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Austria - Market Intelligence Report
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Market Intelligence Reports provide an invaluable mix of vital market data and background information, including telecoms regulation. The Austrian telecommunications market has been progressively liberalised since the early-1990s and is now completely open to competition. However, incumbent fixed-line and mobile operator, Telekom Austria, retains a significant share of most markets in Austria. The 2003 Telecommunications Act, which brought Austria's electronic communications regulatory apparatus in line with European Union (EU) standards, has now been brought to bear on the telecommunications market, with two rounds of reviews completed to determine which operators have dominance in certain segments of the market. In most cases, Telekom Austria and its subsidiaries have SMP. Telekom Austria is 25%-controlled by a state holding company. Although there are no current plans to reduce this stake further, it is possible that the government's remaining shares will be divested within the next few years. Already, it has declined a serious offer from Swisscom AG. In the meantime, a group of Austrian banks and industrialists has also expressed interest in acquiring the government's remaining shares in the operator should they become available; sensitive to allowing too much foreign control over a national utility, the Austrian government seems much more likely to favour a home-grown investor, should the need arise. In the voice telephony services market, Telekom Austria is estimated to have accounted for a 59.1% market share in March 2007 (latest data). Its most significant rivals at that time were the merged Tele2/UTA Telekom (23.6%), eTel Group (4.7%), Verizon Business Austria (4.7%), and T-Mobile-owned tele.ring (2.4%). It remains to be seen whether T-Mobile will jettison tele.ring's lacklustre fixed-line business. Potential purchasers would include Tele2, Verizon Business, and cable TV operator UPC Telekabel. In the mobile communications arena, Telekom Austria participates through its wholly-owned subsidiary, mobilkom austria, which owns and operates digital cellular (GSM/GPRS/EDGE) and third-generation (3G) universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) networks. As of March 2007 (latest data), mobilkom austria had an estimated 38.9% share of the mobile market. Its main rivals are T-Mobile Austria (22.4%), ONE (16.9%), and tele.ring (11.2%). New entrant Hutchison 3G (6.1% market share) is showing strong growth. eTel, Tele2, and Yesss! Telekommunikation resell ONE's services. In the broadband market, Telekom Austria's retail ADSL offering accounted for 41.8% of all connections as of March 2007, with its wholesale offering accounting for a further 8.6%. Most of the remaining broadband customers were served by Austria's cable TV operators at that time, led by the UPC Telekabel group.
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