EUROPEAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK OPERATORS’ ASSOCIATION
The State Of Digital Communications in 2019
Digital is everything and everything is digital. As our societies and economies experience unprecedented tech-driven change, this Report provides you with the latest on one of the most important enablers of progress and growth: digital communications
E
uropeans enjoy a dynamic telecoms sector, which has delivered, over the years, on a series of key economic and societal enablers. In terms of direct impact, we note that broadband coverage is high (almost 97%), speeds are higher than he global average (70.5 MB for fixed, 34.9 MB for mobile) and infrastructure competition is vibrant. In terms
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of indirect impact, ETNO members created a yearly €139.4bn value added (including salaries, interest, …) and paid over €42bn of taxes. When looking at telecoms investment and spend, however, the European sector appears less healthy than global peers. CapEx per capita in Europe is €83.2, which is less than half than in Japan (€188.5) and lower than in the USA
(€135.3). In addition, Europeans use less (and hence spend less on) telecom services, with the average European telecoms spend per capita at €30.1, as opposed to over €70 in the US, €52 in Japan and €57.4 in Australia. This ultimately means that the investment capacity of the industry is being put under pressure, with the CapEx/revenue ratio at 18%. Our ability to deliver faster and more roll-out for
