Telecoms in Croatia have big plans for 2017.
In 2016, the telecommunications market in Croatia was marked by further growth of internet traffic in mobile networks and the decline of fixed networks, as well as by the process of consolidation, somewhat better business results of the largest companies and growth of investments, which are expected to continue in 2017, especially in broadband infrastructure, reports Poslovni.hr on December 29, 2016.
According to the latest data of the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM), by the end of September the telecom and electronic communications market in Croatia recorded a growth of the total number of mobile users by about 40,000 in comparison with the end of September 2015. The number of users was close to 4.7 million. The largest share, nearly 47 percent, had Croatian Telecom (HT), followed by Vipnet with a share of almost 35 percent, and Tele2 Croatia with 18.2 percent, which is the only major company which recorded a slight decline of share compared to the end of September 2015.
In fixed networks, the number of users in late September was nearly 1.3 million, or about 15,000 less than year before. HT had the largest share of 57.3 percent, which is slightly less than in late September 2015.
HAKOM points out that at the end of September the number of broadband connections in fixed network passed one million for the first time in Croatia, with about 52,000 such connections more than at the end of September 2015. At the same time, the share of mobile users accessing internet via broadband networks increased by about four percentage points, to almost 79 percent, which is the best indicator of potential market development in the coming years which operators mostly see in the fixed networks.
“Enabling fast broadband to all citizens is a strategic goal of HT and in this regard we welcome EU initiatives that contribute to spreading the availability and promotion of high-speed internet. The availability of high-speed internet is a prerequisite for further progress and development of society, as well as using all the benefits of digitization”, said HT.
Noting that investments have enabled Croatia to be among the most advanced European countries in the area of mobile networks, especially with regards to the speed and degree of coverage with 4G network, HT added that there was still a lot of work to be done, considering the level of construction of infrastructure for broadband internet access.
The company said that in the first nine months of 2016 they had 752 million kuna in net profits, 2.9 percent more than in the same period of 2015, with the stagnation of income which amounted to 5.18 billion kuna.
Stressing that they are at the centre of global trends of digitalization, and therefore a reliable partner in building a digital society in Croatia, Vipnet, the second largest telecom in Croatia, said that it was satisfied with its business results for the first nine months of 2016, in which they had the revenue growth of 8.9 percent, to 295.2 million euros, and the growth of profits by 9.1 percent, to 69.3 million euros.
