Recently released market study: Spain Telecommunications Report Q2 2011

April 2, 2011 - PRLog -- BMI's Q211 report on Spain's telecoms industry contains updated five-year forecasts which predict how the country's fixed-line telephony, broadband internet and mobile subscriber markets will develop through to 2015. There are further revisions to our fixed-line and broadband subscriber forecasts for Spain for this quarter, with our updated forecasts incorporating the latest regulatory data.

According to the Spanish telecoms regulator, the Comision del Mercado de las Telecomunicaciones (CMT), Spain had 10.56mn fixed broadband connections at the end of 2010. Compared with the end of 2009, the number of fixed broadband lines was up 8.4%. Contributing to this growth was a steady rise in demand for DSL and cable-based broadband services. Meanwhile, connections based on WiMAX and optical fibre also continued to show gradual gains. However, it is in the sector where the most impressive growth appears to be occurring. Mobile broadband subscribers are those who use netbooks, smartphones and USB sticks to connect to the internet wirelessly through a highs-speed (3G/HSPA) network. According to the regulator, there were more than 3mn mobile broadband connections at the end of September 2010 (latest data), a figure which was up by 75.2% y-o-y.

When assessing the size of Spain's broadband sector, BMI includes not only fixed broadband subscriptions but also mobile broadband connections. Including both of these subcategories, we estimate that, by the end of 2010, Spain's broadband subscriber base had risen to more than 14mn, equivalent to a penetration rate of 30.4%. Our revised broadband forecast for Spain forecasts almost 16mn broadband subscribers at the end of 2011 and 21.8mn subscribers at the end of 2015; this would be equivalent to a penetration rate of almost 46%. As Spain's operators deploy fourth generation (4G) networks based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, we expect high-speed mobile services to become a major rival to fibre-optic services. In terms of fixed broadband services, BMI expects DSL to remain the dominant technology over the five-year forecast period.

Although the regulator reported strong broadband growth for Spain in 2010, the latest regulatory data shows a fixed-line telephony sector which is shrinking at an accelerated pace. According to the regulator, the Spanish fixed-line market had 19.74mn connections at the end of 2010. This reflected a y-o-y decline of 1.6%, the biggest annual rates of decline ever recorded in the market. Our revised forecast for Spain's fixed-line sector envisages a more rapid rate of decline. In the five years to 2015 we expect the sector will shrink by 5.1%, with penetration expected to fall to more than 39%.

Pending publication of operational data by Orange Espana (owned by France Telecom) and mobile market leader Telefonica, there are no changes to our mobile subscriber growth forecast this quarter. At the time of writing, only Vodafone Espana and TeliaSonera-owned Yoigo released subscriber data for the final three months of 2010. In the three months to 30 December 2010, both reported positive growth from their respective mobile customer base. Although the other network operators had yet to publish operational data for Q410, the Spanish telecoms regulator CMT, reported that Spain's mobile subscriber base had risen to 54.36mn, up by 3.2% y-o-y. When assessing market shares and growth trends, BMI tends to use the data published by the operators, which differ from those reported by the regulator.

Key developments in Spain's telecoms sector over the past few months include the news that the Spanish government expects to raise between EUR1.5bn and EUR2bn (US$2.02bn to US$2.69bn) from the update sale of wireless spectrum. Some of the spectrum will become available as part of the digital dividend, as the country's TV services switch to digital frequencies. Sources close to the operators have described the price tag of the spectrum as 'overly optimistic'. Despite this, they welcomed the positive steps made towards reassigning spectrum.

As a result of a higher Industry Rewards score and changes elsewhere in our table, Spain moved up from ninth to seventh position in BMI's latest set of Business Environment Ratings for Western Europe. The country is slightly above the mid-point of our table. Although Spain scores above average in the Industry Rewards category, all of its other scores are below the regional average for Western Europe.

For more information or to purchase this report, go to:
-  http://www.fastmr.com/prod/128724_spain_telecommunication...

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Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. We represent the world's top research publishers and analysts and provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available.