Belgium telecom service revenues return to growth in Q1, led by broadband market

News General Belgium 25 JUN 2020
Belgium telecom service revenues return to growth in Q1, led by broadband market
The Belgian telecom market returned to positive revenue growth in the first quarter of 2020, according to the latest from Telecompaper. Despite some impact from the Covid-19 pandemic on subscriber growth, service revenues were up 0.4 percent year-on-year to EUR 1.7 billion in Q1, thanks to continued growth in multi-play and postpaid subscriptions, annual price increases and diminishing regulatory effects.

Telecompaper’s quarterly Belgian Total Communications Market report shows growth came mainly from broadband and TV services, which posted revenues up over 4.5 percent year-on-year. This was supported by steady growth in broadband subscribers, which rose 2.8 percent year-on-year, and annual rate increases at the major operators. Fixed telephony revenues fell nearly 6 percent on a continued fall in connections.

Mobile revenues fall 1.2%

Mobile accounts for just over half the Belgian telecom market, and mobile service revenues were still down 1.2 percent year-on-year to EUR 722 million. Mobile price pressure, coming from increased bundling and promotions, offset the growth in subscribers, with more than half a million new mobile Sims added in the market in the past year.

The report also looks at the demand for multi-play subscriptions in Belgium. While the quad-play segment showed its first quarterly drop in subscribers, there was continued growth in triple-play subscriptions, with another 40,000 added in the three months for a total of nearly 2.28 million. Telenet leads the 3P market with nearly half of all 3P subscribers, while Proximus is first in quad-plays, accounting for 45 percent of the nearly 1.6 million 4P customers in Belgium.

Orange growing in triple-play segment

Orange is still tiny on the quad-play market, but has managed to grow its market share to 9.5 percent of triple-play customers and over 13 percent of 3P revenues. Orange has also been growing in the 2P segment after launching new plans in Q3 last year.

"Orange is taking customers mainly from Telenet in the fixed market and from Proximus in mobile, leading to steady growth in its market share," said Marion ter Welle, Telecompaper senior research analyst and co-author of the Belgian report. "Nevertheless, Orange remains small compared to its two big rivals. It’s not surprising Orange is appealing the sale of VOO, as only with an acquisition could it achieve the scale needed to fully challenge Proximus and Telenet."

The latest edition of the Belgian Total Communications Market report for Q1 2020 is available now for purchase. The report includes customer and revenue data on all the major service segments and operators. For a customised anaysis or more information, please contact research@telecompaper.com. 

Categories:

General

Companies:

Proximus,  Telenet,  Telecompaper,  Voo,  Orange Belgium

Countries:

Belgium

Tags:

Voice services, Wireline, Wireless, Internet Access, Broadcast, Market research

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