"Belgium Telecommunications Report Q4 2013" Published

From: Fast Market Research, Inc.
Published: Tue Aug 27 2013


The most recent operator data for Q113 show that the new Telecoms Law had an immediate impact, allowing many mobile subscribers to change service provider part-way through an existing contract. Churn rates rose appreciably and operators took the opportunity to eliminate inactive SIMs from their records, giving them a better insight into growth opportunities. Meanwhile, multiplay product bundles appear to be the order of the day, with operators such as Belgacom/Proximus, Mobistar and Telenet keen to enable subscribers to access their complete product ranges anytime, anywhere. This should boost mobile data revenues further and justify the considerable expense of building next-generation networks.

Key Data

* The mobile market continued to contract in terms of subscriptions in Q113, with the loss of 126,000 subscriptions as penetration fell to 112.6%.
* ARPU rates also declined, with the medium-term trend of declines exacerbated by the cut to mobile termination rates in January 2013, resulting in steeper declines.
* Meanwhile, M2M usage continues to grow rapidly, based on data provided by Mobistar, which showed 27% y-o-y subscription growth to the end of March 2013.

Full Report Details at
- http://www.fastmr.com/prod/670613_belgium_telecommunications_report_q4_2013.aspx?afid=301

Key Trends & Developments

In H113 it was announced that the Belgian market was set to lose one converged service provider - but gain a new provider. Mobistar announced in May 2013 it was suspending sales of its internet, fixed telephony and TV services to the residential market on May 22, blaming a hostile regulatory regime. Mobistar will offer its services to its current residential customers until September, when services will end. Due to a fixed, closed market, Mobistar said there was a lack of competition and so cannot offer its fixed services to customers.

While Mobistar's withdrawal is a loss to the market, the launch of services by Clearwire Belgium will help compensate. In June 2013 Clearwire Belgium announced plans to begin rolling out its new 4G LTE network in Brussels early in Q412. By using the TD-LTE technology standard, as well as its underutilised WiMAX infrastructure, the company expects to keep roll-out costs to a minimum and focus on the kind of triple-play service propositions that have found favour elsewhere in the market. Clearwire - which is rebranding itself as b-lite - is to offer a competitively-priced triple-play service that will rival traditional cable broadband operators such as Telenet and VOO, as well as next-generation products such as IPTV offerings from Belgacom, Base and Mobistar.

About Fast Market Research

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.

For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.

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