2015 Austria - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Digital Media - Statistics and Analyses

Austrian government pledges €1 billion for national broadband

Austria’s telecom market is dominated by a few key players in all sectors, though the regulator has introduced measures which encourage new entrants in the market. The fixed-line broadband market is dominated by DSL, which rapidly overtook cable as the preferred access method. UPC Austria is the leading cable operator, while Telekom Austria retains a leading share of DSL connections. The incumbent has invested in vectoring VDSL and G.fast technologies in a bid to deliver fast broadband services in urban areas with less investment than is required via FttP. However, there is a shift in investment towards fibre, with the incumbent committed to invest €400 million during 2015 to improve its networks and the government allocating €1 billion in public funding to upgrade infrastructure nationally.

The mobile market has undergone considerable consolidation, most recently with 3 Austria acquiring the network and assets of Orange. Nevertheless, there is a growing number of MVNOs and resellers to provide competition in the low-cost sector. In mid-2015 Tele2 re-entered the mobile market as an MVNO, having sold its mobile business back in 2007. This allows the operator to build on its multi-service bundled offerings. Part of the growth in the MVNO sector has been due to regulatory concessions by which 3 Austria, as part of its Orange take-over, must provide 30% of network capacity to support up to 16 MVNOs. The 3G networks have seen impressive growth in subscriber uptake, largely at the expense of existing GSM offerings, while into 2015 there are the beginnings of a wide-scale migration of subscribers from 3G to LTE. By mid-2015 LTE networks provided about 98% population coverage.

This report presents key aspects of the Austrian telecom and ICT markets, including statistical data on the fixed network services sector and telecom infrastructure. It presents an overview of recent regulatory developments, including broadband access and carrier preselection. The major fixed network operators are profiled, together with recent financial and operating data and an analysis on company strategies. The report also examines the mobile market, providing historical and current subscriber statistics, an overview of key operators, an analysis of emerging technologies and data services, and forecasts for ARPU and subscribers. In addition the report covers developments in Austria’s digital economy and digital media sectors, as well as the developing broadband market.

Key developments:

• Government pledges €1 billion in funding to upgrade national broadband availability;
• Telekom Austria delivers 100Mb/s with G.fast, commits €400 million for domestic broadband infrastructure upgrades, expands satellite broadband to deliver bundled services;
• Xlink launches 1Gb/s FttP broadband offer;
• UPC Austria tests 1.3Gb/s service;
• América Móvil increases stake in Telekom Austria;
• Telekom Austria expands satellite broadband deal with Eutelsat, launches A1 Now OTT videostreaming service;
• Tele2 re-enters Austria’s mobile market as an MVNO;
• UPC’s MVNO service opens up to non-UPC subscribers;
• Report update includes the regulator’s market data updates for 2014; operator data to Q2 2015, recent market developments

Companies mentioned in this report:

Telekom Austria, UPC Austria, Xlink, Orange Austria, T-Mobile Austria, UPC Austria, ORF, Tele2/UTA, tele.ring, eTel Austria, 3 Austria, A1.