Report Summary
This UK and Ireland Annual Publication, '2008 Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in the UK and Ireland', profiles two countries key to Europe's telecoms landscape. In this report we present an overview of the telecom markets in the UK and Ireland, together with product offerings for both the mobile and broadband sectors. We provide key statistics for operators in all sectors, highlighting market and technological developments and detailing the emergence of media convergence and triple and quad-play. In the report we also cover regulatory developments, and provide an analysis of NGNs and the strategies of the main players in coming years.
Ireland's medium sized telecom market made steady gains in 2008 to address its relatively low broadband penetration rate. The incumbent eircom considered implementing Europe's first voluntary structural separation earlier in the year before abandoning the exercise for want of government cooperation with part-funding its broadband infrastructure upgrade. eircom investment plans during the next two years are uncertain as the company's owner, Babcock & Brown, has suffered from the 2008 financial downturn.
The UK, which has one of Europe's largest and most vibrant telecom markets, retains the largest digital TV market in the European Union. In 2008 digital TV was viewed by almost 90% of UK TV households. DTTV is the most popular TV platform, followed by digital satellite from BSkyB and the BBC's FreeSat service, launched in March 2008.
The continuing success of BT's Openreach has helped develop a highly competitive broadband sector, while mobile network upgrades have for the first time enabled mobile broadband services to be a viable alternative to fixed-line services. In conjunction with BT's hybrid VDSL/fibre plans and the deployment of a 50Mb/s service to most of Virgin Media's network during 2009, these developments have stimulated the market for triple play services.
Key highlights:
2009 will see a further maturity on the quad-play market as operators such as Virgin Media, BSkyB, Vodafone and BT develop commercial interests beyond their historical areas of interest. The fast growing Sky Broadband service ended caps on data usage in mid-2008, highlighting the robustness of its infrastructure and placing enormous pressure on competitors to lift their similar restrictions.
The Irish government in June 2008 proposed upgrading the national broadband network to achieve universal access by 2010 with data rates matching EU counterparts by 2012. The move would address the country's slow connection rates which have put a brake on consumer take-up of triple play.
The UK's digital and pay TV markets remain among the most developed in Europe, with a range of services reached by about 90% of the population. The imminent aggregated IPTV service Kangaroo service would provide content from the BBC, ITV and C4.
The mobile data market looks set to grow rapidly in 2009 after operators introduced fixed-price plans, so encouraging consumer use of services. Fierce market competition will favour consumers in coming years as network operators battle churn and try to encourage the use of data services over their completed HSPA networks.
The UK's government has shown greater determination to promote fibre in coming years. Two 2008 reports on funding next generation broadband services estimated the cost for national infrastructure to 80% of homes with fibre at between ¡ê5 and ¡ê29 billion, depending on the deployment chosen. BT's belated plans to build a VDSL/FttC network covering 40% of households by 2012 may be overtaken by market support of the more expensive but future-proof FttH.
Report Outline
1. United Kingdom
1.1 Key statistics
1.2 Telecommunications market
1.2.1 Overview of the UK's telecom market
1.3 Regulatory environment
1.3.1 History
1.3.2 Regulatory authority
1.3.3 BT's structural separation
1.3.4 Telecom sector liberalisation in the UK
1.4 Major fixed network operators in the UK
1.4.1 New regulations
1.4.2 British Telecom
1.4.3 KCOM
1.4.4 Cable & Wireless (C&W)
1.4.5 Virgin Media
1.4.6 COLT Telecom
1.4.7 THUS
1.4.8 Carphone Warehouse
1.4.9 Post Office re-entry
1.4.10 Orange
1.4.11 BSkyB
1.5 Telecommunications infrastructure
1.5.1 National telecom network
1.5.2 Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
1.5.3 International
1.6 Broadband market
1.6.1 Overview
1.6.2 Cable modems
1.6.3 Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
1.6.4 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) networks
1.6.5 Broadband Powerline (BPL)
1.6.6 Wireless broadband
1.6.7 Mobile broadband
1.7 Convergence
1.7.1 Overview of media convergence
1.7.2 Key general trends
1.7.3 Triple play models
1.7.4 Regulator issues
1.7.5 Digital TV (DTV)
1.8 Mobile communications
1.8.1 Overview of the UK's mobile market
1.8.2 Regulatory issues
1.8.3 Mobile technologies
1.8.4 Major mobile operators
1.8.5 Mobile voice services
1.8.6 Mobile data services
1.9 Forecasts Broadband and Mobile ARPU and UMTS
1.9.1 Forecasts broadband subscribers to 2018
1.9.2 Forecasts mobile ARPU to 2013
1.9.3 Forecasts UMTS to 2013
2. Ireland
2.1 Key statistics
2.2 Telecommunications market
2.2.1 Overview of Ireland's telecom market
2.3 Regulatory environment
2.3.1 History
2.3.2 Regulatory authority
2.3.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Ireland
2.3.4 Number Portability (NP)
2.3.5 Carrier PreSelection (CPS)
2.4 Fixed network operators in Ireland
2.4.1 Operator market shares
2.4.2 eircom
2.4.3 BT Ireland
2.4.4 Smart Telecom
2.4.5 Tele2
2.4.6 Other operators
2.5 Telecommunications infrastructure
2.5.1 National telecom network
2.5.2 Structural separation issues
2.5.3 Next Generation Networks (NGNs)
2.5.4 International
2.6 Broadband market
2.6.1 Overview
2.6.2 Cable modems
2.6.3 Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
2.6.4 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) networks
2.6.5 Broadband Powerline (BPL)
2.6.6 Mobile broadband
2.6.7 Wireless broadband
2.7 Convergence
2.7.1 Overview of media convergence
2.7.2 Key general trends
2.7.3 Triple play models
2.7.4 Regulatory issues
2.7.5 Digital TV
2.8 Mobile communications
2.8.1 Overview of Ireland's mobile market
2.8.2 Regulatory issues
2.8.3 Mobile technologies
2.8.4 Major mobile operators
2.8.5 Mobile voice services
2.8.6 Mobile data services
2.8.7 Mobile applications
2.9 Forecasts Broadband, Mobile ARPU and UMTS
2.9.1 Forecasts broadband subscribers to 2018
2.9.2 Forecasts mobile ARPU to 2013
2.9.3 Forecasts UMTS to 2013
3. Glossary of Abbreviations
Table 1 Country statistics United Kingdom 2008
Table 2 Telecom revenue and investment statistics 2007
Table 3 Telephone network statistics 2007
Table 4 Internet user statistics June 2008
Table 5 Broadband statistics March 2008
Table 6 Mobile statistics March 2008
Table 7 National telecommunications authority
Table 8 Cost of average telecoms services 2002 - 2006
Table 9 Communications retail sector revenue 2001 - 2007
Table 16 BT Openreach LLU volumes 2004 - 2008
Table 43 COLT financial data 2006 - 2008
Table 44 THUS subscribers 2006 - 2008
Table 45 THUS financial data 2004 - 2008
Table 46 Carphone Warehouse revenue, profit and annual change 2007 - 2008
Table 47 Fixed lines in service and teledensity 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2007
Table 48 BT retail PSTN and ISDN lines 2004 - 2008
Table 49 BT Openreach wholesale PSTN and ISDN lines 2004 - 2008
Table 50 Broadband retail revenue 2001 - 2007
Table 51 Broadband connections by type 2002 - 2007
Table 52 Market share of broadband subscribers by type 2002 - 2007
Table 53 ISP market share of broadband subscribers 2006 - 2007
Table 54 Broadband availability by households 2000 - 2008
Table 55 UK broadband market overview 2004 - 2007
Table 56 Broadband penetration by technology 2004 - 2008
Table 57 Total broadband subscribers by type 2004 - 2008
Table 58 Broadband subscribers by type incumbent or other provider 2007 - 2008
Table 59 Percentage Internet access by dial-up and broadband 2000 - 2007
Table 60 Dial-up Internet usage in minutes 2002 - 2007
Table 61 PC, broadband and Internet household penetration 2000 - 2007
Table 62 Broadband and narrowband share of connections 2004 - 2007
Table 63 B2C e-commerce sales 2007 - 2012
Table 64 Virgin Media subscribers by sector 2007 - 2008
Table 65 Virgin Media ARPU 2007 - 2008
Table 66 Virgin Media broadband subscribers by speed of service 2007 - 2008
Table 67 Virgin Media financial data 2007 - 2008
Table 68 xDSL subscribers 2000 - 2008
Table 69 Average UK residential broadband subscription prices by speed 2001 - 2007
Table 70 BT retail and wholesale broadband subscribers 2004 - 2008
Table 71 WiFi hotspots by operator June 2008
Table 72 Freedom4 financial data 2006 - 2008
Table 73 Mobile broadband connection types and usage 2008
Table 74 Mobile broadband market share September 2008
Table 75 Availability of digital services 2008
Table 76 Adoption of digital services March 2008
Table 77 Proportion of bundled services by type 2005 - 2008
Table 78 Statistical overview of the digital TV market 2005 - 2008
Table 79 Market share of TV homes by platform (primary sets) 2005 - 2008
Table 80 Digital TV take up, share of main TV sets 2004 - 2008
Table 81 Share of multichannel TV by technology 2004 - 2008
Table 82 Digital TV share of net additions 2004 - 2008
Table 83 BT Vision subscribers 2007 - 2008
Table 84 Cable TV subscribers and penetration 2003 - 2008
Table 85 Virgin Media subscribers, ARPU and operational statistics 2006 - 2008
Table 86 Virgin Media revenue by sector 2005 - 2008
Table 87 Free-to-view satellite households - 2003 - 2008
Table 88 BSkyB subscriber statistics - 2005 - 2008
Table 89 BSkyB annualised ARPU - 2005 - 2008
Table 90 BSkyB revenue, operating profit and annual change - 2007 - 2008
Exhibit 12 Digital broadcasting switchover timetable 2008 - 2012
Table 91 Homes equipped for DTTV 2006 - 2007
Table 92 DTTV equipment sales 2005 - 2008
Table 93 VoIP users as % of total Internet subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 94 BT VoIP subscribers 2006 - 2008
Table 95 Mobile and fixed-line voice traffic and total traffic in minutes 2005 - 2007
Table 96 Mobile call revenue by operator 2002 - 2008
Table 97 Mobile retail revenue 2002 - 2008
Table 98 Mobile retail revenue by service 2002 - 2007
Table 99 Mobile retail ARPU by service 2002 - 2007
Table 100 Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change March 2008
Table 101 Mobile subscribers and penetration rate 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2008
Table 102 3G subscribers by operator and annual change 2006 - 2008
Table 103 3G subscribers and percentage of total subscribers 2003 - 2008
Table 104 Percentages of mobile and fixed phones in homes 2000 - 2008
Table 105 Consumer methods of making/receiving calls 2004 - 2005
Table 106 Mobile subscribers by operator 2000 - 2008
Table 107 Mobile retail revenue by operator 2000 - 2007
Table 108 Total mobile retail revenue by sector 2002 - 2007
Table 109 Mobile share of outbound calls 2002 - 2007
Table 110 Average mobile charges by service 2000 - 2007
Table 111 Average mobile retail call and messaging revenue 2002 - 2006
Table 112 Mobile market share by operator 2004 - 2008
Table 113 Share of net adds by network operator 2005 - 2008
Table 114 3G licence results April 2000
Table 115 European roaming charges 2007 - 2009
Table 116 O2 data roaming tariffs 2007 - 2008
Table 117 Mobile numbers ported 2003 - 2005
Table 118 Average mobile termination charges (historic) 2000 - 2005
Table 119 O2 financial data 2007 - 2008
Table 120 O2 quarterly ARPU blended, contract, prepaid and data 2006 - 2008
Table 121 O2 subscribers, prepaid and contract 2005 - 2008
Table 122 Vodafone ARPU blended, contract and prepaid 2005 - 2008
Table 123 Vodafone mobile non voice as % service revenue 2005 - 2008
Table 124 Vodafone 3G and live! subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 125 Vodafone subscribers and proportion prepaid 2001 - 2008
Table 126 Vodafone Group revenue by sector and annual change 2007 - 2008
Table 127 T-Mobile financial data 2005 - 2007
Table 128 T-Mobile subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 129 Orange subscribers, contract and prepaid 2006 - 2008
Table 130 Orange revenue 2005 - 2008
Table 131 Orange ARPU by category 2006 - 2008
Table 132 Virgin Mobile subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 133 Carphone Warehouse subscribers 2002 - 2008
Table 134 Carphone Warehouse mobile revenue 2006 - 2008
Table 135 Percentage of prepaid customers per operator 2003 - 2007
Table 136 Average cost per mobile minute 2002 - 2007
Table 137 Prepaid and contract subscribers 2002 - 2007
Table 138 Vodafone live! subscribers 2005 - 2007
Table 139 Total and average text messages sent 1999 - 2007
Table 140 SMS and MMS revenue by operator 2006 - 2008
Table 141 SMS and MMS volumes by operator 2006 - 2008
Table 142 Mobile broadband market share September 2008
Table 143 Forecast broadband subscribers ¨Chigher market growth scenario¨C2007-2012; 2018
Table 144 Forecast broadband subscribers lower market growth scenario¨C2007-2012; 2018
Table 145 Forecast mobile ARPU - 2005 - 2010; 2013
Table 146 Data and voice ARPU per subscriber 2002 - 2007
Table 147 ARPU by subscription type 2002 - 2007
Table 148 Forecast UMTS subscribers 2007 - 2010; 2013
Table 149 Country statistics Ireland 2008
Table 150 Telecom revenue and investment statistics 2008
Table 151 Telephone network statistics 2007
Table 152 Internet user statistics June 2008
Table 153 Broadband statistics June 2008
Table 154 Mobile statistics March 2008
Table 155 National telecommunications authority
Table 156 Market revenue share by fixed, mobile and broadcasting sectors - 2002 - 2008
Table 157 Fixed-line, mobile and broadcasting revenue - 2005 - 2008
Table 158 Proportion of fixed-line revenue by service - 2004 - 2008
Table 159 Unbundled loops and access lines 2004 - 2008
Table 160 LLU, shared access price - connection, monthly rental (€) 2004 - 2007
Table 161 eircom access channels: PSTN, ISDN, ADSL and annual change 2007 - 2008
Table 162 Access paths 2005 - 2008
Table 163 eircom leased lines by type and annual change 2005 - 2008
Table 164 Numbers ported 2003 - 2007
Table 165 Indirect access lines: CPS and WLR 2005 - 2008
Table 166 Fixed-line and mobile voice traffic in minutes - Q2 2008
Table 167 Alternative operator share of fixed-line revenue by sector- 2007 - 2008
Table 168 Total fixed-line revenue (€ million) - 2006 - 2008
Table 169 Proportion of fixed-line revenue by sector - 2006 - 2008
Table 170 Fixed-line call volumes: incumbent and OAOs - 2005 - 2008
Table 171 eircom financial data - 2001 - 2007
Table 172 eircom financial data - 2007 - 2008
Table 173 eircom revenue by sector and annual change - 2007 - 2008
Table 174 eircom voice and data revenue by type and annual change - 2006 - 2008
Table 175 eircom access channels subscribers 2006 - 2008
Table 176 eircom voice traffic minutes by sector and annual change 2007 - 2008
Table 177 BT Ireland broadband subscribers - 2006 - 2007
Table 178 BT Ireland revenue (All Ireland) - 2006 - 2007
Table 179 Smart Telecom financial data - 2003 - 2005
Table 180 Smart Telecom subscriber statistics by sector - 2005
Table 181 Fixed lines in service and teledensity 1995 - 2007
Table 182 Direct / indirect access paths 2005 - 2008
Table 183 Broadband penetration by technology 2006 - 2007
Table 184 Dial-up Internet subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 185 Total Internet users 2005 - 2008
Table 186 Total broadband subscribers by access type 2002 - 2008
Table 187 Internet share by platform - 2004 - 2008
Table 188 Broadband and Internet annual growth by platform - 2006 - 2008
Table 189 Share of total broadband market by operator - 2004 - 2008
Table 190 Proportion of DSL access by type - 2004 - 2008
Table 191 Proportion of broadband subscriptions by access speed June 2008
Table 192 Broadband subscriptions by access speed March 2008
Table 193 UPC Ireland subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 194 UPC Ireland subscribers 2007 - 2008
Table 195 DSL access provision by type and operator 2002 - 2008
Table 196 Broadband market share by type and operator 2005 - 2008
Table 197 eircom's ADSL and bitstream lines 2004 - 2008
Table 198 Mobile broadband subscribers 2007 - 2008
Table 199 Wireless broadband subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 200 Wireless hotspots and access points - 2007 - 2008
Table 201 Statistical overview of Ireland's broadcasting market - 2006 - 2008
Table 202 Take-up of broadcasting services, % of total - 2002 - 2008
Table 203 Digital TV: cable and satellite market share - 2004 - 2008
Table 204 Digital Pay TV subscribers as % of pay TV 2004 - 2008
Table 205 Cable TV subscribers and penetration 2000 - 2008
Table 206 Digital cable TV subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 207 UPC Ireland subscribers 2005 - 2008
Table 208 UPC Ireland revenue 2006 - 2007
Table 209 Satellite TV antennae and home penetration 1992 - 2008
Table 210 BSkyB satellite TV subscribers 2003 - 2008
Table 211 Operator blended ARPU 2005 - 2008
Table 212 Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change March 2008
Table 213 Mobile subscribers and penetration rate 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2008
Table 214 Mobile market revenue: voice and data - 2005 - 2008
Table 215 Mobile traffic volume in minutes - 2005 - 2008
Table 216 Mobile share of subscribers by operator - 2005 - 2008
Table 217 Mobile share of net adds by operator - 2005 - 2008
Table 218 Mobile numbers ported (cumulative) 2003 - 2008
Table 219 Vodafone subscribers 2006 - 2008
Table 220 Vodafone ARPU: blended, prepaid and contract 2006 - 2008
Table 221 O2 mobile financial data 2007 - 2008
Table 222 O2 annualised ARPU, blended, prepaid and contract 2006 - 2008
Table 223 O2 subscribers 2006 - 2008
Table 224 Meteor Mobile subscribers 2006 - 2008
Table 225 Meteor Mobile revenue and annual change - 2007 - 2008
Table 226 Meteor Mobile ARPU - 2006 - 2008
Table 227 3 Ireland subscribers 2006 - 2008
Table 228 Mobile voice minutes 2005 - 2008
Table 229 Prepaid versus postpaid share of subscribers 2000 - 2009
Table 230 Proportion of prepaid subscribers by operator 2006 - 2008
Table 231 Mobile data as proportion of total revenue - 2006 - 2008
Table 232 SMS messages sent 2000 - 2008
Table 233 MMS messages sent 2005 - 2008
Table 234 Mobile broadband subscribers 2007 - 2008
Table 235 Forecast broadband subscribers ¨Chigher market growth scenario¨C2007-2012; 2018
Table 236 Forecast broadband subscribers lower growth scenario 2007 - 2012; 2018
Table 237 Forecast mobile ARPU - 2005 - 2010; 2013
Table 238 Forecast UMTS subscriber growth 2006 - 2010; 2013
Exhibit 1 EU The New Regulatory Framework (NRF)
Exhibit 2 Access and the local loop
Exhibit 3 Principal submarine cables from the UK 2008
Exhibit 4 BT's wholesale DSL products 2008
Exhibit 5 Estimated cost of fibre by deployment technology 2008
Exhibit 6 Wireless opportunities using technology and frequencies
Exhibit 7 Spectrum auction results 10GHz - February 2008
Exhibit 8 WLAN operator business models - 2008
Exhibit 9 Operators' service bundling offers June 2008
Exhibit 10 Technology developments in bundled services 2008
Exhibit 11 Snapshot of digital TV services and providers June 2008
Exhibit 13 Popular VoIP providers 2008
Exhibit 14 3G licensee and infrastructure suppliers
Exhibit 15 3G licence results June 2002
Exhibit 16 WDMDS licences: operators, spectrum and fees 2005
