This annual report offers the latest data, statistics and analysis on media convergence in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Subjects include:IP Packet-Switched Technology; Triple Play Models and Analysis; Satellite and Cable TV; Digital TV, DTTV models, Interactive TV; IPTV, Video-on-Demand; Next Generation Networks and Deployments; Operators and Service Offerings.Executive SummaryThis European market report covers developments in the region’s burgeoning convergence market.
In 2007 the region will see further strong development in triple and quad play models as network operators and content providers align themselves to meet growing consumer demand for a range of IP-delivered services.
This will be made commercially viable to most of the population by the end of the decade as Europe’s broadband infrastructure and penetration reach the mass market and IP services become detached from PCs to emerge as central components of household entertainment.
In part this will be helped by all-IP networks from incumbents such as BT and KPN, while consumer demand and lower infrastructure costs have also stimulated investment from competing operators.
The report presents the latest statistics for triple play and digital media developments, including IPTV, Video-on-Demand and digital TV, as well as a range of regulatory considerations.
It assesses industry re-alignments and strategies aimed at encouraging consumer take-up of services offered, and analyses current business models.
An overview of operators, national markets and trends provides the necessary background to an assessment of how this important market will progress to the end of the decade.FranceThe converging media market in France is supported by one of Europe’s most vibrant broadband markets, with the third largest number of broadband subscribers and an enviable deployment of fast DSL and fibre networks.
The government sees the continuing roll-out of these broadband technologies as fundamental to the successful take up digital TV, triple play and other services.
Significant progress has been made in France’s digital terrestrial TV sector, while the country also has Europe’s most advanced IPTV market, with three main service providers serving about half of Europe’s total.GermanyGermany’s excellent broadband and broadcast sectors have positioned the country to exploit emerging triple play developments in coming years.
The country’s ubiquitous DSL network is matched by an extensive cable infrastructure which passes more than half of all homes.
Digital TV has undergone regulatory and licensing processes, and successful roll-outs have extended the service to a number of regions.
With analogue switch-off scheduled for 2010, a digital dividend promises bandwidth which can be used for advanced wireless services extending and enhancing the reach of converging media.
The incumbent, Deutsche Telekom, has invested in a national VDSL deployment to meet consumer needs for converged applications, and though it has secured a regulatory holiday on the network the enormous growth in Local Loop Unbundling, representing about half of all unbundled lines in Europe, has ensured that effective competition exists to drive triple play in coming years.
Many providers offer data speeds at 10Mb/s or 16Mb/s, while the incumbent’s own VDSL deployment will provide 50Mb/s services to 50 major cities.
In August 2006 some three million people in ten of these cities were switched on to the new network.ItalyItaly is one of the core countries in Europe for triple play and converging media applications.
Its large population offers enormous potential for content providers, while the delivery of triple play services has been supported by the extraordinary growth in broadband.
This has mostly been through the extensive DSL network, but fibre has had an increasing presence, given the compact nature of urban living in the country and the successful business models of companies such as FASTWEB.
Digital TV has had a difficult gestation in Italy thus far, but proposed legislation could overturn the 2004 Gaspari law and remove legal and regulatory barriers that prevent new broadcasters from entering the digital terrestrial TV market.NetherlandsThe Dutch multichannel environment has affected the development of digital terrestrial TV, and the country has one of the most advanced digital switchover is scheduled for the end of 2006, ahead of most of Europe.
The broadband market is particularly well served by cable, ADSL and fibre networks which form the bedrock of emerging triple play services.
Dutch telcos and cable companies have made considerable progress in expanding and bundling their services to reduce churn and give their services stickiness.
The growth in IPTV and VoD has stimulated faster access speeds, and the strategy of the incumbent, KPN, for its triple-play offering largely relies on the economical upgrade to VDSL and ADSL2+.
In addition, the government, motivated by the concern to preserve and develop the country’s economic welfare, has promoted FttH infrastructure investments for the next decade, while a number of municipalities have developed their own fibre deployments.SpainSpain’s strong triple play market is largely the result of the proliferation of ADSL2+ and increased investment in cable network upgrades, providing the infrastructure to extend the reach of high-bandwidth applications to large parts of the country.
The incumbent Telefónica is the largest broadband provider in Spain, with 55% of the retail market, and its development of ADSL2+ services since 2005 has set the standard for other providers, some of which have launched services with 10Mb/s data speeds.
Nevertheless, the majority of broadband subscribers only had about 1Mb/s in 2006, so further growth in triple play and IPTV requires far greater investment in network infrastructure in coming years.
With fibre and powerline broadband having only a small presence in the Spanish market, ADSL2+ will be the preferred vehicle for emerging triple play offerings.
By mid-2006 there were about 2.9 million subscribers to at least two services, and some 728,000 subscribers to voice, broadband and TV.
The cable operator ONO has offered triple play since May 2005, while its merger with Auna has positioned the group to develop as a national contender against Telefónica’s triple play offering – Imagenio – and become a more powerful force against the country’s dominant pay TV player, Sogecable.
Other operators, such as T-Online International, have invested heavily in ramping up their presence in Spain through new ADSL2+ and VDSL2 networks in an effort to win triple play market share.SwedenSweden’s high broadband penetration rate has been achieved on the back of extensive investment in fast DSL and fibre upgrades which provide the infrastructure for triple play services.
The country is at the forefront of digital terrestrial TV, which can be accessed by more than 98% of the population, and began the first stage of its digital switchover in September 2005, ahead of the rest of Europe.
TeliaSonera, com hem, Bredbandsbolaget (B2) and other providers offer triple play services.The UKThe UK is in the forefront of media convergence in Europe.
The country’s excellent broadband infrastructure, with comprehensive DSL and extensive cable networks, offer an excellent platform for the provision of triple play and emerging quad play services.
Companies have begun to extend their reach beyond their core businesses, as in Vodafone’s development of a national broadband service, which has deepened the reach of converged services.
The broadcasting industry is also among the most advanced and well-served in Europe, with a substantial multichannel environment and successful digital satellite TV, digital cable and digital terrestrial TV platforms.
The country has also benefited from BT’s building of an all-IP network to deliver digital services, part of which was switched on in late 2006, which will eventually provide 24Mb/s across the country.
The cable operator ntl Incorporated has continued its program to upgrade networks to provide 10Mb/s broadband services, while 100Mb/s services have also been developed.
These developments will further trigger the take-up of converged services offered by a range of providers.