2013 Denmark - Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts

Danish telecom sector continues revenue and investment slide

Denmark’s competitive telecom market enjoys Europe’s highest broadband penetration rate. Its mobile sector has progressed with all four operators encouraging consumer uptake of data services on upgraded HSPA networks, while recent auctions for 2.6GHz spectrum have paved the way for network operators to deploy mobile broadband services based on LTE. The fixed-line sector continues to contract, as more people forego fixed phones for VoIP and mobile-only solutions. The report introduces the key aspects of the Danish telecom market, presenting comprehensive data on the fixed network services sector and profiles of the major operators. It also analyses market statistics and assesses the key regulatory issues including interconnection, local loop unbundling, number portability and carrier preselection.

The country has one of the highest broadband penetration rates in the world, the result of excellent cable and DSL infrastructure and a progressive regulatory regime which has encouraged operator access to both copper and fibre networks. Although fibre networks as yet have only a small footprint, a number of community and metropolitan schemes have supplemented TDC’s commitments. Unusually within Europe, Denmark has focussed on FttP architecture rather than FttN. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments and statistics in Denmark’s fixed and wireless broadband markets, including subscriber forecasts to 2020.

Denmark also has mature digital media services, with cable TV companies accessing more than half of homes. Analogue switch-off was affected in late 2009, allowing for 800GHz spectrum to be allocated for mobile broadband and other services.

The mobile market continues to show steady growth despite the country having one of the highest mobile penetration rates in Europe. Growth has been stimulated by consumer demand for data services, and this is set to continue strongly during the next few years in the wake of 2.56Hz spectrum licence awards and the late-2012 auction of spectrum in the 800MHz band. All four main operators – TDC Mobile, Telenor Denmark, Telia and Hi3G – have launched LTE services, supplementing their existing HSPA networks. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the Danish mobile market, including an analysis of the key regulatory issues and the growth of mobile data services such as mobile TV.

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