 2005 - 2007
Table 34 – Tiscali Group (Italy and UK) ADSL subscribers – 2004 - 2006
Table 35 – Tiscali retail subscribers (Italy) – 2005 - 2007
Table 36 – Tiscali revenue by sector (Italy) and annual change – 2005 - 2006
Table 37 – Tiscali ARPU (Italy) – 2006 - 2007
Table 38 – Wind revenue, EBITDA, net income and annual change – 2005 - 2006
Table 39 – Wind broadband subscribers – 2005 - 2007
Table 40 – Naked DSL access charges – 2006
Table 41 – Fibre accesses – 2004 - 2007
Table 42 – Forecast broadband subscriber growth – stronger market growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2017
Table 43 – Forecast broadband subscriber growth – weaker market growth scenario – 2007 - 2012; 2017
Table 44 – Bundled offers by operator – 2007
Table 45 – Statistical overview of Italy’s broadcasting market – 2007
Table 46 – Pay TV subscribers by technology, and forecasts – 2003 - 2008
Table 47 – Digital pay TV revenue and growth in Italy – 2000 - 2005
Table 48 – Digital TV subscribers by technology – 2004 - 2005
Table 49 – Mediaset net revenue and operating profit – 9M 2007
Table 50 – Mediaset Premium smart cards sold – 2006 - 2007
Table 51 – DTTV receivers and annual growth – 2004 - 2006
Table 52 – Forecast DTTV households and annual growth – 2007 - 2013
Table 53 – Cable TV subscribers and penetration – 1996 - 2006
Table 54 – Forecast cable TV subscribers and growth – 2007 - 2013
Table 55 – Forecast satellite TV subscribers – 2007 - 2013
Table 56 – Sky Italia subscribers – 2006 - 2007
Table 57 – Mobile operators, technology, subscribers and annual change – June 2007
Table 58 – Mobile subscribers and penetration – 1994 - 2007
Table 59 – Comparative cost of mobile services; contract and prepaid – 2004 - 2006
Table 60 – Mobile market share by operator – 2004 - 2007
Table 61 – Share of new subscribers by operator – 2005 - 2007
Table 62 – European roaming charges – 2007 - 2009
Table 63 – Mobile numbers ported – 2003 - 2006
Table 64 – Fixed-mobile interconnection charges – 2004 - 2006
Table 65 – Vodafone 3G subscriber – 2005 - 2007
Table 66 – TIM mobile subscribers, traffic and ARPU – 2005 - 2007
Table 67 – TIM revenue, EBITDA, EBIT CAPEX and annual change – 2005 - 2006
Table 68 – Vodafone proportionate subscribers – 2001 - 2007
Table 69 – Vodafone prepaid, contract and blended ARPU – 2004 - 2007
Table 70 – Wind SMS, traffic and revenue and annual change – 2005 - 2007
Table 71 – Wind annualised ARPU – 2005 - 2007
Table 72 – Wind subscriber statistics – 2005 - 2007
Table 73 – Vodafone data as proportion of revenue – 2004 - 2007
Table 74 – Vodafone live! subscribers (Italy) – 2002 - 2007
Table 75 – Country statistics Malta – 2007
Table 76 – Telephone network statistics – March 2007
Table 77 – Internet user statistics – June 2007
Table 78 – Broadband statistics – March 2007
Table 79 – Mobile statistics – March 2007
Table 80 – National telecommunications authority
Table 81 – Fixed telephony subscriptions – 2001 - 2007
Table 82 – Telecom market value turnover – 2003 - 2007
Table 83 – Interconnection rates (Lm cents per minute) – 2006 - 2007
Table 84 – Number porting charges by sector – 2007
Table 85 – Mobile number portings – 2006 - 2007
Table 86 – Domestic fixed-line traffic – 2005 - 2007
Table 87 – GO revenue and gross profit – 2004 - 2006
Table 88 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1995 - 2007
Table 89 – Fixed voice minutes (local) – 2006 - 2007
Table 90 – Total Internet subscribers – 2002 - 2007
Table 91 – Internet subscribers by technology – 2006 - 2007
Table 92 – Broadband technologies: availability and coverage – 2007
Table 93 – Dial up traffic – 2004 - 2007
Table 94 – Internet users and penetration – 2001 - 2006
Table 95 – Households with Internet access – 2005 - 2006
Table 96 – Broadband penetration – 2002 - 2007
Table 97 – Broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 - 2007
Table 98 – Broadband subscribers by operator – 2006 - 2007
Table 99 – Proportion of Internet connections by type – 2005 - 2006
Table 100 – Cable broadband penetration – 2001 - 2007
Table 101 – Forecast WiMAX network national coverage timetable, by operator – 2007 - 2009
Table 102 – Wholesale broadband access market shares by operator – 2003 - 2005
Table 103 – Forecast broadband subscriber growth – stronger market growth scenario – 2007 - 2011; 2017
Table 104 – Forecast broadband subscriber growth – weaker market growth scenario – 2007 - 2011; 2017
Table 105 – Cable and digital TV subscribers – 2001 - 2007
Table 106 –Cable TV Households: analogue and digital – 2006 - 2007
Table 107 – Proportion of TV households, by technology – 2005 - 2006
Table 108 – Cable and DTTV subscribers – 2005 - 2007
Table 109 – Analogue and digital TV subscribers – 2005 - 2007
Table 110 – VoIP market share by operator – March 2007
Table 111 – VoIP Minutes of Use (MOU) – 2006 - 2007
Table 112 – Mobile ARPU (Lm); contract and prepaid – 2004 - 2007
Table 113 – Mobile operators, technology, subscribers and annual change – 2006
Table 114 – Mobile subscribers and penetration – 1998 - 2007
Table 115 – European roaming charges – 2007 - 2009
Table 116 – Vodafone Malta subscribers and ARPU – 2005 - 2007
Table 117 – Proportion of contract and prepaid subscribers, all operators – 2005 - 2007
Table 118 – Contract and prepaid subscribers and annual change, all operators – 2006 - 2007
Table 119 – SMS messages sent – 2006 - 2007
Table 120 – MMS messages sent – 2006 - 2007

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