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Overview
This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Poland’s telecommunications market. The report analyses the fixed-line, mobile and broadband sectors. Subjects include:
- Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;
- Facts, figures and statistics;
- Industry and regulatory issues;
- Infrastructure developments;
- Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, ARPU, MoU;
- Mobile Voice and Data Markets;
- Broadband (FttP, DSL, cable, wireless);
- Mobile subscribers and ARPU;
- Broadband market forecasts;
- Government policies affecting the telecoms industry;
- Market liberalisation and industry issues;
- Telecoms operators – privatisation, IPOs, acquisitions, new licences;
- Mobile technologies (GSM; 3G, HSPA, LTE, 5G).
Executive Summary
Poland preps for 5G multi-spectrum auctions
Poland’s liberalised telecom market has seen considerable development in the broadband and mobile sectors. The incumbent telco, Orange Poland, dominates the broadband market and has invested in fibre infrastructure to support the growing adoption of bundled services among customers.
The regulatory environment has also been shaped by EU principles designed to facilitate competition, allowing competing operators to enter the market. This extended to opening Orange Poland’s fibre network to access and pricing regulation, while in May 2019 the regulator also instituted new rules governing wholesale access to cable networks.
The mobile market in recent years has been characterised by the rapid extension of LTE networks and the development of mobile data services based on newly released and re-farmed spectrum. The regulator is preparing to release additional spectrum in several bands for 5G, though delays to the process mean that 700MHz spectrum is unlikely to be available before mid-2022.
Operators have invested in 5G, with T-Mobile Poland having launched a pre-commercial service in Warsaw at the end of 2018, and with full commercial services expected to be available in early 2020.
Mobile penetration in Poland is above the European average, standing at 137% by mid-2019. This reflects the continuing popularity among consumers to keep two or more SIM cards, which has distorted the real mobile penetration rate. Nevertheless, the distortion has been addressed on two fronts: by network operators being encouraged to disconnect dormant SIM cards, and by legislation, effective from February 2017, which obliges subscribers of prepaid services to register their details. These forces have resulted in a significant readjustment in the number of subscribers in the market.
The market has effective competition from four MNOs, and has room for more than two dozen MVNOs though many of these are small operators with marginal market share. ARPU has been adversely affected by retail tariff competition and by regulatory mandated reductions in mobile termination rates and roaming tariffs. However, operators anticipate that ARPU will rise in line with consumer adoption of mobile data services, facilitated by improved network infrastructure.
The fixed broadband market has benefited from excellent cross-platform competition, with comprehensive DSL infrastructure complemented by extensive cable networks and a growing fibre presence. Commercial considerations meant that fibre was for some years restricted to a number of urban areas, though more recently the sector has received considerable financial support from the government and the European Union. This support is aimed at building fibre-based networks across the country (particularly in eastern areas) and promoting fibre connectivity to end-users. As a result, the proportion of broadband subscribers receiving a service of at least 100Mb/s has increased sharply in recent years.
This report covers key aspects of Poland’s developing telecom market, presenting data and analyses on market operators, fixed-line networks and technologies, and the key regulatory developments. The report reviews the fixed broadband market, including an assessment of technology platforms and recent market developments. In addition, the report profiles the main mobile network operators, and analyses recent regulatory measures and spectrum auction results, and evaluates LTE deployments and operator strategies for 5G.
Key developments:
- Regulator preps for multi-spectrum auction for 5G services;
- Government proposes reduced licence fees if MNOs improve network coverage;
- T-Mobile Poland and Orange Poland extend 5G trials;
- T-Mobile Poland launches NB-IoT services;
- Orange Poland revenue decline prompts outsourcing and disposal strategy;
- Regulator amends cable network access rules;
- Poland may fail to reach 2020 broadband targets given high cost of network rollouts;
- Vectra’s plan to merge with Multimedia receives competition scrutiny;
- UPC Poland launches 1Gb/s cable services based on DOCSIS3.1;
- Report update includes the regulator’s market data reports, State Statistics data for 2017, telcos’ operating
- and financial data to Q1 2019, recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report:
CenterNet, Polkomtel (Plus), T-Mobile Poland, P4/Play, Mobyland, UPC Poland, Orange Poland (Telekomunikacja Polska), Netia, Aster, Multimedia Polska, Vectra, Telefonia Dialog, GTS Energis, Exatel, Telekomunikacja Kolejowa.