Croatia Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Publication Date: June 2025

Report Pages: 202

Analyst: Henry Lancaster

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Summary
Table Of Contents

Croatia’s MNOs providing universal population coverage with 5G

Although Croatia’s telecom market is dominated by the incumbent telco Hrvatski Telekom and the local units of United Group and Telekom Austria, there is effective competition from a number of smaller operators. The regulator has helped promote competition via measures encouraging network access, as well as regional licencing. This has been seen most recently with two 5G licences having been reserved for regional rather than national operations.

The mobile market is served by three MNOs, supplemented by a number of MVNOs. The network operators have focused on improving ARPU by encouraging prepaid subscribers to migrate to postpaid plans, and on developing revenue from mobile data services. 5G services are widely available, though the sector will only show its full potential later in 2021 following the award of licences in several bands. Hitherto reserved for GSM, 3G and LTE use, this spectrum will contribute towards the government’s national broadband plan through to 2027, which is tied to the EC’s two allied projects aimed at providing gigabit connectivity by the end of 2025.

The broadband sector benefits from effective competition between the DSL and cable platforms, while there are also numerous fibre deployments in urban areas. The number of FttP subscribers broached 134,000 in March 2021.

This report provides an overview of Croatia’s fixed-line market, covering regulatory developments, infrastructure, and the financial and operating performance of the main operators. The report also covers the mobile voice and data markets, including statistics on service providers, and an assessment of network developments and deployed technologies. In addition, the report reviews the fixed and fixed wireless broadband segment, including statistics and subscriber forecasts.

Key developments:

United Group increases its stake in Optima Telekom to 95.07%. Regulator begins delayed multi-spectrum 5G auction;
RUNE project secures additional €130 million to cover more premises with fibre;
Croatia is referred to the European Court of Justice for not transposing the EECC into national law;
A1 Croatia and Hrvatski Telekom deploy NB-IoT network;
Report update includes the regulator's market data to March 2022, telcos' operating and financial data to Q2 2022, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Hrvatski Telekom (HT), Optima Telekom, Metronet, A1 Croatia (VIPnet), Tele2 Group, United Group, Telemach Croatia

Key statistics
Regional Europe Market Comparison

Market characteristics
Market Leaders
Market Challengers
Market Emergents
TMI versus GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration

Country overview
Telecommunications market

Historical overview
Market analysis

Regulatory environment

Historical overview
Regulatory authority
Fixed-line developments

Telecom sector liberalisation
Privatisation
Interconnect
Universal Service
Access
Number Portability (NP)
Carrier PreSelection (CPS)
European Electronic Communications Code

Mobile network developments

Third GSM licence and 3G licences
Fourth GSM licence
Spectrum auctions
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Roaming
Network Termination Rate (MTR)

Mobile market

Market analysis
Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

5G
4G (LTE)
3G
IoT and M2M networks

Mobile data

SMS/ MMS

Mobile broadband
Major mobile operators

Hrvatski Telekom
A1 Croatia
Telemach Croatia
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs)

Mobile content and applications

M-commerce
M-banking

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction and statistical overview

Market analysis
Broadband statistics

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

VDSL
G.fast

Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks
Other fixed broadband services

Wi-Fi
WiMAX

Digital economy

Introduction
E-government
E-education
E-health

Fixed network operators

Hrvatski Telekom (HT)
A1 Croatia
Optima Telekom
Metronet

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
International infrastructure
Cloud computing
Wholesale
Smart Infrastructure
Data centres

Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities - Croatia – 2022 (e)
Table 2 – Development of telecom services revenue by sector (HRK million) – 2012 – 2022
Table 3 – Change in telecom services revenue by sector – 2012 – 2022
Table 4 – Change in mobile and fixed-line network voice traffic (million minutes) – 2012 – 2022
Table 5 – Accumulated fixed number portings – 2012 – 2022
Table 6 – Drop in the number of CPS access lines – 2012 – 2022
Table 7 – Accumulated and annual mobile ported numbers – 2012 – 2022
Table 8 – Growth in mobile roaming traffic (million minutes) – 2011 – 2022
Table 9 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2012 – 2027
Table 10 – Change in the mobile market share of subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2022
Table 11 – Increase in mobile network voice traffic – 2012 – 2022
Table 12 – Development of mobile market revenue – 2012 – 2022
Table 13 – Change in the number of prepaid users and proportion to total – 2012 – 2022
Table 14 – Decline in HT Group’s mobile prepaid subscribers – 2012 – 2022
Table 15 – Decline in A1 Croatia’s prepaid subscribers and proportion to total – 2012 – 2020
Table 16 – Growth in the number of M2M connections – 2017 – 2022
Table 17 – Increase in the number of A1 Croatia’s M2M connections – 2016 – 2020
Table 18 – Change in the number of SMS and MMS messages sent – 2012 – 2022
Table 19 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Table 20 – Change in the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2022
Table 21 – Increase in mobile broadband revenue and traffic – 2015 – 2022
Table 22 – Growth in the number of A1 Croatia’s mobile broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Table 23 – Increase in Hrvatski Telekom Group’s mobile revenue – 2012 – 2022
Table 24 – Decline in Hrvatski Telekom’s mobile annualised ARPU (HRK / subscriber / month) – 2012 – 2022
Table 25 – Change in Hrvatski Telekom’s mobile prepaid and contract customer base (thousand) – 2012 – 2022
Table 26 – A1 Croatia prepaid, postpaid, and blended monthly ARPU (€ / month) – 2012 – 2022
Table 27 – Change in A1 Croatia’s Minutes of Use (MOU) – 2012 – 2020
Table 28 – Development of A1 Croatia’s subscriber base (million) – 2012 – 2022
Table 29 – Development of Telemach Croatia’s financial data (SEK million) – 2011 – 2019
Table 30 – Change in Telemach Croatia’s mobile revenue by segment (SEK million) – 2015 – 2019
Table 31 – Change in Telemach Croatia’s financial data (€ million) – 2020 – 2021
Table 32 – Growth in Telemach Croatia’s mobile subscriber base – 2012 – 2019
Table 33 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration rate – 2012 – 2027
Table 34 – Growth in broadband data traffic by type (TB) – 2012 – 2022
Table 35 – Broadband data traffic growth by type – 2013 – 2022
Table 36 – Increase in broadband revenue (mobile and fixed) – 2012 – 2022
Table 37 – Increase in broadband revenue by platform (HRK billion) – 2017 – 2022
Table 38 – Growth in the number of A1 Croatia’s broadband subscriber base – 2012 – 2022
Table 39 – Change in the number of cable broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2022
Table 40 – Change in DSL accesses by type – 2012 – 2022
Table 41 – Change in the number of Hrvatski Telekom’s retail DSL subscriber base – 2012 – 2022
Table 42 – Growth in the number of fibre broadband subscribers – 2015 – 2022
Table 43 – Change in the number of fixed wireless broadband lines – 2017 – 2022
Table 44 – Fixed-line market share by operator – 2012 – 2022
Table 45 – Hrvatski Telekom financial data (HRK million) – 2012 – 2022
Table 46 – Change in Hrvatski Telekom’s fixed voice and mobile revenue (HRK million) – 2012 – 2022
Table 47 – Decline in the number of Hrvatski Telekom's retail fixed lines – 2012 – 2022
Table 48 – Decline in Hrvatski Telekom’s voice ARPU – 2012 – 2022
Table 49 – Development of A1 Croatia’s financial results (€ million) – 2012 – 2022
Table 50 – Development of in A1 Croatia’s revenue – 2012 – 2022
Table 51 – Change in the number of A1 Croatia’s access lines in service – 2012 – 2022
Table 52 – Optima Telekom financial data (HRK million) – 2012 – 2021
Table 53 – Development of Optima Telekom operational data – 2012 – 2021
Table 54 – Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2012 – 2027
Table 55 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2011 – 2020
Table 56 – Historic - Fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2000 – 2011
Table 57 – Historic - International internet bandwidth – 2001 – 2011
Table 58 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1997 – 2011
Table 59 – Historic - Prepaid users and proportion of total – 2002 – 2011
Table 60 – Historic - SMS and MMS messages sent (million) – 2003 – 2011
Table 61 – Historic - Internet users and penetration rates – 2000 – 2015
Table 62 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers and penetration rate – 2003 – 2011
Table 63 – Historic - Development of telecom services revenue by sector (HRK million) – 2005 – 2011
Table 64 – Historic - Change in telecom services revenue by sector – 2005 – 2011
Table 65 – Historic - Accumulated fixed number portings – 2005 – 2011
Table 66 – Historic - Drop in the number of CPS access lines – 2008 – 2011
Table 67 – Historic - Change in the mobile market share of subscribers by operator – 2007 – 2011
Table 68 – Historic - Development of mobile market revenue – 2005 – 2011
Table 69 – Historic - Decline in the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscribers – 2007 – 2011
Table 70 – Historic - Growth in the number of A1 Croatia’s mobile broadband subscribers – 2008 – 2011
Table 71 – Historic - Accumulated and annual mobile ported numbers – 2006 – 2011
Table 72 – Historic - A1 Croatia prepaid, postpaid, and blended monthly ARPU – 2004 – 2011
Table 73 – Historic - Change in A1 Croatia’s Minutes of Use (MOU) – 2007 – 2011
Table 74 – Historic - Development of A1 Croatia’s subscriber base – 2007 – 2011
Table 75 – Historic - Development of Tele2 Croatia’s financial data (SEK million) – 2007 – 2011
Table 76 – Historic - Growth in Tele2 Croatia’s mobile subscriber base – 2007 – 2011
Table 77 – Historic - Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration rate – 2003 – 2011
Table 78 – Historic - Broadband market revenue growth (mobile and fixed) – 2005 – 2011
Table 79 – Historic - Hrvatski Telekom financial data (HRK million) – 2008 – 2011
Table 80 – Historic - Decline in the number of Hrvatski Telekom retail fixed lines – 2005 – 2011

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Europe Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Leaders
Chart 2 – Europe Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Challengers
Chart 3 – Europe Telecoms Maturity Index – Market Emergents
Chart 4 – Europe - Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per capita
Chart 5 – Europe – Mobile subscriber penetration vs mobile broadband penetration
Chart 6 – Scandinavia/Baltics fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 7 – Northern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 8 – Eastern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 9 – Southern Europe fixed and mobile broadband penetration
Chart 10 – Development of telecom services revenue by sector – 2012 – 2022
Chart 11 – Change in telecom services revenue by sector – 2012 – 2022
Chart 12 – Change in mobile and fixed-line network voice traffic – 2012 – 2022
Chart 13 – Drop in the number of CPS access lines – 2012 – 2022
Chart 14 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2012 – 2027
Chart 15 – Change in the mobile market share of subscribers by operator – 2012 – 2022
Chart 16 – Increase in mobile network voice traffic – 2012 – 2022
Chart 17 – Development of mobile market revenue – 2012 – 2022
Chart 18 – Change in the number of prepaid users and proportion to total – 2012 – 2022
Chart 19 – Decline in HT Group’s mobile prepaid subscribers – 2012 – 2022
Chart 20 – Decline in A1 Croatia’s prepaid subscribers and proportion to total – 2012 – 2020
Chart 21 – Growth in the number of M2M connections – 2017 – 2022
Chart 22 – Change in the number of SMS and MMS messages sent – 2012 – 2022
Chart 23 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2012 – 2027
Chart 24 – Change in the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2022
Chart 25 – Growth in the number of A1 Croatia’s mobile broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2021
Chart 26 – Increase in Hrvatski Telekom Group’s mobile revenue – 2012 – 2022
Chart 27 – Decline in Hrvatski Telekom’s mobile annualised ARPU – 2012 – 2022
Chart 28 – Change in Hrvatski Telekom’s mobile prepaid and contract customer base – 2012 – 2022
Chart 29 – A1 Croatia prepaid, postpaid, and blended monthly ARPU – 2012 – 2022
Chart 30 – Change in A1 Croatia’s Minutes of Use (MOU) – 2012 – 2020
Chart 31 – Development of A1 Croatia’s subscriber base – 2012 – 2022
Chart 32 – Development of Telemach Croatia’s financial data – 2011 – 2019
Chart 33 – Change in Telemach Croatia’s mobile revenue by segment – 2015 – 2019
Chart 34 – Change in Telemach Croatia’s financial data – 2020 – 2021
Chart 35 – Growth in Telemach Croatia’s mobile subscriber base – 2012 – 2019
Chart 36 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration rate – 2012 – 2027
Chart 37 – Growth in broadband data traffic by type – 2012 – 2022
Chart 38 – Increase in broadband revenue (mobile and fixed) – 2012 – 2022
Chart 39 – Increase in broadband revenue by platform – 2017 – 2022
Chart 40 – Growth in the number of A1 Croatia’s broadband subscriber base – 2012 – 2022
Chart 41 – Change in the number of cable broadband subscribers – 2012 – 2022
Chart 42 – Change in DSL accesses by type – 2012 – 2022
Chart 43 – Change in the number of Hrvatski Telekom’s retail DSL subscriber base – 2012 – 2022
Chart 44 – Fixed-line market share by operator – 2012 – 2022
Chart 45 – Hrvatski Telekom financial data – 2012 – 2022
Chart 46 – Change in Hrvatski Telekom’s fixed voice and mobile revenue – 2012 – 2022
Chart 47 – Decline in the number of Hrvatski Telekom's retail fixed lines – 2012 – 2022
Chart 48 – Decline in Hrvatski Telekom’s voice ARPU – 2012 – 2022
Chart 49 – Development of A1 Croatia’s financial results – 2012 – 2022
Chart 50 – Growth in A1 Croatia’s revenue – 2012 – 2022
Chart 51 – Change in the number of A1 Croatia’s access lines in service – 2012 – 2022
Chart 52 – Optima Telekom financial data – 2012 – 2021
Chart 53 – Development of Optima Telekom operational data – 2012 – 2021
Chart 54 – Change in the number of fixed lines in service and teledensity – 2012 – 2027
Chart 55 – Increase in international internet bandwidth – 2011 – 2020

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Map of Telecom Maturity Index global ranking among countries in Europe
Exhibit 2 – Generalised Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 3 – Europe – Market Leaders and market developments
Exhibit 4 – Europe – Market Challengers and market developments
Exhibit 5 – Europe – Market Emergents and market developments
Exhibit 6 – Access and the local loop

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Croatia Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

Croatia’s MNOs providing universal population coverage with 5G

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Europe Market Comparison

Country overview

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Digital economy

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Appendix – Historic data

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

Share this Report

TMT Intelligence

A platform to scale your intelligence tasks

Research Methodology

Hot Topics

News & Views