2006-2007 Europe - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Scandinavia

Executive Summary

BuddeComm's latest Scandinavia Annual Publication, '2006 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Scandinavia', profiles five of the leading countries in Europe in the use and development of telecommunications services. Effective regulatory control has provided strong competition in all sectors, while companies such as Telenor are among the top performers internationally.

Scandinavia has successfully deployed new mobile technologies, while it has also retained its lead in rolling out high-speed broadband networks, with a strong emphasis on municipal fibre deployments. The wide availability of digital TV anticipates one of the earliest switchovers to the digital format in Europe.

This report presents a concise overview of sector liberalisation and privatisation in Scandinavia, the development of product offerings for both mobile and broadband technologies, essential operator statistics in all telecom sectors, and the emergence of convergence and triple play.

Key Highlights

Norway was the first country in the world to deploy interactive mobile TV, and by mid-2006 DVB-H development was advanced across Scandinavia. These advanced data services may be one of the catalysts to boost the relatively slow 3G take-up;
Finland's fourth digital broadcasting network, intended for mobile TV broadcasts and services, made the country the first in Europe to open a commercial mobile TV network using the DVB-H platform;
Scandinavia's switch-over to digital TV is ahead of the rest of Europe, with about a third of households in several regions receiving digital TV by mid-2006. Remaining regions will become digital by the end of 2007, before most countries in Europe even begin the process;
In the mobile sector operators continue to face ruthless competition from each other and from MVNOs, which has reduced prices and contributed to falling ARPU. The emphasis has moved to migrating prepaid subscribers to contract packages, and to encouraging greater use of advanced data services;
Scandinavia has the highest broadband penetration level in Europe, with Iceland leading the world in broadband penetration, largely through universal DSL;
Fibre network deployments are also the region's strength. Scandinavia shares with The Netherlands a progressive municipal approach to fibre deployments for the benefit of citizens and regional economic welfare, leading to one of the widespread fibre footprints in Europe;
Triple play services have continued to mature during 2006, supported by advanced ADSL2+ and fibre networks capable of data rates to support a household's VoIP, Video-on-Demand and IPTV needs. These services have proliferated and are increasingly popular, and will form a growing proportion of the region's telecom market revenue in coming years.