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Breathing Life into the Fixed Line: CEE Broadband Market Looks to Value Added Services
Joshua Budd, Program Manager, Communications, IDC CEMA Demand for broadband services in Central and Eastern Europe remains strong. Total broadband connections grew 33% in 2007, while broadband penetration of the population reached 10%, up from 7% in the previous year. Nonetheless, a number of incumbent operators in the region are indicating that growth in DSL connections is starting to slow in comparison to the steep uptake recorded in previous years. This month IDC published its most recent report on broadband Internet access services in Central and Eastern Europe, quantifying key indicators such as household broadband penetration and broadband connections and spending by technology, including DSL, cable Internet, metro Ethernet, fixed wireless access, and other broadband technologies. The study includes broadband market forecasts for connections and spending to 2012. Competition in the broadband market is picking up, and with it the risk of higher churn. Consequently operators in CEE are investing in new technologies and services to add value to broadband networks and boost customer retention. In line with this strategy most incumbent operators and a number of alternatives have rolled out IPTV across the CEE region as a key value added service for customers. This trend is also driving an increase in bandwidth levels in CEE, which historically have been low in comparison to levels found in Western Europe. The next challenge facing operators in the region will be to boost penetration levels outside major city centers and in rural areas. Investment in new wireless networks, such as WiMAX, will prove important in expanding broadband coverage to areas underserved by current networks. Fiber networks are becoming more widely available in the region. The biggest rollouts so far are in the Baltic States and in Slovakia, where both T-Com and Orange announced ambitious plans to connect hundreds of thousands of homes to their respective FTTx networks. A number of small local ISPs in the Czech Republic are also building fiber networks and offering customers Triple Play services. While the total number of subscribers to such networks is small in comparison to DSL or cable in the country, it is an interesting trend that IDC expects to continue in the coming years. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- IDC offers data-backed strategic advice for service providers operating in CEE and MEA through its Central and Eastern European and Middle East and African Carrier Transformation Strategies series and through customized research and consulting engagements. For more information, please contact Tatiana Hinova (thinova@idc.com; +420 221 423 140) or John Gole (jgole@idc.com; +420 221 423 140.) << Back to main page |
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