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

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

In 2016 Israel's mobile market is served by five mobile network operators. In recent years, there have been some changes however with Partner stepping away from its branding partnership with Orange and Golan Telecom becoming available for acquisition. There is also Bezeq's Pelephone, Cellcom and HOT Mobile. In 2015 Cellcom was hoping to acquire Golan Telecom but it was not given government approval. The Israeli mobile market has seen a decline in the number of MVNOs in recent years.

Factors that have helped drive competition include full mobile number portability and regulatory barriers that prevent operators from linking sales of handsets to services, or offering discounts to customers that commit to longer periods. Strong competition has led to operators focusing on mobile data and content opportunities as well as on costs, resulting in a number of infrastructure sharing agreements. Cellcom, Pelephone, Partner, Golan Telecom, Hot Mobile, and Marathon Mobile all won spectrum in a 4G LTE auction concluded in January 2015.

Key developments:

In January 2016 Partner Communications opted to terminate its licensing deal with Orange; Following regulatory approval, Partner, Cellcom, and Pelephone used existing or borrowed spectrum to launch LTE services ahead of the 4G auction; In 2015 the Ministry of Communication published a network-sharing policy.

Companies covered in this report:

Cellcom, Partner (formerly Orange), Pelephone (Bezeq), HOT Mobile, Golan Telecom, Rami Levy, Marathon Mobile/Marathon 018 Xphone, Rounds.