Montenegro - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Montenegro - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Montenegro's LTE network providing near national coverage

Montenegro continues to make steady progress in its ambition to join the European Union and NATO, and so further integrate itself with its main trading partners. As part of the EU accession process the country has received financial aid to build public institutions and improve cross-border co-operation under the EU funding mechanism Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance. The telecom sector has also been aligned with EU norms, which has opened up the market to competition and guided the development of elements such as access and tariff structures.

Fixed broadband services are available via a variety of technology platforms including DSL, cable, leased line, fibre and wireless. The fibre sector has shown particularly strong growth since 2010 as the incumbent has invested in infrastructure upgrades, albeit mainly to serve apartment blocks in the main towns. DSL is also strong given the legacy reach of the incumbent's copper network, coupled with its existing market presence and range of service offerings that include broadband TV.

Mobile penetration is particularly high, though this is partly due to the significant number of tourists visiting the country seasonally, as also to the popularity of subscribers having multiple prepaid cards Networks based on WCDMA/HSPA and LTE technologies have been launched, while investment in LTE technologies have made mobile broadband a viable alternative to fixed-line broadband in many rural areas. Recent multi-band spectrum auctions have stipulated that mobile broadband should be made available to 95% of the population by mid-2018. Network upgrades have formed the basis for new and expanding mobile broadband services.

Key developments:

Telenor Group sells it Montenegro business;
Magyar Telekom transfers 76.53% stake in Crnogorski Telekom to T-Hrvatski Telekom;
T-Mobile Montenegro and Ericsson trial carrier aggregation LTE-A technology providing data at over 435Mb/s;
Three MNOs secure spectrum in multi-band auction;
Crnogorski Telekom launches VDSL services to complement fibre roll-out;
Report update includes the regulator's market data to April 2018, telcos' operating and financial data to Q1 2018, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

Crnogorski Telekom (T-Mobile Montenegro), M:tel, Telenor Montenegro.