Malta - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses
Malta's competition authority investigates Melita and Vodafone merger Despite its small size, Malta's telecom sector is among the most advanced in Europe, with high mobile and broadband penetration rates and a strategy in place to capitalise on infrastructure to develop e-commerce opportunities.
LONDON, Nov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5193303
The sector has also been stimulated by regulatory measures designed to reduce consumer prices, pave the way towards a national FttP telecom network and increase competition. To this end the Competition Authority has examined the proposed merger between Vodafone Malta and Melita, a move which would allow the merged entity to provide a more effective challenge to the incumbent telco GO but which would essentially create a market duopoly, given that other licensed operators have a very small market share.
The broadband market is controlled by Melita, which retains a monopoly on cable services, and GO, commanding a near complete dominance in the DSL and fibre segments. An island-wide WiMAX service is provided by Vodafone, while Melita also operates an extensive Wi-Fi mesh network. GO is currently investing in an extensive FttP network, which covered about 50,000 premises by mid-2017, while an all-fibre backhaul network also supports its LTE infrastructure.
Investment in telecoms networks has been maintained, though in recent years this was mainly made up of investment in mobile infrastructure which compensated for lower investment by other operators providing fixed-line services. However, since 2015 GO has embarked on a program to develop a wide-spread FttP network, and so provide a platform to develop services in future. In late 2017 the company announced plans to invest 100 million over five years, partly in LTE and fibre infrastructure as also in upgrading capacity on submarine cables.
The mobile market is dominated by Vodafone Malta, GO Mobile and Melita Mobile, with Redtouch Fone the only active MVNO. GO Mobile and Vodafone together commanded 80% of the market as of June 2017.
The key issue for coming years will be the continuing effort by the regulator to encourage a national broadband network through developing regulations attractive to investors, and so maintain momentum in one of Europe's smallest markets.
Key developments:
Competition Authority investigates proposed merger of Melita and Vodafone;
GO acquired by Tunisie Telecom;
Vodafone launches LTE-A services providing data at up to 210Mb/s;
Melita launches a 1Gb/s broadband service;
GO commits to 100 million five-year investment;
Vodafone providing full population coverage with LTE;
Regulator cancels 800MHz auction after all three MNOs withdraw bids;
Government supporting a national FttP network;
GO launches a 500Mb/s fibre-based service;
Report update includes the regulator's market data updates to June 2017, telcos' operating and financial data to Q2 2017, recent market developments.
Companies mentioned in this report:
Vodafone, GO, Melita, SIS, Ozone, Redtouch Fone, PING.
Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5193303
About Reportbuyer
Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers
https://www.reportbuyer.com
For more information:
Sarah Smith
Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 208 816 85 48
Website: www.reportbuyer.com
SOURCE ReportBuyer
Share this article