Season Boosted Telecom Operators’ Revenues by 17 Percent

Significant changes in the electronic communications market in Croatia compared to the previous period have been recorded in the mobile network market, reports HAKOM.

The seasonal effect, which distinguishes this quarter from others, has influenced the increase in the number of users of mobile telephony services, an increase in outgoing minutes, and revenues. Revenues increased by over 17 percent compared to the previous quarterly period, while the number of minutes increased by about 9.5 percent. A comparison of revenues and outgoing minutes with the same period last year shows a decrease in revenues of about 4 percent, alongside a simultaneous increase in minutes of nearly 16 percent. 

The decrease in retail revenues from mobile telephony services, along with a simultaneous increase in conversation minutes (on an annual basis), is a result of market competition. Operators are increasingly offering included free minutes within tariff packages, which means that prices have fallen on average.

In contrast to the growth of the mobile network market, the fixed network market has recorded a decline in the number of users by 5.9 percent compared to the third quarter of 2011. HT has maintained its leading position regarding the total number of users of telephony services in both mobile and fixed networks, although the number of ported numbers continues to rise. At the end of the third quarter of 2012, there were 394,127 ported numbers in mobile networks, which is 4.8 percent more than in the second quarter of 2012, while in fixed networks this number reached nearly 700,000, or 6.6 percent more compared to the second quarter of 2012.

Although most revenues in the market are currently generated from telephony services, the past period was marked by increased demand for broadband internet access services. The impact of the seasonal effect was also reflected in internet access via mobile networks, with the number of connections in mobile networks reaching 332,695, which is 11.6 percent more than in the same period last year. Consequently, the total number of broadband internet access connections increased to 1,250,827 at the end of the third quarter of 2012, which is over 29 percent relative to the total population.

Operators today typically offer service packages (combined voice, data, and television services), and an increase in the number of package users, as well as operator offerings, can be expected. At the end of the third quarter of 2012, the total number of package users was 311,920, which constitutes over one-third of the total number of broadband internet access connections. In line with this trend, the number of users utilizing paid TV program transmission services is also increasing. Specifically, the number of IPTV users increased by about 1 percent compared to the previous quarterly period. Operators, due to the growing preference of end users for service packages, are increasingly linking internet services with television services. A continuation of similar trends is expected in the upcoming period.