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

Romania’s telecom sector sees return to revenue growth

Romania’s telecoms market continues to evolve under the influence of competition and technological change. Alternative operators and the incumbent telco Telekom Romania have invested in network capacity upgrades in response to the shift towards offering IP-delivered content.

The broadband market benefits from effective infrastructure-based competition. The country’s fibre sector has become one of the strongest in Europe in recent years, with a rapidly growing share of the fixed-line broadband market by subscriber lines. As a result, the country has one of the highest FttP penetration rates in the region, with about two-thirds of connections offering data above 100Mb/s.

The mobile market is served by four network operators, three of which are the local subsidiaries of the major regional players Vodafone Group, Orange Group and Deutsche Telekom. Penetration rates are average for the region though the number of subscribers has fallen in recent years as fewer customers opt for multiple SIM card ownership. Mobile broadband growth has been strong following network investments which have extended the reach of LTE services.

One of the largest broadband players, UPC Romania, planned to launch as an MVNO in 2018. MNOs have also expanded into the fixed-line market: through a network sharing deal with Telekom Romania, Orange Romania provides bundled services to its subscribers, and in late 2016 the company launched FttP services offering data at up to 1Gb/s.

This report provides insights into Romania’s developing telecom market, covering regulatory developments, the major players, and fixed-line infrastructure. The report also covers the mobile sector, profiling the financial and operating performance of the key network operators and analysing spectrum auctions and regulatory developments. In addition the report assesses the developing broadband market, covering technologies and the major players.

Key developments:

• Legislation passed to facilitate access to telco infrastructure and public spaces;
• Telecom sector revenue sees growth return;
• Vodafone Romania enters into talks with Telekom Romania to gain access to the latter’s fixed-line network;
• Orange Romania expanding 1Gb/s FttP offering;
• RoNet rural broadband program delayed due to funding issues;
• UPC expands reach of its 500Mb/s broadband service;
• Digi Mobil reaches 1.52Gb/s in trials, contracts Ericsson to deploy 5G-enabled equipment;
• Vodafone Romania’s Supernet 4G+ service upgraded to provide data at up to 800Mb/s;
• UPC Romania planning launch as an MVNO in 2018;
• Report update includes the regulator’s market data to June 2017, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q3 2017, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

RCS&RDS, UPC Romania, GTS Telecom, Telekom Romania, SN Radiocomunicatii, Vodafone Romania, Orange Romania, Digi Mobil, Telemobil.