This report provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments in Bulgaria’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).
Researcher:- Henry Lancaster Current publication date:- October 2018 (17th Edition)
Executive Summary
Bulgaria’s MNOs trial 5G for 2020 launch
Until recent years, Bulgaria’s telecoms market was affected by the country’s difficult macroeconomic climate, as well as by relatively high unemployment and a shrinking population. These factors contributed to steadily declining revenue across the sector until strong recovery returned in 2018. There remains pressure on revenue growth, with consumers continuing to migrate from fixed-line voice telephony to mobile and VoIP alternatives, while the volume of SMS and MMS traffic has been affected by the growing use of alternative OTT messaging services.
The mature mobile market has effective competition between A1 Bulgaria, Telenor Bulgaria (sold to the PPF Group in August 2018) and the incumbent telco Vivacom. Competition intensified following the implementation of a streamlined mobile number portability process. In addition, customer preference for bundled services has put pressure on pricing and encouraged operators to offer generous voice and data packages. This in turn has impacted on operator revenue.
Vivacom is in the process of being sold, and the potential that a new owner will inject funds in network upgrades and develop services based on 5G should stimulate other market players to invest in their own service provision. A1 Bulgaria and Telenor Bulgaria are poised to launch commercial 5G services in 2020.
The broadband market in Bulgaria enjoys excellent cross-platform competition. The share of the market held by DSL has fallen steadily as a result of customers being migrated to fibre networks, particularly those operated by the incumbent telco Vivacom. By early 2019 about 65% of Vivacom’s fixed-line broadband subscribers were on fibre infrastructure.
This report provides an overview of Bulgaria’s fixed-line telecom market, including data on regulatory developments, the strategies of the major operators and an assessment of the evolution of fixed-line networks. The report also reviews the mobile voice and data segments; including a variety of statistics and analyses covering the major operators, market developments and services offered. In addition, the report covers the fixed-line and fixed-wireless broadband sectors, includes an assessment of technologies, the major players, market developments and statistics as well as subscriber forecasts.
BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.
On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.
Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.
The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.
Key developments:
Amended Electronic Communications Act focused on enhancing regulator’s powers;
Vestitel begins building second Greece-Bulgaria fibre link;
A1 Bulgaria and Telenor Bulgaria trial 5G;
Vivacom extends the reach of its LTE-A service;
Regulator awards additional spectrum in the 1800MHz band for LTE use;
Cooolbox launches 1Gb/s FttP service;
New cableco association launched;
Government investment program for broadband in rural areas;
Vivacom’s FiberNet offer passes 1.18 million premises
Report update includes the regulator’s market data for 2018, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q2 2019, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report:
Vivacom, Orbitel, Vestitel, A1 Bulgaria (MobilTel), Telenor Bulgaria, PPF Group, Trans Telecom, Blizoo, Max Telecom
Key statistics
Country overview
COVID-19 and its impact on the telecom sector
Economic considerations and responses
Mobile devices
Subscribers
Infrastructure
Telecommunications market
Market analysis
Regional European Market Comparison
Europe Telecom Maturity Index by tier
TMI versus GDP
Mobile and mobile broadband penetration
Fixed versus mobile broadband penetration
Regulatory environment
Historical overview
Regulatory authority
Telecom sector liberalisation
Privatisation
Interconnect
Access
Number Portability (NP)
Carrier selection/Carrier PreSelection
Fixed network operators
Introduction
ivacom/Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC)
A1 Bulgaria
Telecommunications infrastructure
Overview of the national telecom network
International networks
Broadband market
Introduction and statistical overview
Market analysis
Broadband statistics
Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP)
Other fixed broadband services
World Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)
Satellite broadband
Digital economy
E-government
E-health
Mobile communications
Market analysis
Mobile statistics
General statistics
Mobile infrastructure
5G
4G (LTE)
3G
GSM
Mobile voice
Mobile data
Mobile broadband
Regulatory issues
GSM licences
Third generation (3G) licences
800MHz
1800MHz
2.5-2.6GHz
Other spectrum
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
Roaming
Mobile Termination Rates (MTR)
Major mobile operators
Vivacom
A1 Bulgaria (MobilTel/M-Tel)
Telenor Bulgaria (Cosmo Bulgaria Mobile/GloBul)
Mobile content and applications
Mobile virtual network Operators (MVNOs)
Appendix – Historic data
Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports
List of Tables
Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities - Bulgaria – 2019 (e)
Table 2 – Telecom sector investment – 2015 – 2017
Table 3 – Investment in NGA – 2013 – 2017
Table 4 – Development of in telecom sector revenue, annual change – 2006 – 2018
Table 6 – Proportion of telecom sector revenue by service (old style) – 2011 – 2018
Table 7 – Change in the share of fixed-voice revenue by type – 2011 – 2018
Table 8 – Change in the number of fixed number portings – 2009 – 2017
Table 9 – Change in Vivacom’s financial data – 2009 – 2018
Table 10 – Vivacom’s financial data by sector – 2010 – 2018