2016 Croatia - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media - Statistics and Analyses

Croatia’s incumbent invests HRK 2 billion in fibre and pushes for G.fast

The Croatian telecoms market has been shaped by the country having joined the European Union in 2013, a process which resulted in market liberalisation and the creation of a regulatory environment conducive to competition. Alternative operators have entered the market and launched competing services in all market segments. Investment in network infrastructure is ongoing, while trials of G.fast technology promise to provide a wider footprint of gigabit services in coming years.

The mobile market has one of the highest penetration rates in the Balkans region. Three network operators dominate, though there is also room for a small number of MVNOs. Operators have focused on developing revenue from mobile data services, and to this end considerable investment is ongoing in upgraded network infrastructure, despite the poor economic climate which has held back customer spend.

Internet penetration in Croatia is also one of the highest in the Balkans region. There is effective competition between the fixed-line DSL and cable access platforms, while there is also a vibrant market for fibre deployments, though still predominantly in urban areas. ISPs have focused on increasing the capabilities of broadband infrastructure and so generate additional revenue through sales of bundled packages and videostreaming services. Digital Terrestrial TV progressed well, with the country among the first in Europe to complete the switch from analogue to digital broadcasting. The migration to the DVB-T2 standard, expected to be complete by 2020, will provide addition spectrum for mobile broadband use.

This report provides an overview of Croatia’s fixed-line market, covering regulatory developments, fixed-line infrastructure used to offer services, financial and performance data on significant fixed-line operators as well as the wholesale and IT markets. The report also provides updated analyses on the developing broadband and digital media markets, including a variety of statistics and subscriber forecasts to 2021. In addition, the report assesses the mobile market, including a variety of financial and performance statistics on service providers. It reviews network developments and deployed technologies, and examines a range of mobile services including m-commerce and mobile TV.

Key developments:

• Regulator sets out amended wholesale access tariffs for 2017;
• T-HT takes over management of Optima Telekom, applies to extend management oversight to 2021;
• T-HT to invest HRK2 billion on fibre infrastructure;
• VIPnet acquires three regional cablecos;
• Regulator sets new fixed and mobile termination rates to 2019;
• T-HT trials LTE-Advanced Pro technology to deliver data at up to 500Mb;
• Regulator allocates remaining 800MHz spectrum;
• T-HT trials G.fast technology;
• VIPnet planning to introduce DOCSIS3.1-based services;
• Optima Telekom announces plans to merge with H1 Telekom;
• T-HT launches Stream On videostreaming service;
• DVB-T2 to be deployed by 2020;
• Report update includes the regulator’s market data to June 2016, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q3 2016, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

T-Hrvatski Telekom (T-HT), Optima Telekom, Metronet, VIPnet, Tele2 Croatia, B.net, VIPNet, Digi TV, SBB, H1 Telekom.