Archive:Telecommunication statistics

Graph 1: Telecommunications expenditure, 2006 (1) (% of GDP)

Telecommunication networks and services are the backbone of Europe’s developing information society. Individuals, enterprises and public organisations alike have come to rely ever more on convenient, reliable networks and services for a variety of services.

The European telecommunications sector was historically characterised by public service, monopoly providers, often run in conjunction with postal services. Liberalisation moves began in the first half of the 1980s and, at first, concerned value added services or business users, while basic services were left in the hands of monopoly providers. By 1998, telecommunications were, in principle, fully liberalised across all of the European Union (EU) Member States. The liberalisation of telecommunication markets has led to considerable reductions in prices.

Main statistical findings

Table 1: Market share of incumbents and leading operators in telecommunication markets (% of total market)

Graph 2: Mobile phone subscriptions, 2006 (average number of subscriptions per 100 inhabitants)

Table 2: Price of fixed telecommunications (EUR per 10-minute call)

Telecommunications expenditure accounted for 3.0 % of GDP in the EU-27 in 2006, compared with 2.1 % in the United States and 4.2 % in Japan. The highest relative levels of expenditure were generally recorded in those Member State that joined the EU since 2004 (Cyprus and Malta, not available), in particular in the Baltic Member States, Bulgaria and Romania.

Although overall expenditure on telephony has increased, the proportion accounted for by ex-monopoly providers has generally been reduced, as the share of the total telecommunication market accounted for by fixed-line voice operations has shrunk, whereas growth has been concentrated in mobile markets and other data services. The incumbents in fixed telecommunications markets across the EU-25 accounted for 72 % of local calls in 2005, 66 % of national calls and 56 % of international calls. In contrast, the share of incumbents in the mobile market was relatively low at 39 % in 2006.

The average number of mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants stood at 106 in the EU-27 in 2006, and surpassed parity in 17 of the Member States, where there were more subscriptions than inhabitants.

The price of telecommunications fell between 2004 and 2006 in a large number of Member States. Price reductions were most apparent for national long distance and international calls (defined here as calls to the United States), as on average in the EU-25 the price of a national long distance call was reduced by almost 20 % overall between 2004 and 2006, while the price of an international call was reduced by almost 16 %. In comparison, there was a modest reduction in the price of a local call, which was reduced by less than 3 %.

The prices of local, national long distance or international calls varied greatly across the Member States in 2006. Local and national distance calls were most expensive in Slovakia, while the price of international calls was highest in Latvia. The cheapest tariff for local calls was found in Spain, for national long distance calls in Cyprus, and for calls to the United States in Germany.

Data sources and availability

Eurostat’s data collection in relation to telecommunications statistics is conducted through the use of a predefined questionnaire (TELECOM), which is sent on annual basis to the national statistical institutes. They collect information from their relevant regulatory authorities and send the completed questionnaires back to Eurostat. Main telephone lines are the traditional way of connecting to communication networks. They are usually used for voice telephony, but may also be used for accessing the Internet via a modem or dial-up connection. The rapid growth of more powerful means to access the Internet (broadband) and mobile communications has eroded somewhat the market for traditional fixed telecommunication networks.

Indicators presented in relation to market share refer to fixed-line telecommunications and mobile telephony. The market share of the incumbent for fixed-line telephony is defined as the enterprise active in the market just before liberalisation and is calculated on the basis of retail revenues. Indicators relating to the mobile market refer to the number of subscriptions to public cellular mobile telecommunication systems and also include active pre-paid cards. Note that an increasing number of people have multiple mobile subscriptions (for example, for private and work use, or for use in different countries). Data on expenditure for telecommunications covers hardware, equipment, software and other services. The data are not collected by Eurostat; further methodological information is available at the website of the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO).

Telecommunications prices are based on the price (including VAT) in euro of a 10-minute call at 11 am on a weekday in August, based on normal rates. Three markets are presented, namely a local call (3 km), a national long distance call (200 km) and an international call (to the United States). The data are not collected by Eurostat; further methodological information is available at the Teligen website.

Context

Telecommunication networks and services are the backbone of Europe’s developing information society. Individuals, enterprises and public organisations alike have come to rely ever more on convenient, reliable networks and services for a variety of services.

The European telecommunications sector was historically characterised by public service, monopoly providers, often run in conjunction with postal services. Liberalisation moves began in the first half of the 1980s and, at first, concerned value added services or business users, while basic services were left in the hands of monopoly providers. By 1998, telecommunications were, in principle, fully liberalised across all of the EU Member States. The liberalisation of telecommunication markets has led to considerable reductions in prices. This may, in part, reflect the introduction of competition into a number of markets that were previously the domain of incumbent, monopoly suppliers, as well as reflecting technological changes that have increased capacity and made it possible to communicate not only by voice, but also over the Internet. Market regulation has nonetheless continued, and the European Commission oversees this to ensure that consumers benefit. Regulation continues to monitor the significant market power of former monopolies, ensure universal service and protect consumers, especially those social groups that may otherwise face exclusion, through overseeing the correct implementation and enforcement of Directives.

On June 30 2007, a new set of rules on roaming entered into force. These foresee that people travelling within the EU are able to phone across borders at more affordable and transparent prices. The Roaming Regulation (EC) 717/2007 of 27 June 2007 put in place a set of maximum prices for phone calls made and received while abroad (Eurotariff); these maximum prices apply to all consumers unless they opt for special packages offered by operators. The European Commission and national regulators have closely monitored price developments for text messages and data services. On the basis of this monitoring, a review was conducted which came to the conclusion that competition has not encouraged mobile operators to voluntarily reduce very high roaming charges for text messages. The European Commission therefore proposed on 23 September 2008:

to bring down prices for text messages sent while travelling in another EU country;

to ensure that consumers are kept informed of the charges that apply for data roaming services;

to introduce a Euro-SMS Tariff from 1 July 2009 so that sending an SMS from abroad would cost no more than 11 cents (excluding VAT), while receiving an SMS in another EU country would remain free of charge;

to improve transparency so that customers travelling to another Member State should receive an automated message of the charges that apply for data roaming services upon arrival; while from 1 July 2010, operators should provide customers with the opportunity to determine in advance how much they want to spend before a data roaming service is ’cut-off’;

to restrict to EUR 1 per megabyte wholesale data roaming fees, so these are more predictable for operators;

to reduce further the cost of Eurotariff voice calls, with the price for making calls decreasing from 43 cents on 1 July 2009, to 40 cents, 37 cents and 34 cents in each of the subsequent years, while the price of receiving a call would decrease from 19 cents on 1 July 2009 to 16 cents, 13 cents and 10 cents.