2019 Ireland - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 5 Mar 2019 Update History

Report Status: Archived

Report Pages: 156

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Publication Overview

This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Ireland’s telecommunications market. The report analyses the fixed-line, mobile and broadband sectors. Subjects include:

Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;
Facts, figures and statistics;
Industry and regulatory issues;
Infrastructure developments;
Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, ARPU, MoU;
Mobile Voice and Data Markets;
Broadband (FttP, DSL, cable, wireless);
Mobile subscribers and ARPU;
Broadband market forecasts;
Government policies affecting the telecoms industry;
Market liberalisation and industry issues;
Telecoms operators – privatisation, IPOs, acquisitions, new licences;
Mobile technologies (GSM; 3G, HSPA, LTE, 5G).

Researcher:- Henry Lancaster

Current publication date:- March 2019 (18th Edition)

Executive Summary

Ireland progresses with national broadband tender

Ireland’s telecom market has been invigorated by the economic recovery seen during the last few years, emerging from a period in which it had been held back by low broadband uptake, reduced investment among operators as lower spending among consumers. Operators including eir, enet and Vodafone Ireland have extensive fibre-based networks deployments in pace aimed at providing 1Gb/s services, while the government is also promoting its National Broadband Plan by which all premises are expected to receive a service of at least 30Mb/s by 2022. This Plan, requiring a state investment of up to €600 million, will greatly boost the adoption of IP-delivered content, including e-government, e-health and e-learning. Although only a consortium including enet was in a position to bid for the tender in November 2018, the government is confident that the Plan can be achieved to schedule.

The mobile market is dominated by Vodafone Ireland and 3 Ireland which have a similar market share. They are followed at some distance by the incumbent telco, eir, which has about 17% of the market by subscribers. There is room for a small number of MVNOs, the largest of which is Tesco Mobile. Although the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscribers has fallen since 2016, mobile broadband use, supported by extensive LTE networks, remains popular among consumers, particularly since the introduction of flat-rate data plans. LTE forms an integral part of the government’s national broadband strategy.

The broadband market has also developed steadily in recent years, supported by an improved investment climate for the key players, as well as by government efforts to facilitate wholesale access. In late 2018 the regulator published three decisions on wholesale access pricing resulting from its Broadband Market Review.

This report provides statistics and analysis on the key sectors of the Irish telecom market, presenting an overview of the regulatory environment, the fixed network operators and services, and telecom infrastructure. In addition the report covers the fixed and wireless broadband markets, together with developments in related technologies such as FttP, powerline broadband, wireless and mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and internet via satellite. Statistics and analyses on the mobile voice and data markets and reviewed, including the recent regulatory issues, a snapshot of the consumer market, and an assessment of emerging technologies and operator strategies. The report also includes broadband and mobile subscriber forecasts.

Key developments:

National Broadband Ireland remains sole bidder for National Broadband Plan tender;
Ireland-France Cable-1 (IFC-1) system secures additional finance;
Eir requests to close copper infrastructure in some areas upgraded with fibre;
Regulator rules that eir make fibre networks available to altnets;
Vodafone launches a commercial NB-IoT service, makes its first 5G call;
Regulator revises strategy to manage radio spectrum;
Vodafone Ireland completes national LTE network upgrade project;
VDSL connections grew 8.5% in the year to September 2018;
Vodafone Ireland and SIRO launch the 'Gigabit Hub Initiative';
Casey Cablevisión acquired by Virgin Media;
Report update includes the regulator’s market data to Q3 2018, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q4 2018, recent market developments

Companies mentioned in this report:

Vodafone Ireland, O2, eir, eMobile; Tesco Mobile, Virgin Media Ireland, Casey CableVision, Digiweb, BT Ireland, Smart Telecom, Tele2

Henry Lancaster
February 2019

Key statistics

Country overview

Telecommunications market
Regulatory environment

Historical overview
Regulatory authority
Telecom sector liberalisation
Privatisation
Interconnect
Access
Leased lines
Fibre access
Number Portability (NP)
Carrier PreSelection (CPS)

Fixed network operators

Introduction
Eir
BT Ireland
Smart Telecom
Other operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
International infrastructure

Submarine cable networks
Satellite networks

Broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Market analysis
National Broadband Plan
Government networks
Regional infrastructure
Wholesale bitstream
Broadband statistics
Forecasts – broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks

Alternative operators
VDSL
Vectoring DSL

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks

Eir
SIRO
Sky Ireland
Other developments

Broadband Powerline (BPL)
Wireless broadband

1.7GHz band
10.5GHz band
3.5GHz band
Digiweb
National Fixed Wireless Point to Multipoint Licences (FWPMA)
Other developments
Other bands
Wi-Fi
Worldwide Interoperability of Microwave Access (WiMAX)
Wi-Fibre
Internet via satellite

Mobile communications

Market analysis
Mobile statistics

General statistics

Mobile infrastructure

Analogue networks
Digital networks
Mobile voice
Mobile data
Mobile broadband
Forecasts – mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023

Regulatory issues

Spectrum regulations and spectrum auctions
Roaming
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Mobile termination rates (MTRs)
Wideband Digital Mobile Data Services (WDMDS)
Network sharing
Machine-to-Machine (M2M) networks
Internet of Things

Major mobile operators

Vodafone Ireland
O2 Ireland (historic)
Eir
3 Ireland
MVNOs

Mobile content and applications

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – Ireland – 2018 (e)
Table 2 – Telecom sector retail revenue – 2012 - 2018
Table 3 – Market retail revenue annual change by fixed, mobile and broadcasting sectors – 2010 – 2018
Table 4 – Retail and wholesale revenue by sector – 2010 - 2018
Table 5 – Market revenue share of fixed, mobile and broadcasting subscribers – 2002 – 2018
Table 6 – Unbundled loops and access lines – 2005 – 2018
Table 7 – Annual ported fixed-line numbers – 2010 – 2018
Table 8 – Indirect access lines: CPS and WLR – 2006 - 2018
Table 9 – Fixed-line and mobile voice traffic in minutes – 2008 – 2018
Table 10 – Fixed-line share of retail revenue by major operator – 2012 – 2018
Table 11 – Eir financial data (historic) – 2001 – 2007
Table 12 – Eir financial data (year to June) – 2009 – 2019
Table 13 – Eir revenue by sector (year to June) – 2009 – 2018
Table 14 – Eir subscribers by sector – 2010 – 2018
Table 15 – Smart Telecom financial data (historic) – 2003 – 2005
Table 16 – Historic - Fixed voice subscriptions in service and teledensity – 1995; 1997; 1999 – 2009
Table 17 – Fixed voice subscriptions and teledensity – 2010 – 2018
Table 18 – Market share of fixed voice lines by operator – 2012 – 2018
Table 19 – International internet bandwidth – 2000 – 2016
Table 20 – Average fixed-line broadband traffic by platform – 2015 – 2018
Table 21 – Broadband penetration by technology – 2006 – 2017
Table 22 – Broadband penetration of households by technology – 2013 - 2018
Table 23 – Dial-up internet subscribers – 2005 – 2016
Table 24 – Internet users – 2005 - 2018
Table 25 – Total fixed and mobile broadband subscribers – 2005 – 2018
Table 26 – Total fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2002 – 2018
Table 27 – Retail broadband revenue – 2014 - 2018
Table 28 – Total broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 – 2018
Table 29 – Share of broadband subscriptions by platform – 2007 – 2018
Table 30 – Market share of fixed broadband subscriptions by operator – 2010 - 2018
Table 31 – Residential market share of broadband access speed – 2012 - 2018
Table 32 – Total market share of broadband access speed – 2013 – 2018
Table 33 – Forecasts – fixed broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Table 34 – Virgin Media Ireland subscribers – 2006 - 2018
Table 35 – Virgin Media Ireland revenue – 2006 – 2009; 2013 – 2018
Table 36 – Cable broadband subscribers –2002 – 2018
Table 37 – DSL access provision by type and operator – 2002 - 2018
Table 38 – Eir retail broadband subscribers – 2010 – 2018
Table 39 – DSL subscribers – 2010 – 2018
Table 40 – VDSL connections – 2013 - 2018
Table 41 – Proportion of VDSL connections by access type – 2014 - 2018
Table 42 – FttP connections – 2016 – 2018
Table 43 – Eir fibre broadband subscribers – 2013 - 2018
Table 44 – Vodafone Ireland fixed broadband subscribers – 2010 - 2018
Table 45 – Fixed wireless broadband subscribers – 2005 – 2018
Table 46 – Wireless hotspots and access points - 2007 – 2018
Table 48 – Operator blended ARPU – 2005 – 2018
Table 49 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1995; 1997; 1999 – 2009
Table 50 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2010 – 2019
Table 51 – Mobile voice subscribers (not incl. mobile broadband, M2M) – 2011 – 2018
Table 52 – Mobile retail market revenue, voice and data – 2005 – 2018
Table 53 – Mobile share of subscribers by operator – 2005 – 2018
Table 54 – Operator share of subscribers (excl. M2M and broadband) – 2014 – 2018
Table 55 – Mobile share of revenue by operator – 2005 – 2018
Table 56 – Prepaid versus postpaid share of subscribers – 2000 – 2018
Table 57 – Proportion of prepaid subscribers by operator – 2008 – 2018
Table 58 – 3G SIM cards in use by type – 2011 – 2018
Table 59 – Mobile subscriber market share by technology – 2013 – 2018
Table 60 – Mobile voice traffic – 2005 – 2018
Table 61 – Mobile data traffic – 2014 – 2018
Table 62 – Mobile data traffic share by technology – 2014 – 2018
Table 63 – Data use per subscriber – 2011 – 2018
Table 64 – SMS messages sent – 2000 - 2019
Table 65 – SMS and MMS messages sent per subscriber – 2011 – 2018
Table 66 – SMS and MMS revenue – 2012 – 2015
Table 67 – MMS messages sent – 2005 – 2018
Table 68 – Dedicated mobile broadband subscribers – 2007 – 2018
Table 69 – Mobile broadband market share by operator – 2010 – 2018
Table 70 – Active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2018
Table 71 – Forecasts – mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Table 72 – European roaming charges – 2007 - 2016
Table 73 – European data roaming charges – 2014 – 2017
Table 74 – Annual mobile numbers ported – 2005 – 2018
Table 75 – M2M connections – 2013 – 2018
Table 76 – Market share of M2M connections by operator – 2016 – 2018
Table 77 – Vodafone Ireland mobile subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Table 78 – Vodafone Ireland mobile service revenue – 2010 – 2018
Table 79 – O2 mobile financial data (historic) – 2007 – 2014
Table 80 – O2 mobile data statistics (historic) – 2007 – 2013
Table 81 – O2 ARPU, blended, prepaid and contract (historic) – 2006 – 2013
Table 82 – O2 subscribers (historic) – 2006 – 2014
Table 83 – Eir mobile subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Table 84 – Eir mobile services revenue – 2006 - 2010; 2012- 2018
Table 85 – Eir mobile annualised blended ARPU - 2006 – 2014
Table 86 – Eir mobile prepaid and contract ARPU - 2013 – 2018
Table 87 – 3 Ireland registered subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Table 88 – 3 Ireland active subscribers – 2013 – 2018
Table 89 – 3 Ireland financial data – 2007 – 2018
Table 90 – 3 Ireland revenue by sector – 2013 – 2018
Table 91 – 3 Ireland annualised ARPU – 2013 – 2018

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Market revenue share of fixed, mobile and broadcasting subscribers – 2002 - 2018
Chart 2 - Unbundled loops and access lines – 2005 – 2018
Chart 3 – Fixed-line and mobile voice traffic in minutes – 2008 – 2018
Chart 4 – Fixed voice subscriptions and teledensity – 2005 - 2018
Chart 5 – Total broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 - 2018
Chart 6 – Virgin Media Ireland broadband, phone, cable TV subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Chart 7 – DSL access provision by type and operator – 2002 – 2018
Chart 8 – Wireless hotspots and access points – 2007 - 2018
Chart 9 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2005 - 2019
Chart 10 – Mobile market revenue, voice and data – 2005 – 2018
Chart 11 – Mobile share of subscribers by operator – 2006 – 2018
Chart 12 – Mobile share of revenue by operator – 2006 – 2018
Chart 13 – Proportion of prepaid subscribers by operator – 2008 – 2018
Chart 14 – Mobile subscriber market share by technology – 2013 – 2018
Chart 15 – Mobile broadband market share by operator – 2010 – 2018
Chart 16 – 3 Ireland financial data – 2007 – 2018
Chart 17 – 3 Ireland annualised ARPU – 2013 – 2018

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Access and the local loop
Exhibit 2 – 3G licence results – June 2002
Exhibit 3 – Multiband frequency award process – 2012
Exhibit 4 – WDMDS licences: operators, spectrum and fees – 2005
Exhibit 5 – 3 Ireland spectrum concessions
Exhibit 6 – Virgin Media mobile subscribers –2015 - 2018

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2019 Ireland - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Ireland progresses with national broadband tender

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Broadband market

Mobile communications

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views