According to the Commission’s Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) report for 2019, published this week the availability of ultrafast broadband has increased to 60% across Europe, up from 57% in 2017. telecom revenues

A study published by research group M-Lab and Cable.co.uk last November makes instructive reading.

Over the past year, all EU countries improved their digital performance. Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Denmark scored the highest ratings in DESI 2019 and are among the global leaders in digitalisation. These countries are followed by the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Ireland, Estonia, and Belgium.

Some other countries however still have a long way to go, and the EU as a whole needs improvement to be able to compete on the global stage. Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Poland have the lowest scores on the index.

In Connectivity, Denmark had the highest score, followed by Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland. Greece, Croatia and Lithuania had the weakest performance in this dimension of the DESI.

The connectivity dimension looks at both the demand and the supply side of fixed and mobile broadband. Under fixed broadband, it assesses the availability as well as the take-up of basic, fast (Next Generation Access – NGA providing of at least 30 Mbps ) and ultrafast broadband (at least 100 Mbps) and also considers the prices of retail offers. Mobile broadband includes the availability of 4G, the take-up of mobile broadband and a new indicator on 5G readiness. Digital connectivity is considered a social right in the EU.
A comparative assessment of fixed broadband (basic, fast and ultrafast) shows the Netherlands and Luxembourg as the best performers. In contrast, Greece, Poland and Croatia are shown to be among the worst performers.
As for mobile broadband, Finland, Denmark, Latvia and Italy lead Europe, while Romania and Hungary registered the lowest scores.

Telecom operators in Europe generated less revenue than the US operators. Revenues fell from EUR 213.8 billion in 2015 to EUR 213.4 billion in 2018 in Europe. At the same time, the US revenues increased by 2.7 % from EUR 286 billion to EUR 293 billion, despite its smaller population.
China saw its revenues increase by 16 %, rising from EUR 156 billion in 2015 to EUR 182 billion in 2018.

Note: This analysis is based on detailed figures from 26 EU Member States, which covered around 98% of the total EU market (total telecom carrier services). Data is not available for Malta and Cyprus.

The analysis of telecoms revenues (carrier services) by segment shows a decline in voice services (both fixed and mobile) revenues. telecom revenues

Telecom revenues refer to the income generated by telecommunications companies from the provision of telecommunications services. This can include a variety of services, such as fixed-line, mobile, and data services.

Fixed voice service revenues have fallen by 11.4 % since 2015, compared to 11.6 % for mobile services over the same period (2015 – 2018). Together, fixed and mobile voice services represented 43 % of total telecom revenues in 2018, compared with 49 % in 2015.
Mobile data services represented 28 % of total revenues in 2018, up from 25 % in 2015. The growth in mobile data services was accompanied by a decline in voice services.