2017 Bulgaria - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Bulgaria’s telecom regulator proposes auction of up to 580MHz of additional spectrum

Bulgaria’s telecoms market continues to be affected by the country’s difficult macroeconomic climate, as well as relatively high unemployment and a shrinking population. These factors have contributed to steadily declining revenue across the sector since 2008. Consumers continue to migrate from fixed-line voice telephony to mobile and VoIP alternatives, while there is increasing pressure on SMS and MMS services from the growing use of alternative OTT messaging services.

The mobile market is rapidly steadily, with effective competition provided by Telekom Austria’s MobilTel, Telenor Bulgaria and the incumbent Vivacom. A new entrant, Max Telecom, provides additional competition though the company has been in financial difficulty and has only a small market presence. Competition among network operators has intensified following the recent implementation of a streamlined mobile number portability process.

The regulator has responded to the paucity of available spectrum by providing a number of trial licences, and in late 2017 it opened a consultation regarding the allocation of an additional 580MHz of spectrum in several bands.

The broadband market enjoys excellent cross-platform competition, including DSL, cable, fibre, WiMAX and LAN-based services. While the share of the market held by cable has increased slightly in recent years, the DSL sector is losing market share as a result of customers being migrated to fibre networks, particularly those operated by Vivacom. By mid-2017 more than half of Vivacom’s fixed-line broadband subscribers were on fibre.

This report provides an overview of Bulgaria’s fixed-line telecom market, including data on regulatory developments, the strategies and performances of the major operators and an assessment of the evolution of fixed-line networks. The report also analyses the fixed-line and fixed-wireless broadband sectors. It includes an overview of the technologies, major players, market developments and statistics as well as subscriber forecasts. In addition the report covers the mobile market, including a review of statistics, operators, market developments and services offered.

Key developments:

• Regulator proposes auction of up to 580MHz of additional spectrum;
• Telenor Bulgaria trails LTE-A CA technology using temporary licenses;
• Telekom Austria announces plan to rebrand MobilTel as A1 Bulgaria;
• MobilTel completes merger with Blizoo;
• Vivacom reports 0.6% increase in mobile revenue for the first half of 2017;
• Vivacom’s FiberNet offer passes close to two million premises;
• Report update includes the regulator’s market data for 2016, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q3 2017, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Vivacom (Bulgarian Telecommunications Company), MobilTel, Telenor Bulgaria, Orbitel, Vestitel, Trans Telecom, Bulgarian Telecom and Television, Blizoo.