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.

Table of Contents

Related Reports

• Austria - Fixed Broadband Market - Statistics and Analyses
• Austria - Telecoms Infrastructure, Operators, Regulations - Statistics and Analyses
• Austria - Mobile Infrastructure, Broadband, Operators - Statistics and Analyses
• Austria - Digital Economy and Digital Media - Statistics and Analyses
• Global Telecoms Trends in 2018 - Broadband Infrastructure, IoT, Video-Streaming and Smart Cities
• 2015 Global Digital Economy - E-Health, E-Education and E-Government Trends