2008 Europe - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in the Balkans East - Greece, Romania, Bulgaria

Last updated: 5 Nov 2008 Update History

Report Status: Archived

Report Pages: 106

Analyst: Stephen McNamara

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Publication Overview

This report covers Bulgaria, Greece and Romania. Trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media including broadband, triple play, IPTV as well as 3G developments. Subjects include:

Market and industry analyses, trends and developments
Facts, figures, statistics and broadband forecasts to 2017
Industry and regulatory issues
Research, Marketing, Benchmarking
Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, Network deployments
VoIP, ADSL, ADSL2+, FttH, LAN, WiFi, WiMAX, IPTV, VoD, triple play, digital TV, DTTV, 3G, i-mode and HSDPA

Researcher:- Paul Kwon
Current publication date:- October 2008 (7th Edition)
Next publication date:- October 2009

Executive Summary

BuddeComm’s annual publication 2008 Europe - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in the Balkans (East) profiles the region’s three largest countries: Greece, Bulgaria and Romania.

Impacting on the telecom markets of these three countries is EU-mandated competition, decreasing prices and leading to the introduction of new services by both competing operators and incumbents alike. This report offers an informative insight into the Balkans (East) region, covering regulatory developments, major players in the fixed-line, broadband, convergence and mobile markets, the development of new product offerings for the aforementioned markets, as well as presenting a wide variety of industry-related statistics in addition to broadband penetration forecasts to the year 2018.

Key highlights:

· Customer churn levels and the level of competition is expected to increase in Romania in 2009 following the introduction of number portability for both the fixed and mobile markets in October 2008.

· Competition in Bulgaria and Romania will improve in the future as each country’s respective regulator completes market analyses during 2009/10 and imposes obligations on SMP operators (ie, incumbents) to improve competition, particularly in fixed-line markets.

· Healthy infrastructure-based competition exists in the broadband markets of Bulgaria and Romania due to well established cable TV providers as well as a large number of informal LANs.

· Within Greece the actions of the regulator has improved the wholesale market, with wholesale accounting for over 40% of total DSL connections, the overarching technology platform for broadband access in Greece.

· The state of the wholesale DSL market in Bulgaria and Romania is expected to pick up once regulators complete market analyses during 2009/10 and oblige incumbents to offer network access.

· IPTV take up is on the rise in all three countries, as incumbents and telecom operators acquire additional content and improve service offerings. In Bulgaria and Romania cable operators are fighting back by launching triple play offerings.

· Mobile operators have once again focused on mobile data, leveraging now widely-available EDGE/WCDMA/HSDPA networks to launch aggressively priced mobile broadband access with prepaid data bundles.

· With mobile voice markets at saturation, the underdeveloped mobile broadband market is the new revenue growth opportunity and hence competitive battleground for mobile operators, with competition expected to put downward pressure on tariffs in 2009 and beyond. This in turn will negatively impact other wireless broadband providers, particularly the WiMAX service providers, given the market power of the mobile operators and the reach of their networks.

Balkans (East) – mobile subscribers and penetration rate – March 2008

Country	Subscribers	Penetration
Bulgaria	10,000,000	137%
Greece	15,400,000	138%
Romania	24,600,000	110%

(Source: BuddeComm based on ITU and Global Mobile data)

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

1. Bulgaria
- 1.1 Key statistics
- 1.2 Telecommunications market
  - 1.2.1 Overview of Bulgaria’s telecom market
- 1.3 Regulatory environment
  - 1.3.1 History
  - 1.3.2 Regulatory authority
  - 1.3.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Bulgaria
- 1.4 Fixed network operator in Bulgaria
  - 1.4.1 Overview of operators
- 1.5 Telecommunications infrastructure
  - 1.5.1 National telecom network
  - 1.5.2 International infrastructure
  - 1.5.3 Telecoms & IT
- 1.6 Internet market
  - 1.6.1 Overview
- 1.7 Broadband market
  - 1.7.1 Overview
  - 1.7.2 LAN
  - 1.7.3 Cable
  - 1.7.4 Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
  - 1.7.5 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH)
  - 1.7.6 Wireless broadband
- 1.8 Convergence
  - 1.8.1 Overview of media convergence
  - 1.8.2 Triple play
  - 1.8.3 Overview of broadcasting market
  - 1.8.4 Digital TV
- 1.9 Mobile communications
  - 1.9.1 Overview of Bulgaria’s mobile market
  - 1.9.2 Regulatory issues
  - 1.9.3 Mobile technologies
  - 1.9.4 Major mobile operators
  - 1.9.5 Mobile voice services
  - 1.9.6 Mobile data services
  - 1.9.7 Mobile content and applications
2. Greece
- 2.1 Key statistics
- 2.2 Telecommunications market
  - 2.2.1 Overview of Greece’s telecom market
- 2.3 Regulatory environment
  - 2.3.1 History
  - 2.3.2 Regulatory authority
  - 2.3.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Greece
- 2.4 Fixed network operators in Greece
  - 2.4.1 Overview of operators
  - 2.4.2 Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE)
  - 2.4.3 Tellas
  - 2.4.4 FORTHnet
  - 2.4.5 Vivodi Telecom
  - 2.4.6 On Telecom
- 2.5 Telecommunications infrastructure
  - 2.5.1 National telecom network
  - 2.5.2 Telecoms & IT
- 2.6 Wholesaling
  - 2.6.1 Unbundled services – LLU
  - 2.6.2 Bitstream access
- 2.7 Internet market
  - 2.7.1 Overview
- 2.8 Broadband market
  - 2.8.1 Overview
  - 2.8.2 Forecasts – broadband market to 2018
  - 2.8.3 Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
  - 2.8.4 Wireless broadband
- 2.9 Convergence
  - 2.9.1 Introduction
  - 2.9.2 Triple play
  - 2.9.3 Overview of broadcasting market
  - 2.9.4 Digital TV
- 2.10 Mobile communications
  - 2.10.1 Overview of Greece’s mobile market
  - 2.10.2 Regulatory issues
  - 2.10.3 Mobile statistics
  - 2.10.4 Mobile technologies
  - 2.10.5 Major mobile operators
  - 2.10.6 Mobile voice services
  - 2.10.7 Mobile data services
  - 2.10.8 Mobile content and applications
3. Romania
- 3.1 Key statistics
- 3.2 Telecommunications market
  - 3.2.1 Overview of Romania’s telecom market
- 3.3 Regulatory environment
  - 3.3.1 History
  - 3.3.2 Regulatory authority
  - 3.3.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Romania
- 3.4 Fixed network operators in Romania
  - 3.4.1 Overview of operators
  - 3.4.2 RomTelecom
  - 3.4.3 Alternative operators
- 3.5 Telecommunications infrastructure
  - 3.5.1 National telecom network
  - 3.5.2 International infrastructure
  - 3.5.3 Telecoms & IT
- 3.6 Internet market
  - 3.6.1 Overview
- 3.7 Broadband market
  - 3.7.1 Overview
  - 3.7.2 Forecasts – broadband subscribers to 2018
  - 3.7.3 Cable modems
  - 3.7.4 Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
  - 3.7.5 Local Area Networks (LANs)
  - 3.7.6 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) networks
  - 3.7.7 Wireless broadband
- 3.8 Convergence
  - 3.8.1 Triple play
  - 3.8.2 Overview of broadcasting market
  - 3.8.3 Digital TV (DTV)
- 3.9 Mobile communications
  - 3.9.1 Overview and analysis of Romania’s mobile market
  - 3.9.2 Mobile statistics
  - 3.9.3 Regulatory issues
  - 3.9.4 Mobile technologies
  - 3.9.5 Major mobile operators
  - 3.9.6 Mobile voice services
  - 3.9.7 Mobile data services
  - 3.9.8 Mobile content and applications
4. Glossary of Abbreviations

Table 1 – Country statistics Bulgaria – 2008
Table 2 – Telephone network statistics – 2008
Table 3 – Internet user statistics – 2008
Table 4 – Internet subscriber statistics – 2008
Table 5 – Broadband subscriber statistics – 2007
Table 6 – Mobile statistics – March 2008
Table 7 – National telecommunications authority
Table 8 – BTC interconnection rates – 2006 - 2007
Table 9 – Cost of local loop unbundling and shared access in Bulgaria – 2006 - 2007
Table 10 – BTC financial data – 2003 - 2007
Table 11 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1995 - 1996; 1998 - 2008
Table 12 – Workplace PC usage by employer size and industry type – 2004 - 2007
Table 13 – Workplace network usage by network type – 2004 - 2007
Table 14 – Internet users, subscribers and penetration rate – 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2007
Table 15 – Broadband subscribers by access type – 2007
Table 16 – Max Telecom financial data – 2006 - 2007
Table 17 – Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change – March 2008
Table 18 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1995 - 2008
Table 19 – MobilTel financial data – 2005 - 2007
Table 20 – MobilTel prepaid, postpaid & blended monthly ARPU – 2004 - 2007
Table 21 – GloBul financial data – 2005 - 2007
Table 22 – Ratio of prepaid to postpaid subscribers – 2001 - 2007
Table 23 – MobilTel prepaid subscribers – 2004 - 2007
Table 24 – Country statistics Greece – 2008
Table 25 – Telecom revenue and investment statistics – 2006
Table 26 – Telephone network statistics – 2007
Table 27 – Internet user statistics – 2007
Table 28 – Internet subscriber statistics – 2007
Table 29 – Broadband subscriber statistics – 2007
Table 30 – Mobile statistics – March 2008
Table 31 – National telecommunications authority
Table 32 – Telecoms revenue and gross profit – 1998 - 2007
Table 33 – Telecoms revenue by operator – 1999 - 2007
Table 34 – Telecoms assets by operator – 2000 - 2007
Table 35 – Interconnection rates in Greece – 2005 - 2007
Table 36 – Outgoing fixed-line traffic by call type in minutes – 2004 - 2007
Table 37 – OTE financial data and annual change – 2006 - 2007
Table 38 – OTE revenue breakdown by service – 2005 - 2007
Table 39 – OTE market share of outgoing traffic – 2004 - 2007
Table 40 – FORTHnet financial data – 2005 - 2007
Table 41 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1995 - 2007
Table 42 – OTE fixed lines in service – 2005 - 2007
Table 43 – Workplace PC usage by employer size and industry type – 2004 - 2007
Table 44 – Workplace network usage by network type – 2004 - 2007
Table 45 – Access agreements with OTE by type – 2006 - 2008
Table 46 – Cost of local loop unbundling and share access in Greece – 2006 - 2007
Table 47 – OTE combined unbundled & shared lines – 2005 - 2008
Table 48 – Collocation availability and uptake – 2007 - 2008
Table 49 – Assigned domain names – 2006 - 2007
Table 50 – Internet users, subscribers and penetration rates – 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2007
Table 51 – Dial-up traffic in minutes – 2004 - 2007
Table 52 – Internet market revenue and annual change – 2000 - 2007
Table 53 – Broadband subscribers by access type – 2007
Table 54 – Broadband subscribers and penetration rate – 2003 - 2007
Table 55 – Broadband line speeds – 2007
Table 56 – Forecast broadband subscribers – higher market growth scenario – 2008 - 2012; 2018
Table 57 – Forecast broadband subscribers – lower market growth scenario – 2008 - 2012; 2018
Table 58 – OTE retail and wholesale ADSL subscribers – 2005 - 2007
Table 59 – Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change – March 2008
Table 60 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1996 - 2008
Table 61 – Wind Hellas operational data – 2006 - 2007
Table 62 – Vodafone prepaid & postpaid monthly ARPU & MOU – 2005 - 2007
Table 63 – Cosmote financial data and annual change – 2006 - 2007
Table 64 – Ratio of prepaid to postpaid subscribers – 2000 - 2007
Table 65 – Cosmote prepaid subscribers – 2005 - 2007
Table 66 – Vodafone prepaid subscribers – 2005 - 2007
Table 67 – Country statistics Romania – 2008
Table 68 – Telephone network statistics – 2007
Table 69 – Internet user statistics – 2007
Table 70 – Internet subscriber statistics – 2007
Table 71 – Broadband statistics – 2007
Table 72 – Mobile statistics – March 2008
Table 73 – National telecommunications authority
Table 74 – Access agreements with RomTelecom by type – 2006 - 2008
Table 75 – Cost of LLU and share access in Romania – 2006 - 2007
Table 76 – RomTelecom interconnection rates – 2006 - 2007
Table 77 – Interconnection agreements by type – 2005 - 2007
Table 78 – Market share of fixed-line service providers – 2005 - 2007
Table 79 – Total traffic on fixed-line networks by operator – 2004 - 2007
Table 80 – Percentage of traffic by sector – 2004 - 2007
Table 81 – RomTelecom financial data – 2005 - 2007
Table 82 – Fixed-line subscribers of alternative operators – 2004 - 2007
Table 83 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 1995 - 2007
Table 84 – Fixed-line capacity of alternative operators – 2004 - 2007
Table 85 – Workplace PC usage by employer size and industry type – 2004 - 2007
Table 86 – Workplace network usage by network type – 2004 - 2007
Table 87 – Data transmission connections by service type – 2006 - 2007
Table 88 – Internet users, subscribers and penetration – 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2007
Table 89 – Dial-up Internet subscribers and access traffic in minutes – 2003 - 2007
Table 90 – Broadband subscribers by access technology – 2007
Table 91 – Broadband subscribers and penetration – 2001 - 2007
Table 92 – Forecast broadband subscribers – higher market growth scenario – 2008 - 2012; 2018
Table 93 – Forecast broadband subscribers – lower market growth scenario – 2008 - 2012; 2018
Table 94 – RomTelecom ADSL subscribers and annual change – 2005 - 2008
Table 95 – VoIP subscribers – 2004 - 2007
Table 96 – Broadcasting subscribers by platform – 2005 - 2007
Table 97 – Prime time audience share by broadcaster – 2004 - 2007
Table 98 – All day audience share by broadcaster – 2004 - 2007
Table 99 – UPC operational data: home and subscriber statistics – 2006 - 2007
Table 100 – Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change – March 2008
Table 101 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1997 - 2008
Table 102 – Mobile terminated and originated voice traffic – 2004 - 2007
Table 103 – Vodafone ARPU & MOU – 2005 - 2007
Table 104 – Orange Romania financial data and annual change – 2003 - 2007
Table 105 – Cosmorom financial data and annual change – 2006 - 2007
Table 106 – Ratio of prepaid to postpaid subscribers – 2000 - 2007
Table 107 – Vodafone prepaid subscribers – 2005 - 2007
Table 108 – Mobile Internet access subscribers – 2003 - 2007

Exhibit 1 – EU – The New Regulatory Framework (NRF)
Exhibit 2 – Access and the local loop
Exhibit 3 – The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) annual E-readiness criteria
Exhibit 4 – 2001 2G auction results in Greece
Exhibit 5 – 2001 3G auction results in Greece

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