HAKOM: Revenues in the electronic communications market increased to 815.3 million euros

Total revenues in the electronic communications market in the first half of 2023 increased to 815.3 million euros or by 10 percent compared to the same period in 2022, alongside a simultaneous increase in telecommunications operators’ investments in mobile networks and the number of connections to fiber optic technology, according to data from the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Activities (HAKOM).

The increase in total revenues in the first half of this year in the electronic communications market was primarily driven by broadband internet access services in mobile networks, whose revenues also grew by 10 percent compared to last year’s first half, the regulatory agency reported on Monday.

Increases in mobile networks

Total revenues from mobile networks increased by nearly 13 percent, HAKOM emphasized on Monday.

– Investments in mobile networks this year have surpassed investments in fixed networks compared to last year. Expected investments in very high-capacity fiber and cable networks (VHCN) have continued, and the migration of users to fiber optic technology is contributing to the growth in their numbers alongside a simultaneous decline in connections to copper infrastructure, HAKOM commented on the market’s half-year results.

They state that in the second quarter of this year, the number of fiber optic connections continued to grow by nearly 33 percent compared to the same quarter last year, alongside a simultaneous decrease in the number of broadband connections on copper pairs.

Additionally, HAKOM reports that the share of connections with speeds greater than 100Mbit/s is also increasing, which accounted for 37.5 percent in the middle of this year.

Continuation of decline in fixed networks and growth of paid television

All of this leads to a further decline in telephone services, traffic, and revenues in the fixed network, as well as connections, the number of which has decreased by three percent over the year, totaling around 1.2 million by mid-year.

Traffic in that network decreased by 12 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same time last year, while total revenues from telephone services in the fixed network fell by nearly 10 percent to 31 million euros.

Regarding paid television, the market situation is, according to HAKOM’s data, stable with slight growth, with nearly 932.2 thousand connections to such television services at the end of the second quarter of this year, which they say is a minimal increase compared to the same period last year.

Total revenue from paid television services continues to grow despite stagnation in the number of users, increasing by nearly five percent.