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United Kingdom - Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts

Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd
October 20, 2009
182 Pages - SKU: PBC2476881

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Countries covered: United Kingdom

United Kingdom - Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts

This report covers the UK representing key and influential telecom markets. The report analyses trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, Internet, broadband, digital TV and converging media including VoIP, VoD and IPTV developments. Subjects include:

Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;
Facts, figures and statistics;
Industry and regulatory issues;
Infrastructure;
Major players, revenues, subscribers, ARPU, MOU;
Internet, VoIP, IPTV;
Mobile voice and data markets;
Broadband (FttH, DSL, cable TV, wireless);
VoIP, IPTV, VoD, digital TV and DTTV
Convergence and digital media;
Teclecom market forecasts for selective years until 2014 and 2018.

Additional Information

BuddeComm’s annual publication, United Kingdom - Telecoms, IP Networks, Digital Media and Forecasts, provides a comprehensive overview of the trends and developments in the telecommunications and digital media markets in the UK.

The UK’s telecom market has not been unscathed by the global economic downturn, which has pushed the economy into one of the deepest recessions experienced by any European country. Overall revenues in the telecom sector increased by only 0.5% year-on-year in 2008, to about £43 billion, considerably lower than the 4% growth seen in 2007. Competition has continued to drive down the price of overall telecom services by about 6% annually, yet the real economic hardship of many consumers will significantly reduce discretionary spend until at least 2011. The consequent decline in revenue for telcos, together with the still problematic liquidity market, will dampen their ability to fund network investment during the next two years. BT has been an early casualty, having been obliged to scale back its 21CN All-IP implementation.

Nevertheless, the telecom sector remains resilient by comparison with other market sectors, if only because consumers are steadfastly attached to communications services. This has been recognised by the government’s proposal to make the provision of broadband a universal service obligation by 2012, though it is unlikely that the timetable will be kept to.

Fixed-line penetration has fallen steadily since 2000 while mobile penetration has increased to the extent that by mid-2009 about 20% of households relied on mobile-only access, compared with only 6% in 2001. Average residential broadband speeds more than doubled in the year to June 2009 yet there remain poorly served areas, accounting for some 15% of all households. BT dominates the fixed market, accounting for about 47% of all connections, though O2 is the largest overall provider in terms of subscribers.

The digital TV market is among the most competitive in Europe, with both free and pay satellite services competing against a range of platforms providing IPTV and VoD services. Analogue switch-off, due by 2012, is much anticipated as broadcasters and the providers of mobile and broadband services look to acquire released spectrum and so expand their service offerings in coming years.

UK key telecom parameters - 2008 - 2009
Sector | 2008 | 2009 (e) |
Broadband | | |
Fixed broadband subscribers (million) | 17.3 | 18.1 |
Fixed broadband penetration rate | 28% | 29% |
Mobile broadband subscribers (million) | 1.6 | 3.8 |
Subscribers to telecoms services | | |
Fixed-line telephony (million) | 33.2 | 32.4 |
Mobile phone (million) | 76.8 | 78.3 |
Mobile penetration (population) | 126% | 131% |
| (Source: BuddeComm)

Key highlights:

Local loop unbundling has grown substantially since 2006, and by August 2009 there were more than six million unbundled lines. With more than 20 telcos providing unbundled services from over 1,850 local exchanges, competition in urban areas is intense, leading to some of the lowest broadband prices in Europe. Consolidation among providers in recent years has meant that the broadband market is essentially served by a triopoly of BT, Carphone Warehouse and Virgin Media, which together hold some 75% of all fixed-line subscribers. The economics of scale will enable them to reduce access prices further in coming years as they face increasing competition from the mobile network operators.
The 2009 Digital Britain report which proposed a universal broadband service of 2Mb/s by 2012 will require public funds, sympathetic regulation and the re-use of sub-1GHz spectrum freed from digital switchover. The much delayed spectrum auctions will hamper this development in 2010, requiring tighter regulatory control.
Long-term evolution trials have kept pace with developments elsewhere in Europe, led by O2 which envisages providing data at 140Mb/s, or ten times the speed currently available. The success of LTE will be much needed during 2010 and 2011 to develop rural broadband access as well as provide a platform for MNOs to develop their mobile data services.
Virgin Mobile launched one of Europe’s fastest cable networks during 2009, and may upgrade to a 200Mb/s service by 2012. This will vastly improve the accessibility of high-end data services while the rollout of FttH is unlikely to expand substantially during the next two years.

Data in this report is the latest available at the time of preparation and may not be for the current year.

1. Key Statistics
2. Telecommunications Market: 2.1 Overview of the UK’s telecom market
3. Regulatory Environment: 3.1 History; 3.2 Regulatory authority; 3.3 BT’s structural separation; 3.4 Telecom sector liberalisation in the UK
4. Major Fixed Network Operators In The UK: 4.1 New regulations; 4.2 British Telecom; 4.3 KCOM; 4.4 Cable & Wireless (C&W); 4.5 Virgin Media; 4.6 COLT Telecom; 4.7 THUS; 4.8 Carphone Warehouse; 4.9 Post Office re-entry; 4.10 Orange; 4.11 BSkyB
5. Telecommunications Infrastructure: 5.1 National telecom network; 5.2 Next Generation Networks; 5.3 International
6. Broadband Market: 6.1 Overview; 6.3 Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL); 6.4 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH) networks; 6.5 Broadband Powerline (BPL); 6.6 Wireless broadband
7. Convergence: 7.1 Overview of media convergence; 7.2 Key general trends; 7.3 Digital media; 7.4 Regulator issues; 7.5 Digital TV (DTV)
8. Mobile Communications: 8.1 Overview of the UK’s mobile market; 8.2 Regulatory issues; 8.3 Mobile technologies; 8.4 Major mobile operators; 8.5 Mobile voice services; 8.6 Mobile data services
9. Forecasts: 9.1 Forecast broadband subscribers - 2007 - 2012; 2018; 9.2 Forecast mobile ARPU - 2007 - 2010; 2014; 9.3 Forecast UMTS subscribers - 2007 - 2010; 2015
10. Glossary of Abbreviations
List of Tables and Exhibits: Table 1 - Country statistics United Kingdom - 2009; Table 2 - Telecom revenue and investment statistics - 2008; Table 3 - Telephone network statistics - 2008; Table 4 - Internet user statistics - June 2009; Table 5 - Broadband statistics - January 2009; Table 6 - Mobile statistics - June 2009; Table 7 - National telecommunications authority; Table 8 - Communications retail sector revenue - 2003 - 2008; Table 9 - Household spend on telecoms services - 2004 - 2008; Table 13 - Share of call volumes, fixed-line and mobile - 2003 - 2008; Table 43 - COLT financial data - 2006 - 2009; Table 44 - THUS subscribers - 2006 - 2008; Table 45 - THUS financial data - 2004 - 2008; Table 46 - THUS financial data - 2009; Table 47 - Carphone Warehouse Group revenue, profit - 2007 - 2009; Table 48 - TalkTalk financial data - 2007 - 2009; Table 49 - BSkyB voice customers - 2006 - 2009; Table 50 - Fixed lines in service and teledensity - 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2009; Table 51 - Broadband retail revenue - 2003 - 2008; Table 52 - Broadband connections by type - 2002 - 2009; Table 53 - Internet connections by consumer group - 2003 - 2008; Table 54 - Market share of broadband subscribers by type - 2002 - 2008; Table 55 - Broadband availability by households - 2000 - 2009; Table 56 - Share of broadband subscribers by ISP - 2005 - 2009; Table 57 - Broadband penetration by technology - 2004 - 2008; Table 58 - Total broadband subscribers by type - 2004 - 2009; Table 59 - Broadband subscribers by type - incumbent or other provider - 2007 - 2009; Table 60 - Percentage Internet access by dial-up and broadband - 2000 - 2009; Table 61 - PC, broadband and Internet household penetration - 2000 - 2009; Table 62 - Value of e-commerce sales - 2007 - 2012; Table 63 - BT Openreach WRL lines - 2007 - 2009; Table 64 - Virgin Media ARPU - 2007 - 2009; Table 65 - Virgin Media broadband subscribers by speed of service - 2007 - 2009; Table 66 - Virgin Media financial data - 2007 - 2009; Table 67 - xDSL subscribers - 2000 - 2009; Table 68 - BT retail and wholesale broadband subscribers - 2004 - 2009; Table 69 - Mobile broadband connections - 2008 - 2009; Table 70 - Mobile broadband connection types and usage - 2008; Table 71 - Mobile broadband market share - September 2008; Table 72 - Availability of digital services - June 2009; Table 73 - Adoption of services - March 2009; Table 74 - Broadcast HD homes by provider - 2006 - 2009; Table 75 - Proportion of bundled services by type - 2006 - 2009; Table 76 - Proportion of homes with bundled services by type - March 2009; Table 77 - Statistical overview of digital TV market - 2006 - 2009; Table 78 - Market share of TV homes by platform (primary sets) - 2005 - 2009; Table 79 - Digital TV uptake, share of main TV sets - 2005 - 2009; Table 80 - BT Vision subscribers - 2007 - 2009; Table 81 - Free-to-view satellite households - 2003 - 2009; Table 82 - BSkyB subscriber statistics - 2005 - 2009; Table 83 - BSkyB annualised ARPU - 2005 - 2009; Table 84 - BSkyB revenue, operating profit and annual change - 2007 - 2009; Table 85 - Homes equipped for DTTV - 2006 - 2009; Table 86 - DTTV equipment sales - 2005 - 2009; Table 87 - Cumulative DTTV equipment sales - 2006 - 2009; Table 88 - Online TV revenue - 2005 - 2008; Table 89 - Virgin Media VoD use - 2007 - 2009; Table 90 - Virgin Media V+ base - 2008 - 2009; Table 91 - VoIP users as % of total Internet subscribers - 2005 - 2008; Table 92 - BT VoIP subscribers - 2006 - 2008; Table 93 - Mobile and fixed-line voice traffic and total traffic in minutes - 2005 - 2009; Table 94 - Mobile call revenue by operator - 2002 - 2009; Table 95 - Mobile retail revenue by service - 2002 - 2008; Table 96 - Mobile revenue as proportion of total - 2002 - 2008; Table 97 - Average cost of mobile services by type - 2003 - 2008; Table 98 - Mobile handset sales - 2005 - 2009; Table 99 - Mobile operator and subscribers - June 2009; Table 100 - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate - 1995; 1997; 1999 - 2009; Table 101 - Percentages of mobile and fixed phones in homes - 2000 - 2009; Table 102 - Mobile subscribers by operator - 2000 - 2009; Table 103 - Mobile retail revenue by operator - 2000 - 2009; Table 104 - Mobile ARPU by sector - 2000 - 2008; Table 105 - Mobile share of outbound calls - 2002 - 2008; Table 106 - Average mobile charges by service - 2000 - 2007; Table 107 - Mobile market share by operator - 2004 - 2009; Table 108 - Mobile operator share of revenue - Q2 2009; Table 109 - European roaming charges - 2007 - 2009; Table 110 - Mobile numbers ported - 2003 - 2005; Table 111 - MTRs by operator - 2009 - 2011; Table 112 - 3 UK and Ireland subscribers by sector and annual change - 2008; Table 113 - 3 UK and Ireland revenue; annual change - 2008; Table 114 - O2 financial data -2007 - 2009; Table 115 - O2 quarterly ARPU - blended, contract, prepaid and data - 2006 - 2009; Table 116 - O2 subscribers, prepaid and contract - 2005 - 2009; Table 117 - Vodafone ARPU: blended, contract and prepaid - 2005 - 2009; Table 118 - Vodafone mobile non-voice as % service revenue - 2005 - 2009; Table 119 - Vodafone 3G and live! subscribers - 2005 - 2009; Table 120 - Vodafone (UK) subscribers and proportion prepaid - 2001 - 2009; Table 121 - Vodafone (UK) financial data - 2008 - 2009; Table 122 - Vodafone Group revenue by sector - 2007 - 2009; Table 123 - Vodafone (UK) service revenue by sector - 2008 - 2009; Table 124 - T-Mobile financial data - 2005 - 2009; Table 125 - T-Mobile subscribers - 2005 - 2009; Table 126 - Orange subscribers, contract and prepaid - 2006 - 2009; Table 127 - Orange subscribers by type, retail, 3G, MVNO - 2006 - 2009; Table 128 - Orange revenue - 2005 - 2009; Table 129 - Orange ARPU by category - 2006 - 2009; Table 130 - MNO and MVNO share of subscribers - 2004 - 2008; Table 131 - Virgin Mobile subscribers - 2005 - 2009; Table 132 - Virgin Mobile financial data - 2007 - 2009; Table 133 - Carphone Warehouse subscribers - 2007 - 2009; Table 134 - Carphone Warehouse mobile revenue - 2006 - 2009; Table 135 - Percentage of prepaid customers per operator - 2003 - 2008; Table 136 - Average cost per mobile minute - 2002 - 2009; Table 137 - Prepaid and contract subscribers - 2002 - 2008; Table 138 - Mobile retail ARPU by service - 2002 - 2008; Table 139 - ARPU by subscription type - 2002 - 2008; Table 140 - 3G subscribers and percentage of total subscribers - 2003 - 2009; Table 141 - 3G subscriber penetration rate - 2003 - 2009; Table 142 - 3G licence results - April 2000; Table 143 - 3 UK and Ireland subscribers by sector and annual change - 2008; Table 144 - 3 UK and Ireland revenue and annual change - 2008; Table 145 - Vodafone 3G subscribers - 2005 - 2009; Table 146 - Average ARPU per data service - 2009; Table 147 - Vodafone live! subscribers - 2005 - 2007; Table 148 - Total and average text messages sent - 1999 - 2008; Table 149 - Average SMS and MMS sent per month - 2003 - 2008; Table 150 - SMS and MMS revenue by operator - 2006 - 2008; Table 151 - SMS and MMS volumes by operator - 2006 - 2009; Table 152 - Mobile broadband connections - 2008 - 2009; Table 153 - Mobile broadband connection types and usage - 2008; Table 154 - Mobile broadband market share per operator - September 2008; Table 155 - Forecast broadband subscribers - higher market growth scenario - 2007 - 2012; 2018; Table 156 - Forecast broadband subscribers - lower market growth scenario - 2007 - 2012; 2018; Table 157 - Forecast mobile ARPU - 2007 - 2010; 2014; Table 158 - Forecast UMTS subscribers - 2007 - 2010; 2015; Exhibit 1 - EU New Regulatory Framework (NRF); Exhibit 2 - Principal submarine cables from the UK - 2009; Exhibit 3 - BT’s wholesale DSL products - 2008; Exhibit 4 - Estimated cost of fibre by deployment technology - 2009; Exhibit 5 - Wireless opportunities using technology and frequencies; Exhibit 6 - Spectrum auction results 10GHz - February 2008; Exhibit 7 - WLAN operator business models - 2009; Exhibit 8 - Overview of media convergence; Exhibit 9 - Operators’ service bundling offers - 2009; Exhibit 10 - Technology developments in bundled services - 2009; Exhibit 11 - Snapshot of digital TV services and providers - 2009; Exhibit 12 - Digital broadcasting switchover timetable - 2008 - 2012; Exhibit 13 - Popular VoIP providers - 2009; Exhibit 14 - Spectrum available for mobile services

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