HAKOM: Market results in the fourth quarter of 2014 were not surprising

ZAGREB, 26 February 2015 – The fourth quarter of 2014 was characterised by a decrease in revenue on the electronic communications market compared to the previous summer period, which is to be expected considering the tourist season and many foreign users that were using the Croatian network in the summer months. Seasonal increase was the greatest in mobile communications operators’ networks, while fixed communications networks recorded a smaller decrease with a simultaneous growth of television services.
 
At the annual level, revenue from Internet access and TV services has increased, while revenue from traditional telephone services continues to fall. Fixed communications networks are used more rarely and the number of fixed connections is decreasing, while, on the other hand, traffic in mobile communications networks is increasing, and revenue is decreasing. This fact, together with the information that more than 850 000 users have changed their mobile operator, shows that an increasing number of users are subscribing to the most suitable tariffs for their habits. Internet traffic in mobile communications networks has grown rapidly, and the annual revenue from mobile Internet amounts to more than 87 percent.
 
Users have been increasingly using their smart phones to access the Internet, and, as a result of increased popularity of smart phones, users are changing their habits and the number of users using data cards to access the Internet has decreased. Mobile broadband penetration amounted to 9.06% at the end of 2014, which is less than in the previous periods. As a result of the increased share of smart phones as a type of user equipment, the number of subscribers has also increased. According to market indicators, the share of subscribers amounted to 44.53 percent at the end of 2014.
 
Positive results have also been recorded on the television market where both revenue and number of connections have increased. The greatest individual increase was recorded in the segment of connections for terrestrial pay-TV, around 26 percent, which is around 26 percent more than in September 2014. As a result of increased competition and a more intense fight for the market share, bundled services and tariff models with unlimited traffic will continue to grow in importance.
 

ABOUT HAKOM: HAKOM (www.hakom.hr) - Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries – ensures preconditions for a fair market competition, stable growth and environment for innovations in the electronic communications and postal services market. HAKOM protects users’ interests and the possibility of choice among various communications and postal services at affordable prices, defines sustainable competitive conditions for operators and service providers under fair conditions for return on investment, and provides support to economic growth, public services and the quality of life in the Republic of Croatia by using modern technologies. HAKOM’ strategic goals are: to promote regulation of the electronic communications and postal services market, to support growth of investments and innovations in the electronic communications and postal services market, to provide efficient use of limited resources, to accelerate the growth of broadband products and services, to provide affordable offers of communications and postal services, to provide protection and informing of users, to build an efficient and comprehensive information system, to define and implement efficient processes, and to acquire multi-disciplinary competencies in market regulation.