Helsinki, 2006 PUBLICATIONS OF THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS 33/2006 Prices of Mobile Calls in 2006 International Comparison DESCRIPTION Date of publication 27 June 2006 Authors (from body; name, chairman and secretary of the body) Focus Consulting / Type of publication Report Tikon Consulting Oy/Terho Tikkanen Assigned by Ministry of Transport and Communications Date when body appointed Name of the publication Prices of Mobile Calls in 2006. International Comparison Abstract The research examines the development of mobile call prices in 18 European countries from March 2005 to April 2006. The comparison is made using price basket method. A country-specific price basket was formed of mobile call prices. This price basket describes the expenses of household users when using an inexpensive post-paid subscription. The research focuses on the basic services of mobile networks: calls, SMSs, subscription. The average basket price has decreased 3 % during the research period in all countries in the research. In April 2006 the most inexpensive price basket was still found in Finland. The costs of the Finnish basket have decreased 20 % during the year. The comparison showed that other inexpensive countries in terms of the price basket were Sweden, Luxembourg and Denmark. The most expensive price basket was found in Germany. The basket price of bigger countries are noticeably higher than those of the most inexpensive countries. There are big differences between price-levels: the most inexpensive price basket is only about one third of the most expensive one. The average basket prices in all countries have decreased about 27 % between 2001 and 2006. Keywords call charges, post-paid, pre-paid, price basket, SMS Miscellaneous Contact person at the Ministry: Mr Rainer Salonen Serial name and number Publications of the Ministry of Trans- port and Communications 33/2006 ISSN 1795-4045 (electronic version) ISBN 952-201-562-8 (electronic version) Pages, total 30 Language English Price Confidence status Public Published and distributed by Ministry of Transport and Communications 1 Table of contents 1 Introduction...................................................................................................................3 2 Focus of study ..............................................................................................................4 2.1 Target countries and operators..............................................................................4 2.2 Target services included in this report ...................................................................4 3 Price basket and its structure .......................................................................................6 3.1 Definition of price basket .......................................................................................6 3.2 Choice of mobile subscriptions ..............................................................................7 3.3 The meaning of the price basket ...........................................................................8 4 Information about mobile markets ..............................................................................10 4.1 Information about countries involved in the study................................................10 4.2 3G network development in the years 2005-2006 ...............................................11 5 Price basket of post-paid subscriptions 2006 .............................................................13 5.1 Price basket in 2006 ............................................................................................13 5.2 Evaluation of the development ............................................................................14 6 Examination of pre-paid subscriptions ........................................................................19 6.1 Pre-paid subscriptions in certain countries ..........................................................19 6.2 Price level of pre-paid subscriptions ....................................................................19 7 Conclusion..................................................................................................................21 8 Sources ......................................................................................................................22 List of tables Table 1. The structure of price basket used in this study.....................................................7 Table 2. Finnish price basket and operators’ ARPU in 2004-2005 ......................................9 Table 3. Information about European mobile markets on the 1st of February 2006 ...........10 Table 4. Information about 3G subscriptions in January 2006...........................................12 Table 5. Price baskets in 2006, euros/month.....................................................................13 Table 6. Price baskets in 2006 from the cheapest country to the most expensive one, monthly fee in euros ..........................................................................................................14 Table 7. Development of price baskets between 2001-2006, euros/month .......................15 2 List of figures Figure 1. Finnish price basket and operators’ ARPU in 2004-2005 .....................................9 Figure 2. Development of price baskets in 2001-2006 in certain countries........................16 Figure 3. Price baskets in 2006 and the size of mobile markets ........................................16 Figure 4. Price baskets in 2006 and density of population.................................................17 Figure 5. Price baskets in 2006 and GNP per inhabitant ...................................................18 Figure 6. The proportion of pre-paid subscriptions to the total number of subscriptions in the beginning of 2006 ........................................................................................................19 Figure 7. Price comparison of calls of pre-paid and post-paid subscriptions in the beginning of 2006, on-net calls in daytime.........................................................................20 List of appendix Appendix 1. The www-pages of operators included in this study......................................23 Appendix 2. List and information of operators included in this study ................................25 Appendix 3. Operators and subscriptions included in this study ........................................26 Appendix 4. An example of Finnish subscription supply in April 2006 ...............................27 Appendix 5. The number of pre-paid subscriptions in the target countries ........................28 3 1 Introduction This study concentrates on the prices of mobile calls and text messages (SMS in the report) within EU15-countries and in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. The preliminary work of gathering the price information was done during April 2006. This study concentrates only on network operators. Virtual and service operators are excluded from this study. The price basket used in comparison does not display individual operator prices. Price basket is calculated from all individual countries’ operators and therefore represents mean prices for each country. The weighted value for each operator is calculated by the market share. Therefore operators, which have bigger market share, represent bigger value within the country specific price baskets. The mobile phone subscriber connections included in this study are post-paid connections with low price. As the market share of pre-paid1 subscriptions is considerably high in some EU-countries, this study also compares the most significant operators’ pricing between the post-paid and pre-paid subscriptions. The next generation (3G in the report) mobile phone service providers are excluded from the price basket because of their low market share. The price baskets from previous years 2001-2005 have acted as the basic model for this study. Consequently the time series is extensive and the data is comparable with each year. 1 Connection, where talking time is purchased in advance. 4 2 Focus of study 2.1 Target countries and operators The focus of this study is on the EU15-countries prior to the expansion of the EU in May 2004. Iceland, Norway and Switzerland are also included in this study. The study includes each of those operators, whose market share is at least four per cent (4%) in their market area. This study concentrates only on network operators. Virtual and service operators’ (VMNO2) price information is excluded from this study. In the beginning of the year 2006 there were a total of 396 million 2G generation mobile phone subscriptions in those countries, which were included in this study. Appendix 2 shows the countries as well as the operators and the amount of subscriptions in each individual country. 3G operators’ services were excluded from this study, due the reason of varying development of the number of 3G subscriptions in each country. The estimation3 is that by the spring 2006 there were a total of 70 million subscriptions globally, based on WDCMA – technology (16 million in March 2005). Approximately a half of these were located in Europe. 2.2 Target services included in this report This study contains basic pricing of mobile networks: • calls • SMS messages (SMS4) • subscription The call prices are examined from the consumers’ point of view and the evaluation includes the cheapest connections. Subscription price campaigns and discounts are excluded from the study. 2VMNO= Virtual Mobile Network Operator. 3 UMTS Forum Q1/2006. 4 SMS= Short Message Service. 5 The prices of pre-paid subscriptions are concluded only from the biggest operators in each country and they are compared to market situation in Sweden and Finland. Multimedia messages (MMS5) are excluded from this study. The so called 2.5 G technology services have not yet developed significantly in consumer usage.6 Information about operators’ services and pricing are based on www-pages. These addresses can be found from appendix 1. Different connections of the operators can be found from appendix 3. The report includes price information about 56 operators. 5 MMS, Multimedia Message Service. 6 Press release 22.12.2005, Ficora. 6 3 Price basket and its structure 3.1 Definition of price basket The price basket used in this study is defined by a group representing different operators. This group was defined by the Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland in the year 2002.7 This study concentrates on consumer subscriptions, prices of mobile calls and SMS. Quantity of calls is 150 minutes per month and the length of each call is 3 minutes. 25 SMS messages are sent per month. The calls are assumed to be divided between daytime, evenings and weekends: 35% of calls are made during daytime and in the evenings and night-times 65%. All the calls are assumed to be domestic calls. In the basic model of price basket there is a definition, whereby operators with major market shares have a bigger share in domestic calls compared to the operators holding smaller market shares. Price basket weights the direction of mobile calls by the market share. Operators’ internal call quantity is operators’ market share added by 15%. SMS text messages are also included in the price basket. Their quantity is set to 25 messages per month and they are assumed to be oriented in the same way as the calls are oriented. On-net internal SMS quantity is operator’s market share added by 15%. Price basket includes either monthly subscription fees or subscriptions’ service packet fees. If some operator’s monthly fee contains call time, it is noticed to the appropriate extent within the price basket. The same procedure is done with SMS. Price baskets are constructed for each country separately. Each individual country specific price basket consists of different operators so that operators’ weighted value is defined by 7 Prices for digital mobile phones, Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 33/2002. 7 their market share. The cheapest subscription is selected from each individual operator which is suitable for the assumptions described earlier. The price baskets are shown in euros, including taxes. Table 1. The structure of price basket used in this study Price basket Cost factors The cheapest subscription connection for households Total amount of calls 150 minutes, including 50 calls, 3 minutes per call SMS, 25 messages per month Monthly subscription fee All prices with taxes Direction of calls Mobile networks 75%, which means 112.5 minutes Within mobile operators internal network 15% plus own market share To other networks rest of the calls Fixed network 25%, which means 37.5 minutes Time of calls Daytime, weekdays 35% of calls Other times 65% of calls 3.2 Choice of mobile subscriptions Mobile markets are in constant development within the countries included in this study. Competition also changes the service supply. Many operators have changed their subscription types during one year’s period. However, the starting point when the subscription was chosen for the price basket, has been a standard connection used in each country. Specific new service supply and campaign prices are excluded from this study which includes prices of 56 mobile operators in 18 countries. 8 The pricing strategies have become simplier compared to the previous year. Increasingly more and more operators are pricing their subscriptions with flat fees, where all calls cost the same. More and more countries apply packet-pricing method. In this system a fixed monthly charge includes certain amount of call minutes as well as a certain number of text messages. In 2006 about 60% of the operators used packet-pricing methods. Setup cost (starting fee) was used by 16 operators (appendix 3). Reviewing the Finnish domestic market situation gives a good perspective on the development of mobile markets. In Finland, the subscriptions supply has still changed from the year 2005. Using the mobile comparison counters in Internet pages8 one can produce a figure of Finnish mobile subscription supply in April 2006, shown in appendix 4. The criteria used in this calculation were based on the starting values of price baskets in 2006. It can be seen from appendix 4 that there were a total of 48 different subscription options in April 2006. The price range is significant. The subscriptions included in the Finnish price basket in 2006 are marked in the figure. 3.3 The meaning of the price basket Price basket used in this study is defined as the average expense of a household user. By weighting the subscriptions of different operators (in the countries which are chosen for this study) to one price basket per each country it is possible to understand the cost level of mobile calls in each case. One has to recognize that basket calculus works only as an expense indicator, which measures the situation at a certain moment, in this study in April 2006. The basket calculus profile has been determined already in the year 2002 and considerable changes for example in usage of calls and SMS have occurred all the time. In addition, the using habits of mobile phone customers also vary significantly from country 8 www.vaihtovirta.fi. 9 to country9. However, the time series from 2001-2005 support the usage of this certain kind of price basket in order to achieve comparable information. From the view point of operators, the price basket only describes the development of the mobile business in an indicative way. The behaviour of customers, subscription selection as well as market situation will solve the actual billing level of mobile business. If Finnish operators’ price baskets and ARPU10 in spring 2005 are put side by side, the magnitude can be seen (Table 2.) Operators’ ARPU – values are approximately 50% higher than the Finnish country basket.11 Table 2. Finnish price basket and operators’ ARPU in 2004-2005 ARPU, euros per month Price basket, euros per month 2004 2005 2004 2005 Elisa 37 30.4 Sonera 35 30.1 30.6 19.9 Figure 1. Finnish price basket and operators’ ARPU in 2004-2005 30.4 37.0 30.1 35.0 19.9 30.6 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 2004 2005 eu ro s pe r m on th Elisa ARPU Sonera ARPU Price basket 9 Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 22/2006, Mobile service markets in Finland 2005. 10 ARPU= Average Return Per User. 11 Annual reports of Elisa and TeliaSonera in 2005. 10 4 Information about mobile markets 4.1 Information about countries involved in the study Table 3 contains information about mobile subscriptions of each country, description about population density and description of GNP corrected with purchasing power parity.12 The number of mobile subscriptions in Europe was 396 million and the growth of the previous year was about 10%. Germany’s mobile market is the most significant in this study. Finland has about 1.3% from the total amount of subscriptions included in the study. When compared to Nordic countries, Finland’s share is about 20% of the total subscriber base in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The population density is the lowest in the Nordic countries. The lowest GNP figures are in Southern European countries. Table 3. Information about European mobile markets on the 1st of February 2006 Country Subscriptions, millions Population density in 2005, inhabitants/km2 GNP 2005, 1000 euros/inhabitant Germany 75.4 231 26 Italy 69.4 193 23 Great Britain 66.9 249 29 France 47.7 111 27 Spain 42.7 80 21 Netherlands 15.4 395 30 Greece 11.9 81 16 Portugal 11.7 114 13 Sweden 9.9 20 31 Belgium 8.8 340 27 Austria 8.6 98 30 Switzerland 6.9 181 39 Denmark 5.4 126 37 Finland 5.3 16 29 Norway 4.7 14 50 Ireland 4.2 57 38 Luxembourg 0.7 181 57 Iceland 0.3 3 39 Total amount 396 12 Mobile Communications January 31, 2006 and Statistics Finland. 11 In 2005 altogether 57 operators were included in the study, in 2006 the number was 56. Netherlands is the sole country, where the number of operators has decreased. This is due to a takeover of Telfort by KPN Mobile. Changes in the market shares in different countries are usually minimal. Biggest relative changes have occurred in Netherlands and in Ireland. Countries with insignificant changes are France, Norway, Finland, Switzerland and Luxembourg. Changes in price baskets between 2005-2006 can’t be explained by market share changes. 4.2 3G network development in the years 2005-2006 The development of 3G networks has revived during 2006. In the first quarter of 2006 it was estimated that the number of subscriptions based on WDCMA-technology was 70 million (16 million a year before) and about 50% of the amount is in Europe.13 The share of 3G subscriptions of all mobile subscribers was about 9%. Table 4 contains information of 3G subscriptions in different countries in January 2006. Countries with the biggest market shares were Italy, Luxembourg, UK and Sweden. Numbers in Finland are still quite modest.14 13 UMTS Forum Fast Facts Q1/2006. 14 Finnet Association 2006. 12 Table 4. Information about 3G subscriptions in January 2006 Country Mobile subscriptions, million 3G subscriptions, million Market share of 3G subscriptions, % Italy 69.4 10.2 14.7 Luxembourg 0.7 0.1 9.0 Great Britain 66.9 4.7 7.0 Sweden 9.9 0.6 6.2 Portugal 11.7 0.6 5.3 Germany 75.4 3.1 4.1 Austria 8.6 0.4 4.1 Spain 42.7 1.6 3.7 France 47.7 1.4 3.0 Ireland 4.2 0.1 2.7 Denmark 5.4 0.1 2.3 Netherlands 15.4 0.3 2.0 Finland 5.3 0.1 1.8 Greece 11.9 0.2 1.3 Norway 4.7 0.1 1.1 Switzerland 6.9 0.1 0.9 Belgium 8.8 0.1 0.8 Iceland 0.3 0 0 Source: Finnet Association. 13 5 Price basket of post-paid subscriptions 2006 5.1 Price basket in 2006 In the previous studies price baskets were defined with and without set-up cost.15 In this year’s survey price baskets are compared by using only set-up costs. Table 5. Price baskets in 2006, euros/month Country 2006, euros/month 2005, euros/month Change-% Netherlands 30.0 34.5 -13 Belgium 36.7 42.1 -13 Great Britain 43.4 44.1 -2 Spain 33.0 33.8 -2 Ireland 41.6 46.9 -11 Iceland 33.0 32.9 0 Italy 34.4 36.8 -6 Austria 1) 37.0 36.8 1 Greece 1) 31.3 26.4 19 Luxembourg 21.2 21.2 0 Norway 39.3 38.3 3 Portugal 29.2 33.3 -13 France 43.3 39.7 9 Sweden 18.1 30.5 -41 Germany 46.8 48.3 -3 Finland 15.9 19.9 -20 Switzerland 41.8 56.5 -26 Denmark 22.6 22.5 1 Weighted mean 38.3 39.5 -3 1) The prices of Austria and Greece have been defined in 2005. Table 5 describes the weighted mean of the price baskets of mobile subscriptions in those countries involved in this survey. This figure has decreased by 3%. The highest country- specific price decreases have taken place in Sweden, Switzerland and Finland. The price basket of Finland has decreased by 20% when compared to the year 2005. The results of the study confirm that the price level has increased in five countries. One has to recognize that there are significant differences in prices between countries compared because the cheapest price basket is about one third of the most expensive one. 15 Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 41/2004, Mobile Call Prices in 2004. 14 Table 6. Price baskets in 2006 from the cheapest country to the most expensive one, monthly fee in euros Country 2006, euros/month 2005, euros/month Finland 15,9 19,9 Sweden 18,1 30,5 Luxembourg 21,2 21,2 Denmark 22,6 22,5 Portugal 29,2 33,3 Netherlands 30,0 34,5 Greece 1) 31,3 26,4 Iceland 33,0 32,9 Spain 33,0 33,8 Italy 34,4 36,8 Belgium 36,7 42,1 Austria 1) 37,0 36,8 Norway 39,3 38,3 Ireland 41,6 46,9 Switzerland 41,8 56,5 France 43,3 39,7 Great Britain 43,4 44,1 Germany 46,8 48,3 1) The prices of Austria and Greece have been defined in 2005. As shown in table 6, Finland is the cheapest country in both 2006 and 2005. In 2004 Finland was the third in the price comparison. Other cheap mobile countries are besides Finland Sweden, Luxembourg and Denmark. According to the price basket distribution one can make a conclusion that the price basket in big mobile countries is more expensive than in small countries and the decline in prices and the yearly change in big countries is not so significant as it is in small countries. 5.2 Evaluation of the development The Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland has made international comparisons concerning mobile call prices since 2001 and that is why changes in the figures can be evaluated by extensive time series. In this time series, the information from years 2001 to 2003 is made comparable by estimating the starting cost meaning with the price baskets of those countries where the set-up cost is included. These countries and operators are introduced in appendix 3. 15 Table 7. Development of price baskets between 2001-2006, euros/month Country 2001 2004 2005 2006 Change-% 2001-2006 Netherlands 48.9 42.4 34.5 30.0 -39 Belgium 43.,8 43.1 42.1 36.7 -16 Great Britain 67.3 51.3 44.1 43.4 -36 Spain 41.0 38.6 33.8 33.0 -19 Ireland 55.8 51.9 46.9 41.6 -25 Iceland 32.5 33.9 32.9 33.0 1 Italy 45.1 48.0 36.8 34.4 -24 Austria 1) 46.2 36.6 36.8 37.0 -20 Greece 1) 51.1 31.6 26.4 31.3 -39 Luxembourg 30.0 27.1 21.2 21.2 -30 Norway 52.4 41.0 38.3 39.3 -25 Portugal 51.8 46.4 33.3 29.2 -44 France 43.0 40.7 39.7 43.3 1 Sweden 48.1 42.4 30.5 18.1 -62 Germany 63.0 56.5 48.3 46.8 -26 Finland 33.2 30.6 19.9 15.9 -52 Switzerland 59.7 56.2 56.5 41.8 -30 Denmark 41.8 27.1 22.5 22.6 -46 Weighted mean 52.4 46.5 39.5 38.3 -27 1) The prices of Austria and Greece have been defined in 2005. When contemplating the years between 2001 and 2006, it can be seen that the most significant changes have occurred in Portugal, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The average weighted by all subscriptions in each country has decreased by 27% from 2001 to 2006 which means 4% per year. Prices in Finland have decreased by 8% per year. 16 Figure 2. Development of price baskets in 2001-2006 in certain countries 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 eu ro s/ m on th Finland Denmark Sweden Weighted mean Norway Germany Great Britain In figure 2 the development in the Nordic countries is compared to major mobile countries like Germany and the UK as well as to the weighted mean of all countries. In this group Finland is the cheapest in 2006 and the figure shows that price level in Nordic countries is low. The decrease in prices in Sweden has been very fast. Figure 3. Price baskets in 2006 and the size of mobile markets 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 20 40 60 80 Mobile markets, millions of subscriptions eu ro s/ m on th Hintakorit 2006 Lin. (Hintakorit 2006) Price baskets, 2006 Trend Finland 17 The figure 3 describes the level of price baskets in proportion to the county’s mobile markets. The result can be explained so that the price competition in big mobile countries is more even and more controllable than in less significant mobile markets. In smaller markets the basket deviation is significant. Finland holds the lowest point in the figure. Figure 4. Price baskets in 2006 and density of population 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 100 200 300 400 500 Inhabitants/km2 eu ro s/ m on th Hintakorit 2006 Trendi Price baskets, 2006 Trend Finland Figure 4 represents the connection between the price baskets and the density of population. In countries where the density of population and the mobile market are more significant, the price baskets are more expensive. However, the correlation between these factors is not tough. 18 Figure 5. Price baskets in 2006 and GNP per inhabitant 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 20 40 60 80 1000 euros/inhabitants (GNP 2005) eu ro s/ m on th Hintakorit 2006 Trendi ( log.) Germany Finland Trend (log.) Price baskets, 2006 When the price basket of each country and the GNP per capita are shown, the situation can be seen in figure 5. Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg and Denmark can be identified with the help of cheap baskets in the figure. Values of price baskets do not strongly depend on the level of GNP. 19 6 Examination of pre-paid subscriptions 6.1 Pre-paid subscriptions in certain countries The situation of pre-paid subscriptions above all in Southern Europe seems to be on a firm basis. In figure 6 a description of the statue of pre-paid situation based on the information in appendix 5 can be found. It must be noticed that in countries with tough competition such as Finland, the proportion of pre-paid subscriptions is low when compared to the mean of other countries involved in the study. However, the statistics on pre-paid subscriptions are not as reliable as they are in post-paid. Figure 6. The proportion of pre-paid subscriptions to the total number of subscriptions in the beginning of 2006 0 % 10 % 20 % 30 % 40 % 50 % 60 % 70 % 80 % 90 % 100 % Fin lan d Den mark Switz erl an d Fra nc e Aus tria Norw ay Ice lan d Spa in Germ an y Swed en Lu xe mbo urg Neth erl an ds Belg ium Grea t B rita in Gree ce Ire lan d Ita ly Port ug al Pre-paid subscriptions 6.2 Price level of pre-paid subscriptions The operators’ pre-paid prices differ significantly in different countries. It can be seen that pre-paid subscriptions are favoured in certain countries and by certain operators because of the market situation, distribution process and because of user experience. In many countries price differences between pre-paid and post-paid alternatives are almost non- existent, which partly explains the popularity of pre-paid -subscriptions. 20 Loading call time and buying rights of use can nowadays be done via web or cash dispenser besides the traditional methods. An example of an operator with aggressive pricing methods is Swedish Tele2 and its Kontakt-subscription. To describe the situation, information about the most significant operators’ pre-paid prices of those countries with population over 10 million has been collected in figure 7. Also this figure consists of information about the price level of Finland and Sweden although subscription numbers of these two countries are not above the criteria. All the prices included in the figure are on-net prices. Figure 7. Price comparison of calls of pre-paid and post-paid subscriptions in the beginning of 2006, on-net calls in daytime 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6 Te le 2 M ob il D na Fi nl an d T- M ob ile TI M TM N Te le fo ni ca M ov ile s C os m ot e KP N M ob ile O ra ng e T- M ob ile Sw eden Finland Great Britain Italy Portugal Spain Greece Nether- lands France Germany euros/min Post-paid Pre-paid 21 7 Conclusion The study contains information on mobile call prices in 18 European countries from 2005 to 2006. To some extent this study also contains information from earlier years. The country specific basket price contains a definition which describes the costs of private household users, when selecting the cheapest post-paid subscription. Information contains data on basic services of mobile operators, such as prices of calls and SMS and monthly fees. The decrease in price baskets has continued but the development differs depending on the country. In some cases the prices have increased and in certain countries the decreases have been very significant. In April 2006 the cheapest price basket was in Finland. The cost to the user in Finland has decreased by 20% when compared to the price of the previous year. Sweden is the second cheapest before Luxembourg and Denmark. Weighted mean of subscriptions of all countries has decreased by 3% compared to the year 2005. Price basket of the cheapest country (Finland) is one third of the price of the most expensive one (Germany). When the time series in 2001-2006 are examined, it can be seen that the basket prices of bigger countries are remarkably higher than those of smaller countries. The decrease in prices has been less significant in big countries than in smaller mobile telecommunication markets. The study also contains information on pre-paid subscriptions and these subscriptions have been compared to the situation of post-paid subscriptions. Especially in Southern European countries pre-paid subscriptions are more common than post-paid. 22 8 Sources Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 30/2001: Prices for digital mobile phones – international comparison Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland B40/2001: Consumer prices for digital mobile phones – international comparison, September 2001 Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 33/2002: Prices for digital mobile phones – international comparison Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 32/2003: Prices for digital mobile phones – international comparison Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 41/2004: Mobile phone prices – international comparison Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 34/2005: Mobile service markets in Finland 2004 Ministry of Transport and Communications Finland 51/2005: Prices of mobile calls in 2005. International comparison UMTS Forum www.vaihtovirta.fi Annual report of Elisa 2005 Annual report of TeliaSonera 2005 Mobile Communications, January 31, 2006 Operators’ www-pages, fact sheets and annual reports Finnet Association http://www.vaihtovirta.fi/ 23 Appendix 1. The www-pages of operators included in this study Netherlands KPN Mobile www.kpn.com Vodafone www.vodafone.nl T-Mobile www.t-mobile.nl Orange www.orange.nl Belgium Belcacom Mobile www.proximus.be Mobistar www.mobistar.be Base www.base.be Great Britain T-Mobile www.t-mobile.co.uk O2 www.o2.co.uk Orange www.orange.co.uk Vodafone www.vodafone.co.uk Spain Telefonica Moviles www.movistar.es Vodafone www.vodafone.es Amena www.amena.es Ireland Vodafone www.vodafone.ie O2 www.o2.ie Meteor www.meteor.ie Iceland Iceland Telecom/Siminn www.siminn.is Og Vodafone www.vodafone.is Italy TIM www.privati.tim.it Vodafone Omnitel www.vodafon.it Wind www.wind.it Austria Mobilkom www.a1.net T-Mobile www.t-mobile.at One www.one.at Tele.ring www.telering.at Greece Cosmote www.cosmote.gr Vodafone www.vodafone.gr TIM Hellas www.tim.com.gr Q-Telecom www.q-telecom.gr 24 Luxembourg Mobilux www.mobilux.lu Tele2 www.en.tango.lu Norway Telenor Mobil www.telenormobil.no NetCom www.netcom.no Portugal TMN www.tmn.pt Vodafone www.vodafone.pt Optimus www.optimus.pt France Orange www.orange.fr SFR www.sfr.fr Bouygues Telecom www.bouyguestelecom.fr Sweden TeliaSonera www.telia.se Tele2 www.tele2.se Vodafone www.vodafone.se Germany T-Mobile www.t-mobile.de D2 Vodafone www.vodafone.de E-Plus www.eplus.de O2 www.o2online.de Finland TeliaSonera www.sonera.fi Elisa www.elisa.fi DNA Finland www.dnafinland.fi Switzerland Swisscom Mobile www.swisscom-mobile.ch Sunrise www.mobile.sunrise.ch Orange Comms www.orange.ch Denmark TDC Mobile www.tdcmobil.dk Sonofon www.sonofon.dk Telia Mobile www.teliamobile.dk 25 Appendix 2. List and information of operators included in this study Country Subscriptions, million 1) Operator 1) Operators' subscriptions, million 1) Operators' market share, % Netherlands 16,4 KPN Mobile/Telfort 8,3 51 Vodafone 3,7 23 T-Mobile 2,4 15 Orange 2 12 Belgium 8,8 Belcacom Mobile 4,2 48 Mobistar 2,9 33 Base 1,7 19 Great Britain 66,0 T-Mobile 17,2 27 O2 16 26 Orange 14,6 23 Vodafone 14,8 24 Spain 42,0 Telefonica Moviles 20 48 Vodafone 12,1 29 Amena 10 24 Ireland 4,1 Vodafone 2 49 O2 1,6 39 Meteor 0,5 12 Iceland 0,3 Iceland Telecom/Siminn 0,2 67 Og Vodafone 0,1 33 Italy 68,9 TIM 27,6 44 Vodafone 21,8 34 Wind 13,9 22 Austria 8,6 Mobilkom 3,4 40 T-Mobile 2,1 25 One 1,8 21 Tele.ring 1,1 13 Greece 11,7 Cosmote 4,7 40 Vodafone 3,7 31 TIM Hellas 2,4 20 Q-Telecom 1 8 Luxembourg 0,7 P+T (Mobilux) 0,4 67 Tango (Tele2) 0,2 33 Norway 4,4 Telenor Mobil 2,8 64 NetCom 1,6 36 Portugal 11,6 TMN 5,3 46 Vodafone 3,9 34 Optimus 2,4 21 France 46,5 Orange 21,7 47 SFR 16,8 36 Bouygues Telecom 8,1 17 Sweden 10,0 TeliaSonera 4,5 47 Tele2 Mobil 3,6 38 Vodafone 1,5 16 Germany 74,7 T-Mobile 29,5 39 D2 Vodafone 25,8 35 E-Plus 9,6 13 O2 9,8 13 Finland 5,3 TeliaSonera 2,5 48 Elisa 2,0 37 DNA Finland 0,8 15 Switzerland 6,9 Swisscom/Natel 4,3 62 Sunrise 1,3 19 Orange Comms 1,3 19 Denmark 5,4 TDC Mobile 2,6 50 Sonofon 1,5 29 Telia Mobile 1,1 21 1) Source: Mobile Communications January 31, 2006. 26 Appendix 3. Operators and subscriptions included in this study Country Operator Chosen subscription 1) Packet-pricing 2) Starting fee 3) Netherlands KPN Mobile/Telfort KPN Mobiel 150 x Vodafone Vodafone 150 x T-Mobile Relax 150 x x Orange Free x x Belgium Belcacom Mobile Proxi Smile x Mobistar Bestdeal x Base Base advantage 20 x Great Britain T-Mobile Relax 25 x O2 Online 50 x Orange Racoon x Vodafone Anytime 200 x Spain Telefonica Moviles Conrato 24h x Vodafone Universal 25 x x Amena Libre 18 x x Ireland Vodafone Perfect fit 100 x O2 Actice life 150 x Meteor Meteor Talk 60 x Iceland Iceland Telecom/Siminn AlmennÁskrift Og Vodafone Simply Italy TIM Unica 10 x Vodafone Valore x Wind Wind 10 x Austria Mobilkom Easy x T-Mobile Relax 100 x One One Plus 20 x Tele.ring Mobil 90 x Greece Cosmote Cosmote 120 x Vodafone Vodafone 100 x TIM Hellas TIM 120 x Q-Telecom Q1 Luxembourg P+T (Mobilux) Cool Tango (Tele2) Twist Norway Telenor Mobil Fri 120 x x NetCom Activ Talk x Portugal TMN Plano x Vodafone Plano best Optimus Total France Orange Classique x SFR Forfaits ESSENTIEL x Bouygues Telecom Forfait NEO x Sweden TeliaSonera Mobil till alla x Tele2 Mobil Knock out x Vodafone Abonnemang 99 x Germany T-Mobile Relax 100 x D2 Vodafone Vodafone 100 x E-Plus Time&More 100 x O2 Active 100 x Finland TeliaSonera Netto Elisa Aito DNA Finland Onni Switzerland Swisscom/Natel Swiss liberty x Sunrise minute 120 x Orange Comms Optima 100 x Denmark TDC Mobile MobilExtra 100 x Sonofon Debillos x Telia Mobile Telia Go x 1) Connection chosen is the one, which fills out the criteria of cheapest connection. 2) Monthly subscription fee includes calls, SMS text messages or the fee is compensated in billing. 3) Prices when starting a call. Source: Mobile Communications, January 31, 2006. 27 Appendix 4. An example of Finnish subscription supply in April 2006 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Supply of mobile subscriptions in Finland eu ro s/ m on th Liittymien kustannukset 2006 Liittymien kustannukset 2005Costs of subscriptions, 2006 Costs of subscriptions, 2005 Usage per month: 150 minutes, 50 calls, 25 SMS. Subscriptions of the Finnish price basket are presented in the marked area. Alternatives shown in the figure include also different kinds of packet offerings, which are ment to heavier use than the chosen criteria represents. (Source: www.vaihtovirta.fi, April 2006) 28 Appendix 5. The number of pre-paid subscriptions in the target countries Country All mobile subscriptions, million 1) Share of pre- paid in each country, % Operator 1) Share of pre- paid in each operator, % 1) Included within the pre-paid price comparison Subscription type Netherlands 16,4 58 KPN Mobile 56 x KPN PrePaid Vodafone 54 T-Mobile 60 Orange 70 Belgium 8,8 64 Belcacom Mobile 59 Mobistar 60 Base 81 Great Britain 66 65 T-Mobile 81 x Everyone O2 66 Orange 66 Vodafone 61 Spain 42 50 Telefonica Moviles 48 x Tarjeta total Vodafone 51 Amena 54 Ireland 4,1 75 Vodafone 73 O2 73 Meteor 90 Iceland 0,3 47 Iceland Telecom/Siminn 47 Og Vodafone 46 Italy 68,9 77 TIM 75 x TIM Planet Vodafone Omnitel 92 Wind 90 Austria 8,6 43 Mobilkom 43 T-Mobile 58 One 44 Tele.ring 23 Greece 11,7 67 Cosmote 62 x What´s up Vodafone 66 TIM Hellas 64 Q-Telecom 89 Luxembourg 0,7 57 Mobilux na Tango (Tele2 ) 57 Norway 4,4 45 Telenor Mobil 47 NetCom 41 Portugal 11,6 81 TMN 82 x Perto Vodafone 80 Optimus 82 France 46,5 37 Orange 38 x La mobicarte SFR 38 Bouygues Telecom 32 Sweden 10 55 TeliaSonera 55 Tele2 Mobil 71 x Vodafone 34 Germany 74,7 51 T-Mobile 52 x Xtra Tarife D2 Vodafone 53 E-Plus 48 O2 49 Finland 5,3 7 TeliaSonera 4 Elisa 0 DNA Finland 30 x Dna Prepaid Switzerland 6,9 35 Swisscom/Natel 38 Sunrise 30 Orange Comms 30 Denmark 5,4 28 TDC Mobile 28 Sonofon 33 Telia Mobile 28 1) Source: Mobile Communications, January 31, 2006. Introduction Focus of study Target countries and operators Target services included in this report Price basket and its structure Definition of price basket Choice of mobile subscriptions The meaning of the price basket Information about mobile markets Information about countries involved in the study 3G network development in the years 2005-2006 Price basket of post-paid subscriptions 2006 Price basket in 2006 Evaluation of the development Examination of pre-paid subscriptions Pre-paid subscriptions in certain countries Price level of pre-paid subscriptions Conclusion Sources