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19 million broadband connections in Romania
28.06.2016
“The democratisation of internet access has become a reality in Romania. The 4G upsurge and omnipresent 3G mobile coverage, hyper-speeds in the fixed networks, as well as the launch of ever more competitive offers, attracted 19 million connections capable of ensuring broadband internet access, at fixed and mobile locations. Moreover, the internet is used ever more intensely: through the fixed lines, the average monthly traffic /line exceeded 91 GB, while through mobile connections, we expect higher and higher growth over a long period from now on”, declared ANCOM’s president, Mr. Catalin Marinescu, during the event entitled “An Agenda for Digital Romania” organised by Finmedia.
At the end of 2015, there were 14.7 million mobile broadband connections and 4.3 million fixed broadband connections.
Exceptional quality fixed broadband internet
By the end of 2015, more than half of the fixed internet lines in Romania enabled download speeds above 100 Mbps. This is a unique situation in the European Union, where only 11% of the lines enabled such speeds by mid-2015.
While the number of fixed broadband internet lines keep the linear growth featured over the recent years, fixed internet uptake is soaring: with 91 GB, the average monthly traffic per fixed internet line in Romania registers exceptional levels in Europe.
Geographically, fixed broadband internet lines in densely populated areas of Romania (with more than 500 inhabitants/sq.km), is close to the 75% EU average. However, in sparsely populated areas (with less than 100 inhabitants/sq.km), the penetration gap between Romania and the EU average is wide – 45% in Romania compared to 62%, in the EU[1].
”The achievement of one of the most important targets of Romania’s Digital Agenda, fixed broadband coverage for 100% of the population by 2020, clearly requires public intervention. ANCOM is looking for solutions to help achieving this target, also considering the possibility to introduce broadband services within the scope of universal service”, added Catalin Marinescu during the event.
Mobile internet growth
The growth of mobile internet is reflected by significant increases and rise in all indicators, both extensively and intensively: number of connections (27% CAGR[2]during 2013-2015), technologies used (94%, of the 14.7 million active mobile connections at end-2015, were 3G or 4G), as well as in mobile internet traffic levels and in LTE coverage.
Average monthly internet traffic per mobile connection practically doubled in 2015 compared to 2014: from 0.26 GB in 2014 to 0.48 in 2015. ”Considering that mobile internet traffic is only 2% of the internet traffic in Romania, we expect this type of traffic to grow at spectacular paces for a long period from now on,” appreciated ANCOM’s president.
Moreover, by end-2015, the 4 network providers had installed approximately 100,000 3G and 4G cells in Romania, almost double compared to the GSM, which featured 53,000 cells at that time.
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