Austria - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Publication Overview

This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Austria’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:- July 2018 (16th Edition)

Executive Summary

Austria’s telcos looking forward to major spectrum auctions for 5G

Austria’s telecom market is dominated by the incumbent Telekom Austria and the cableco UPC Austria, though there has been greater competitive pressure in the fixed-line broadband and mobile sectors in recent years. In common with operators elsewhere in Europe, those in Austria are focussed on the provision of bundled services as a measure to attract and retain customers. To compete more effectively with Telekom Austria, by far the main player in this segment, T-Mobile Austria in late 2017 acquired UPC Austria. The deal was approved by competition authorities in July 2018, on the basis that their service offerings are complementary.

Austria’s competitive mobile market is dominated by the three network operators 3 Austria, T-Mobile Austria and Telekom Austria’s own unit A1. However, the market also benefits from a growing number of new entrants in the MVNO sector, which by early 2018 collectively had about 6.8% of the market by subscribers. The growth in the MVNO sector is partly due to regulatory concessions by which 3 Austria, as a condition of its take-over of Orange Austria, was obliged to provide a third of its network capacity to support up to 16 MVNOs.

The competitive environment has led to relatively low ARPU for operators, as well as some of the region’s lowest tariffs for consumers. The operators’ LTE networks have benefited from regulatory measures which have allowed operators to refarm existing 2G and 3G spectrum for LTE, while spectrum in the 700MHz has also been set aside for mobile broadband use once this band is released from broadcasters. The regulator is planning to auction 390MHz in the 3410MHz-3600MHz range and 200MHz in the 3600MHz-3800MHz range, in line with European measures, to be assigned for 5G technologies. The regulator has also set aside spectrum in the 700MHz band for 5G services, which should be made available from 2020.

The Austrian fixed-line broadband market is dominated by the DSL sector, while the cable broadband sector has held a steady share of about a third of connections. The fibre sector was slow to develop, but in recent years there has been greater effort among telcos to develop infrastructure and promote the take-up of bundled services.

UPC Austria continues to invest in DOCSIS3.1 technology, while Telekom Austria has invested in G.fast technology to improve connectivity in areas where it has not prioritised fibre. Although fibre penetration remains low, with the platform having less than 2% market share of subscribers, there is considerable vigour among operators to build out network infrastructure: Telekom Austria is in the process of extending its fibre infrastructure to additional 300,000 premises, affecting some 500 towns. Ongoing investment in the sector suggests stronger growth in coming years, and as a result the number of DSL lines is expected to fall as customers are migrated to fibre.

This report presents key aspects of the Austrian telecom and ICT markets, including statistical data on the country, the fixed network services sector and telecom infrastructure. It presents an overview of recent regulatory developments affecting broadband access and mobile spectrum.

Key developments:

Telekom Austria launches 100Gb/s network across the CEE region, switches domestic fixed-line traffic to VoIP;
Regulator making progress with 3.4-3.6GHz auction for 5G services;
T-Mobile Austria expands Narrowband IoT capabilities, trials 5G in Innsbruck, launches VoLTE service, acquires UPC Austria;
ZTE and 3 Austria set up Innovation Lab to trial 5G;
MVNOs secure 6.7% market share of subscribers;
700MHz spectrum to be assigned for 5G use from 2020;
Telekom Austria adds M2M platforms;
T-Mobile Austria acquires UPC Austria;
Telekom Austria trials XG-Fast technology providing data at over 11Gb/s, prepares to expand fibre infrastructure to an additional 300,000 premises;
Regulator proposes framework to expand broadband services nationally;
Government pledges €1 billion to upgrade national broadband availability;
Xlink launches 1Gb/s FttP broadband offer;
Report update includes the regulator's market data to Q4 2017, telcos' financial and operating data to Q2 2018, recent market developments
Report update includes the regulator's market data to Q4 2017, telcos' financial and operating data to Q2 2018, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Telekom Austria (A1), Tele2, tele.ring, UPC Austria, 3 Austria, T-Mobile Austria, Orange Austria, Mundio, Lycamobile, Yesss!, M:Tel Austria, Hofer Telekom, Xlink.

Henry Lancaster
July 2018

Table of Contents

Key statistics
Telecommunications market

Market analysis

Regulatory environment

Historical overview
Regulatory authorities

Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications
Telekom Control Commission
Austrian Communications Authority (KommAustria)

Privatisation of Telekom Austria
Interconnect
Access

Fibre access

Number Portability (NP)
Carrier PreSelection (CPS)

Fixed network operators

Introduction
Telekom Austria

Consolidating European markets

Tele2
tele.ring
UPC Austria
eTel Austria

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
Next Generation Network (NGN)
Structural separation
International infrastructure

Submarine cable networks
Satellite networks

Smart infrastructure
Wholesaling

Broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Market analysis
Broadband statistics
Forecasts – broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks

UPC Austria
Regional broadband

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
G.fast
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Other fixed broadband services

BPL
Fixed wireless (Wi-Fi and WiMAX)
Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
450MHz band
3.5GHz band
Wireless LANs/Wi-Fi
WiMAX
Internet via satellite

Competition issues

Regulating wholesale access
Wholesale market

Digital media

Videostreaming

Mobile communications

Market analysis
Mobile statistics

General statistics

Mobile infrastructure

Digital networks
Other infrastructure developments

Mobile voice
Mobile data

Short Message Service (SMS)
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)
Mobile broadband
Forecasts – mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023

Regulatory issues

Regulatory authority
Spectrum regulations and spectrum auctions
Roaming
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Mobile termination rates (MTRs)
Network sharing

Major mobile operators

Orange Austria
3 Austria (Drei Austria)
A1 Austria
T-Mobile Austria
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)

Mobile content and applications

M-commerce

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities- Austria – 2017
Table 2 – Telecom revenue by sector – 2003 – 2018
Table 3 – Telecoms revenue: wholesale and retail – 2015 – 2017
Table 4 – Telecoms sector investment by type – 2006 – 2017
Table 5 – Telecom traffic by sector – 2005 – 2017
Table 6 – Average fixed-line residential subscriber use of services – 2014 – 2016
Table 7 – Accumulated ported geographic numbers – 2007 – 2014
Table 8 – CPS and CbC lines – 2004 – 2017
Table 9 – Telekom Austria Group financial data – 2001 - 2018
Table 10– Telekom Austria financial data – 2009 – 2018
Table 11 – Telekom Austria: PSTN and ISDN access lines – 2005 – 2017
Table 12 – Telekom Austria traffic statistics in minutes – 2007 – 2015
Table 13 – Telekom Austria traffic statistics, annual change – 2010 – 2015
Table 14 – Telekom Austria financial data by sector – 2009 – 2018
Table 16 – Tele2 subscribers – 2007 – 2017
Table 17 – UPC Austria revenue – 2005 – 2018
Table 18 – UPC Austria subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Table 19 – Fixed lines in service by type – 2013- 2017
Table 20 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and household teledensity – 1999 – 2009
Table 21 – Fixed lines in service and household teledensity – 2010 – 2018
Table 22 – Household penetration of computers, internet, broadband – 2002 - 2017
Table 23 – Broadband connections by data rate – 2012 – 2017
Table 24 – Market share of fixed broadband connections by technology – 2013 - 2017
Table 25 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rate – 1995 – 2009
Table 26 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2010 – 2018
Table 27 – Total fixed-line broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 – 2017
Table 29 – Stand alone and bundled broadband connections – 2015 – 2017
Table 30 – Revenue from retail and wholesale broadband connections – 2005 – 2018
Table 31 – Broadband market share by platform – 2013 – 2017
Table 32 – Fixed broadband market share by provider – 2013 – 2016
Table 33 – Forecast broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Table 34 – Cable broadband subscribers – 2012 - 2017
Table 35 – UPC Austria broadband subscribers – 2005 – 2018
Table 36 – UPC Austria revenue – 2005 – 2018
Table 37 – Telekom Austria: retail and wholesale DSL lines – 2005 – 2018
Table 38 – DSL subscribers – 2000 – 2018
Table 39 –FttP connections – 2011 – 2018
Table 40 – Fixed-line wireless broadband subscribers – 2006 – 2017
Table 41 – Bitstream access lines by type – 2004 – 2016
Table 42 – Bitstream and resale access revenue – 2012 – 2016
Table 43 – Telekom Austria unbundled lines – 2004 – 2018
Table 44 – Telekom Austria IPTV customers – 2007 - 2018
Table 45 – Mobile market revenue by service – 2012 – 2017
Table 46 – Mobile service revenue, retail and wholesale – 2000 – 2018
Table 47 – Average mobile subscriber use of services – 2012 – 2017
Table 48 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate (regulator data) – 1999 – 2009
Table 49 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2010- 2018
Table 50 – Mobile SIMs in use, 2G, 3G and 4G – 2004 – 2017
Table 51– Mobile market share of subscribers by operator – 2006 – 2017
Table 52 – Mobile numbers in use, contract and prepaid – 2004 – 2017
Table 53 – A1 prepaid subscribers – 2005 – 2018
Table 54 – T-Mobile Austria prepaid subscribers – 2014 – 2018
Table 55 – GSM SIM cards in service – 2012 – 2017
Table 56 – LTE SIM cards in service – 2013 – 2017
Table 57 – 3G SIM cards in service – 2009 – 2017
Table 59 – A1 M2M connections – 2015 – 2016
Table 60 – Mobile voice traffic – 2003 – 2017
Table 61 – Mobile data traffic – 2015 – 2017
Table 62 – SMS messages sent – 2004 – 2017
Table 63 – Text messaging revenue – 2013 – 2017
Table 64 – A1 SMS sent – 2006 – 2015
Table 65 – Mobile broadband download speed by technology – 2013 – 2017
Table 66 – Mobile broadband subscribers – 2005 – 2017
Table 67 – Active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2010 – 2017
Table 68 – Household broadband penetration by fixed/mobile platform – 2012 – 2017
Table 69 – Mobile broadband traffic – 2008 – 2017
Table 70 – A1 mobile broadband subscribers – 2009 – 2018
Table 71 – Forecast mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Table 72 – GSM spectrum distribution among MNOs (MHz) – 2010
Table 73 – European roaming charges – 2007 – 2016
Table 74 – European data roaming charges – 2017 – 2022
Table 75 – Roaming revenue – 2015 – 2017
Table 76 – Roaming revenue – 2015 – 2017
Table 77– Mobile number portings – 2010 – 2017
Table 78 – Mobile termination charges by operator (historic) – 2008 – 2011
Table 79 – Orange Austria mobile subscribers (historic) – 2009 – 2012
Table 80 – 3 Austria active subscribers – 2013 – 2017
Table 81 – 3 Austria registered subscribers – 2009 – 2017
Table 82 – 3 Austria financial data – 2008 – 2017
Table 83 – 3 Austria annualised ARPU – 2008 - 2017
Table 84 – A1 subscribers (Austria) – 2000 – 2018
Table 85 – A1 - mobile financial data – 2004 – 2018
Table 86 – A1 - mobile revenue by quarter – 2015 – 2018
Table 87 – A1 monthly ARPU – 2004 – 2018
Table 88 – T-Mobile Austria mobile service revenue – 2003 – 2018
Table 89 – T-Mobile Austria mobile service revenue by quarter – 2015 – 2018
Table 90 – T-Mobile Austria subscribers – 2004 – 2018
Table 91 – T-Mobile Austria annualised ARPU – 2006 – 2017
Table 92 – UPC Austria mobile subscribers – 2016 – 2018

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Telecom revenue by sector – 2003 – 2018
Chart 2 – Telecom traffic by sector – 2005 – 2017
Chart 3 – CPS and CbC lines – 2004 – 2017
Chart 4 – Telekom Austria Group financial data – 2001 – 2018
Chart 5 – Telekom Austria financial data – 2009 – 2018
Chart 6 – Telekom Austria traffic statistics in minutes – 2007 – 2015
Chart 7 – Telekom Austria financial data by sector – 2009 – 2018
Chart 8 – Tele2 financial data by sector – 2007 – 2017
Chart 9 – Tele2 subscribers – 2007 – 2017
Chart 10 – UPC Austria subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Chart 11 – Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2005 – 2018
Chart 12 – Internet users and penetration rate – 2003 – 2018
Chart 13 – Total fixed-line broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 – 2018
Chart 14 – Mobile service revenue, retail and wholesale – 2000 - 2018
Chart 15 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2005 – 2018
Chart 16 – Mobile SIMs in use, 2G and 3G – 2004 – 2017
Chart 17 – Mobile market share by operator – 2006 – 2017
Chart 18 – 3 Austria active subscribers – 2013 – 2017
Chart 19 – 3 Austria subscribers – 2009 – 2016
Chart 20 – 3 Austria financial data – 2008 – 2017
Chart 21 – 3 Austria annualised ARPU – 2008 – 2017
Chart 22 – A1 subscribers (Austria) – 2000 – 2018
Chart 23 – A1 annualised monthly ARPU – 2004 – 2018

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Access and the local loop
Exhibit 2 – Regional WLL licenses in 3.5GHz spectrum by operator – 2004
Exhibit 3 – Regional WLL licenses in 3.5GHz spectrum by operator – 2009
Exhibit 4 – 450MHz frequency allocation overview – 2006
Exhibit 5 – 3.5GHz frequency allocation – 2008
Exhibit 6 – Active mobile providers
Exhibit 7 – 2G spectrum allocations by operator
Exhibit 8 – 3G spectrum allocations by operator
Exhibit 9 – 3G licence results – 2000
Exhibit 10 – 450MHz licence results – 2006
Exhibit 11 – 2.6GHz spectrum auction results – September 2010
Exhibit 12 – Multi-spectrum auction results – Oct 2013
Exhibit 13 – 3 Austria spectrum concessions –2018

Related Reports

Purchase this Report

US$1,150.00

Licence Information

Annual Publication Profile

Technologies

Broadband Fixed
Broadcasting
Companies (Major Players)
Mobile & Wireless Broadband and Media
Mobile Communications (voice and infrastructure)
Regulations & Government Policies
Telecoms Infrastructure

Number of pages 161

Status Current

Last updated 25 Jul 2018
Update History

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

Share this Report

Purchase with Confidence

Paul is by far, the leading telecommunications analyst in Australia. Not only is his company's research first class and timely, it is superbly contextual to the complexities of today's modern media and communications technology. He is always extremely generous in sharing his knowledge with others and has a great ability to connect people together and be a thought leader on topics of National interest such as the NBN, FttH and Smart Grids.

Bruce Duyshart, Director Strategic Technology, Lend Lease