Ireland progresses with national broadband tender
Ireland’s telecom market has been invigorated by the economic recovery seen during the last few years, emerging from a period in which it had been held back by low broadband uptake, reduced investment among operators as lower spending among consumers. Operators including eir, enet and Vodafone Ireland have extensive fibre-based networks deployments in pace aimed at providing 1Gb/s services, while the government is also promoting its National Broadband Plan by which all premises are expected to receive a service of at least 30Mb/s by 2022. This Plan, requiring a state investment of up to €600 million, will greatly boost the adoption of IP-delivered content, including e-government, e-health and e-learning. Although only a consortium including enet was in a position to bid for the tender in November 2018, the government is confident that the Plan can be achieved to schedule.
The mobile market is dominated by Vodafone Ireland and 3 Ireland which have a similar market share. They are followed at some distance by the incumbent telco, eir, which has about 17% of the market by subscribers. There is room for a small number of MVNOs, the largest of which is Tesco Mobile. Although the number of dedicated mobile broadband subscribers has fallen since 2016, mobile broadband use, supported by extensive LTE networks, remains popular among consumers, particularly since the introduction of flat-rate data plans. LTE forms an integral part of the government’s national broadband strategy.
The broadband market has also developed steadily in recent years, supported by an improved investment climate for the key players, as well as by government efforts to facilitate wholesale access. In late 2018 the regulator published three decisions on wholesale access pricing resulting from its Broadband Market Review.
This report provides statistics and analysis on the key sectors of the Irish telecom market, presenting an overview of the regulatory environment, the fixed network operators and services, and telecom infrastructure. In addition the report covers the fixed and wireless broadband markets, together with developments in related technologies such as FttP, powerline broadband, wireless and mobile broadband, Wi-Fi and internet via satellite. Statistics and analyses on the mobile voice and data markets and reviewed, including the recent regulatory issues, a snapshot of the consumer market, and an assessment of emerging technologies and operator strategies. The report also includes broadband and mobile subscriber forecasts.
Key developments:
National Broadband Ireland remains sole bidder for National Broadband Plan tender;
Ireland-France Cable-1 (IFC-1) system secures additional finance;
Eir requests to close copper infrastructure in some areas upgraded with fibre;
Regulator rules that eir make fibre networks available to altnets;
Vodafone launches a commercial NB-IoT service, makes its first 5G call;
Regulator revises strategy to manage radio spectrum;
Vodafone Ireland completes national LTE network upgrade project;
VDSL connections grew 8.5% in the year to September 2018;
Vodafone Ireland and SIRO launch the Gigabit Hub Initiative;
Casey Cablevisión acquired by Virgin Media;
Report update includes the regulator’s market data to Q3 2018, telcos’ operating and financial data to Q4 2018, recent market developmentsCompanies mentioned in this report:
Vodafone Ireland, O2, eir, eMobile; Tesco Mobile, Virgin Media Ireland, Casey CableVision, Digiweb, BT Ireland, Smart Telecom, Tele2
Henry LancasterFebruary 2019
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Key statistics Country overview Telecommunications market Regulatory environment Historical overview Regulatory authority Telecom sector liberalisation Privatisation Interconnect Access Leased lines Fibre access Number Portability (NP) Carrier PreSelection (CPS) Fixed network operators Introduction Eir BT Ireland Smart Telecom Other operators Telecommunications infrastructure Overview of the national telecom network International infrastructure Submarine cable networks Satellite networks Broadband market Introduction and statistical overview Market analysis National Broadband Plan Government networks Regional infrastructure Wholesale bitstream Broadband statistics Forecasts – broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023 Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks Alternative operators VDSL Vectoring DSL Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks Eir SIRO Sky Ireland Other developments Broadband Powerline (BPL) Wireless broadband 1.7GHz band 10.5GHz band 3.5GHz band Digiweb National Fixed Wireless Point to Multipoint Licences (FWPMA) Other developments Other bands Wi-Fi Worldwide Interoperability of Microwave Access (WiMAX) Wi-Fibre Internet via satellite Mobile communications Market analysis Mobile statistics General statistics Mobile infrastructure Analogue networks Digital networks Mobile voice Mobile data Mobile broadband Forecasts – mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023 Regulatory issues Spectrum regulations and spectrum auctions Roaming Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Mobile termination rates (MTRs) Wideband Digital Mobile Data Services (WDMDS) Network sharing Machine-to-Machine (M2M) networks Internet of Things Major mobile operators Vodafone Ireland O2 Ireland (historic) Eir 3 Ireland MVNOs Mobile content and applicationsList of Tables
Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – Ireland – 2018 (e)
Table 2 – Telecom sector retail revenue – 2012 - 2018
Table 3 – Market retail revenue annual change by fixed, mobile and broadcasting sectors – 2010 – 2018
Table 4 – Retail and wholesale revenue by sector – 2010 - 2018
Table 5 – Market revenue share of fixed, mobile and broadcasting subscribers – 2002 – 2018
Table 6 – Unbundled loops and access lines – 2005 – 2018
Table 7 – Annual ported fixed-line numbers – 2010 – 2018
Table 8 – Indirect access lines: CPS and WLR – 2006 - 2018
Table 9 – Fixed-line and mobile voice traffic in minutes – 2008 – 2018
Table 10 – Fixed-line share of retail revenue by major operator – 2012 – 2018
Table 11 – Eir financial data (historic) – 2001 – 2007
Table 12 – Eir financial data (year to June) – 2009 – 2019
Table 13 – Eir revenue by sector (year to June) – 2009 – 2018
Table 14 – Eir subscribers by sector – 2010 – 2018
Table 15 – Smart Telecom financial data (historic) – 2003 – 2005
Table 16 – Historic - Fixed voice subscriptions in service and teledensity – 1995; 1997; 1999 – 2009
Table 17 – Fixed voice subscriptions and teledensity – 2010 – 2018
Table 18 – Market share of fixed voice lines by operator – 2012 – 2018
Table 19 – International internet bandwidth – 2000 – 2016
Table 20 – Average fixed-line broadband traffic by platform – 2015 – 2018
Table 21 – Broadband penetration by technology – 2006 – 2017
Table 22 – Broadband penetration of households by technology – 2013 - 2018
Table 23 – Dial-up internet subscribers – 2005 – 2016
Table 24 – Internet users – 2005 - 2018
Table 25 – Total fixed and mobile broadband subscribers – 2005 – 2018
Table 26 – Total fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2002 – 2018
Table 27 – Retail broadband revenue – 2014 - 2018
Table 28 – Total broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 – 2018
Table 29 – Share of broadband subscriptions by platform – 2007 – 2018
Table 30 – Market share of fixed broadband subscriptions by operator – 2010 - 2018
Table 31 – Residential market share of broadband access speed – 2012 - 2018
Table 32 – Total market share of broadband access speed – 2013 – 2018
Table 33 – Forecasts – fixed broadband subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Table 34 – Virgin Media Ireland subscribers – 2006 - 2018
Table 35 – Virgin Media Ireland revenue – 2006 – 2009; 2013 – 2018
Table 36 – Cable broadband subscribers –2002 – 2018
Table 37 – DSL access provision by type and operator – 2002 - 2018
Table 38 – Eir retail broadband subscribers – 2010 – 2018
Table 39 – DSL subscribers – 2010 – 2018
Table 40 – VDSL connections – 2013 - 2018
Table 41 – Proportion of VDSL connections by access type – 2014 - 2018
Table 42 – FttP connections – 2016 – 2018
Table 43 – Eir fibre broadband subscribers – 2013 - 2018
Table 44 – Vodafone Ireland fixed broadband subscribers – 2010 - 2018
Table 45 – Fixed wireless broadband subscribers – 2005 – 2018
Table 46 – Wireless hotspots and access points - 2007 – 2018
Table 48 – Operator blended ARPU – 2005 – 2018
Table 49 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 1995; 1997; 1999 – 2009
Table 50 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2010 – 2019
Table 51 – Mobile voice subscribers (not incl. mobile broadband, M2M) – 2011 – 2018
Table 52 – Mobile retail market revenue, voice and data – 2005 – 2018
Table 53 – Mobile share of subscribers by operator – 2005 – 2018
Table 54 – Operator share of subscribers (excl. M2M and broadband) – 2014 – 2018
Table 55 – Mobile share of revenue by operator – 2005 – 2018
Table 56 – Prepaid versus postpaid share of subscribers – 2000 – 2018
Table 57 – Proportion of prepaid subscribers by operator – 2008 – 2018
Table 58 – 3G SIM cards in use by type – 2011 – 2018
Table 59 – Mobile subscriber market share by technology – 2013 – 2018
Table 60 – Mobile voice traffic – 2005 – 2018
Table 61 – Mobile data traffic – 2014 – 2018
Table 62 – Mobile data traffic share by technology – 2014 – 2018
Table 63 – Data use per subscriber – 2011 – 2018
Table 64 – SMS messages sent – 2000 - 2019
Table 65 – SMS and MMS messages sent per subscriber – 2011 – 2018
Table 66 – SMS and MMS revenue – 2012 – 2015
Table 67 – MMS messages sent – 2005 – 2018
Table 68 – Dedicated mobile broadband subscribers – 2007 – 2018
Table 69 – Mobile broadband market share by operator – 2010 – 2018
Table 70 – Active mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2018
Table 71 – Forecasts – mobile subscribers – 2019; 2021; 2023
Table 72 – European roaming charges – 2007 - 2016
Table 73 – European data roaming charges – 2014 – 2017
Table 74 – Annual mobile numbers ported – 2005 – 2018
Table 75 – M2M connections – 2013 – 2018
Table 76 – Market share of M2M connections by operator – 2016 – 2018
Table 77 – Vodafone Ireland mobile subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Table 78 – Vodafone Ireland mobile service revenue – 2010 – 2018
Table 79 – O2 mobile financial data (historic) – 2007 – 2014
Table 80 – O2 mobile data statistics (historic) – 2007 – 2013
Table 81 – O2 ARPU, blended, prepaid and contract (historic) – 2006 – 2013
Table 82 – O2 subscribers (historic) – 2006 – 2014
Table 83 – Eir mobile subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Table 84 – Eir mobile services revenue – 2006 - 2010; 2012- 2018
Table 85 – Eir mobile annualised blended ARPU - 2006 – 2014
Table 86 – Eir mobile prepaid and contract ARPU - 2013 – 2018
Table 87 – 3 Ireland registered subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Table 88 – 3 Ireland active subscribers – 2013 – 2018
Table 89 – 3 Ireland financial data – 2007 – 2018
Table 90 – 3 Ireland revenue by sector – 2013 – 2018
Table 91 – 3 Ireland annualised ARPU – 2013 – 2018List of Charts
Chart 1 – Market revenue share of fixed, mobile and broadcasting subscribers – 2002 - 2018
Chart 2 - Unbundled loops and access lines – 2005 – 2018
Chart 3 – Fixed-line and mobile voice traffic in minutes – 2008 – 2018
Chart 4 – Fixed voice subscriptions and teledensity – 2005 - 2018
Chart 5 – Total broadband subscribers by access type – 2002 - 2018
Chart 6 – Virgin Media Ireland broadband, phone, cable TV subscribers – 2006 – 2018
Chart 7 – DSL access provision by type and operator – 2002 – 2018
Chart 8 – Wireless hotspots and access points – 2007 - 2018
Chart 9 – Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2005 - 2019
Chart 10 – Mobile market revenue, voice and data – 2005 – 2018
Chart 11 – Mobile share of subscribers by operator – 2006 – 2018
Chart 12 – Mobile share of revenue by operator – 2006 – 2018
Chart 13 – Proportion of prepaid subscribers by operator – 2008 – 2018
Chart 14 – Mobile subscriber market share by technology – 2013 – 2018
Chart 15 – Mobile broadband market share by operator – 2010 – 2018
Chart 16 – 3 Ireland financial data – 2007 – 2018
Chart 17 – 3 Ireland annualised ARPU – 2013 – 2018List of Exhibits
Exhibit 1 – Access and the local loop
Exhibit 2 – 3G licence results – June 2002
Exhibit 3 – Multiband frequency award process – 2012
Exhibit 4 – WDMDS licences: operators, spectrum and fees – 2005
Exhibit 5 – 3 Ireland spectrum concessions
Exhibit 6 – Virgin Media mobile subscribers –2015 - 2018
