Qualcomm and Teleepoch Enter Into a 3G CDMA Subscriber Unit License Agreement, October 6, 2007

MTN chooses Cambridge Broadband Networks for multi-service wireless network in Rwanda, October 6, 2007

Brazilian government to publish 3G bidding rules soon, October 6, 2007

KTF 3G service suffers from technical problems, October 6, 2007

Argentina’s Personal lunches 3G service in Rosario, October 6, 2007

Russia has it's first 3G network, October 6, 2007

AT&T could drop Alcatel-Lucent as 3G mobile network supplier, October 6, 2007

Enea Extends License Agreement with ZTE for 3G Handsets, October 2, 2007

LG to unveil premium handsets in Brazil, October 2, 2007

KTF 3G subscribers doubled in less than 3 months, October 2, 2007

3G policy in India will be non-uniform, October 2, 2007

- previous news

Central Europe mobile report

November 23, 2005

Research and Markets has announced the addition of 2006 Europe - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Central Europe to their offering.

This report covers the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia - all of which are small countries by European standards, yet leaders in technology use. Trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet and broadband.

Subjects include:

- Market and industry analyses, trends and developments - Facts, figures and statistics - Industry issues and regulatory - Research, Marketing, Benchmarking - Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, Prepaid - Network Operators, Wholesalers and Retailers, Utilities Projects

The five countries the comprise the Central European region are moving into a new era of competition as the effects of recent regulatory change propagate through the evolving industry and increase the competitiveness of the market, particularly in the fixed-line voice and broadband sectors. The dynamic mobile sector reflects the various stages of market development for each country, each with their associated opportunities and challenges in terms of penetration, ARPU levels and mobile content. Faced with the prospect of intensifying competition in their traditional markets, the incumbents have turned to broadband to exploit the opportunity presented by their extensive untapped customer bases thereby fuelling the market.

The impact of regulatory developments is being felt now as incumbents with previously little or no competition are forced to allow competition; Slovenia's first interconnection agreement between the incumbent and an alternative operator was signed shortly after the telecommunications law transposing the European Union (EU) regulatory framework came into force. The full benefits of liberalisation are still to come as most of the incumbents charge fees above the EU average, despite lower GDP per capitas.

Slovenia, the most economically developed of the five is also the only one with a fixed-line incumbent that is majority owned by the government after the Czech Republic sold a 51.1% stake of Cesky Telecom to Telefonica in April 2005. Renewed privatisation efforts are underway as the government announced plans to sell a quarter of its 62.5% stake in August 2005.

Faced with the threat of intensifying competition, the fixed-line operators have shifted their focus to broadband to maintain revenue and increase the value of their offerings. Broadband offerings are becoming increasingly attractive to consumers as the operators either drop prices or increase download speeds. As a result broadband penetration experienced rapid growth in 2004 in all five countries with the highest growth rate attributed to the Czech Republic, where the number of Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) connections increased sixfold in 2004 to 101,000. However broadband penetration in each of the countries remains below the EU average of 9.6%.

Triple play services have been launched by the cable operators in Hungary and Poland and an ISP belonging to the incumbent in Slovenia, which was also the first to launch IPTV in the region.

Convergence offerings are in the nascent stages of development and are showing much potential; Digital terrestrial TV developments are underway in all five countries. Poland is the most advanced in terms of developments with trials launched and others to be launched soon. Broadband TV is still in its infancy due to low penetration rates although Poland has a large user base. Public broadcaster TVP launched an interactive TV pilot in May 2005 offering TV content online. Slovenia was the first to launch IPTV services in September 2003.

Mobile penetration in the region varies significantly. Both Slovenia and the Czech Republic have penetration rates comparable to those of Western European countries with the Czech Republic recording penetration levels in excess of 100%. Poland has the lowest penetration of the five countries but experienced the most growth in 2004, with penetration levels increasing by 32%.

Third generation mobile services have been launched in Slovenia and Hungary but the launch of services have been delayed in Poland and the Czech Republic numerous times by the operators. All five countries also offer Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE).

The mobile content and application market is growing as increasing mobile penetration forces the operators to seek additional sources of revenue. More attractive multimedia mobile content is possible due to the introduction of 3G and the operators have been launching such services; T-Mobile in Hungary launched mobile TV and mobile commerce services in late-2005.