Romanian telecom, 2nd highest growth rate in the CEE, says IDC

Newsroom 25/11/2013 | 16:32

Romania reported the 2nd highest growing rate of telecom services in the CEE region, after Russia, and the fourth highest growth in the whole of Europe, John Gole, program director, Telecommunications, IDC UK said during the Business Review event Focus on Telecom.

According to IDC, the telecom industry is under pressure from the regulatory measures, the economy, falling prices, devaluation of voice and messaging, the required investments, OTT players and changing consumer behavior.

“The voice is currently financing the big investments into the 4G networks. It is the most significant revenue for telecom operators. In Romania, mobile is four times cheaper than in Germany. I don’t know when the switch from voice to data will happen,” said Florin Popa, business director, Orange Romania, during the BR event.

Smartphones are driving the mobile data adoption but in smartphone adoption, Romania is about two years behind other European countries, but it is catching up fast, said Markus Lause, chief commercial officer, Vodafone Romania. While among Vodafone Romania clients, about 28 percent use smartphones and 2-5 percent tablets, in Germany smartphone adoption stands at 50 percent.

Otilia Haraga