Bulgaria - Mobile Infrastructure, Broadband, Operators - Statistics and Analyses

Bulgaria - Mobile Infrastructure, Broadband, Operators - Statistics and Analyses

Bulgaria has a mature mobile market with effective competition provided by Telekom Austria's A1 Bulgaria, Telenor Bulgaria (sold to the PPF Group in August 2018) and the incumbent telco Vivacom. A new entrant, Max Telecom (also known simply as MAX), provided additional competition though the company fell into financial difficulty and stopped providing services at the beginning of 2017. Competition among network operators has intensified following the recent implementation of a streamlined mobile number portability process. In addition, customer preference for bundled services has put pressure on pricing and encouraged operators to offer generous voice and data packages. This in turn has impacted on operator revenue, compounded by a steady decline in the number of subscribers.

Vivacom is in the process of being sold, and the potential that a new owner will inject funds in network upgrades and develop services based on 5G should stimulate other market players to invest in their own service provision.

This report presents an overview of Bulgaria's mobile market, including a variety of statistics and analyses covering the major operators, market developments and services offered.

Key developments:

A1 Bulgaria and Telenor Bulgaria trial 5G;
Vivacom extends the reach of its LTE-A service;
Regulator awards additional spectrum in the 1800MHz band for LTE use;
Regulator's tender for spectrum in the 2.5-2.6GHz band fails to find bidders;
MNP takes off under new regulatory measures;
Report update includes the regulator's market data for 2018, telcos' operating and financial data to Q2 2019, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Vivacom, A1 Bulgaria (MobilTel), Telenor Bulgaria