Estonia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Publication Overview

This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Estonia’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 2018 (17th Edition)

Executive Summary

Estonia auctions spectrum in the 2.6GHz band to prepare for 5G services

Estonia’s telecom market continues to benefit from a range of measures which have encouraged competition and enabled alternative operators to chip away at the fixed-line market share of the incumbent Telia. Fixed-line infrastructure upgrades have been geared to supporting bundled offerings, and this process has prompted Telia to stop services based on DSL by the end of 2020. Instead, services will be carried over the operator’s VDSL, fibre and G.fast infrastructure, supplemented by LTE and, in time, 5G in rural areas.

The country has one of the most advanced mobile markets in Europe, having benefitted from considerable investment from Telia, Elisa and Tele2. The deployment of carrier aggregation with LTE-A services has provided some of the highest data rates available in Europe. Operators are also engaged in 5G trials, with Telia endeavouring to provide commercial 5G-based services in parts of Estonia and Sweden by the end of 2018, some two years before the technology is expected to be widely available. Such an early deployment would provide the company with some influence over the technology’s standards, as well as issues including appropriate spectrum.

Estonia also has one of the highest broadband penetration rates in Europe. Broadband is available via a range of fixed-line and wireless technologies, with ADSL2+, FttP, cable, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and HSPA/LTE options widely available. The incumbent telco Telia is the dominant provider of DSL-based services, while cable broadband is the main competing platform. Telia planned to end DSL-based services by the end of 2020, migrating customers to its G.fast and fibre networks. Elisa’s consolidation with the principal cableco Starman in April 2017 has enabled the operator to offer a more comprehensive suite of bundled services, and so compete more effectively with Telia.

This report provides an overview of Estonia’s telecom market, the performance of the key players, recent regulatory developments, and the status of fixed-line networks and the NGN. It also includes a range of operating and financial data. The report also reviews the mobile market, covering the major players, services offered and emerging technologies. In addition the report provides statistics and an overview of broadband market developments and trends, as well as subscriber forecasts to 2023.

Key developments:

• Regulator auctions spectrum in the 2.6GHz band for LTE and 5G services;
• Telia Estonia and Tele2 Estonia trial 5G services;
• Telia providing fastest average mobile broadband speeds, at 75.3Mb/s download;
• Tele2 rolls out CA LTE-A services in major cities;
• Government commits €20 million to rural broadband program;
• Telia Estonia planning to close DSL-based services by end-2020;
• Estonian start-up developing Li-Wi technology;
• Estonia develops e-residency cards;
• Report update includes operator data to Q4 2017, Statistics Estonia data to December 2017, the regulator’s market data updates and 2016 annual report, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Telia Estonia, Tele2 Estonia, Elisa (Starman), STV, Viasat, Levira, Baltic Broadband

Table of Contents

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