18.10.2016

“In the first half of 2016, fixed internet users in Romania generated 2.6 million TB total download and upload traffic, i.e. 101 GB - average monthly consumption of per user. This traffic was achieved in the context of the constant growth of high-speed fixed internet connections, Romania ranking at the top of maximum average speeds of fixed internet access in Europe”, declared Cătălin MARINESCU, President of ANCOM. According to ANCOM’s latest Statistical data report, on 30 June 2016, Romanians accessed the internet at fixed locations using 4.3 million broadband connections, 56% of them enabling speeds above 100Mbps. Infographic here.

Fixed internet dynamics

ANCOM’s statistics as of 30 June 2016 show a 5% y.o.y. growth of broadband fixed connections in Romania, up to 4.3 million connections. Among these, more than a half (56%) enable best-effort speeds of at least 100Mbps, 31% - between 10Mbps and 100Mbps, and only 13% enable speeds of 10Mbps or below. With an average maximum internet access speed of 84.2 Mbps over fixed internet access connections, Romania ranks first in Europe, according to the Akamai State of the Internet Connectivity Report in Q2 2016.

Urban vs. rural internet

ANCOM’s report reveals a slightly higher growth in the number of connections installed in rural areas, i.e. by 5% (up to 1.2 million connections), compared to the growth in the number of connections installed in rural areas, i.e. by 4% (up to 3.1 million connections) y.o.y.. As for the enabled speeds’ distribution by residence area, most of the connections enabling ultrafast data transfer speeds, of at least 100 Mbps, are installed in urban areas: out of the 2.4 million such connections, only 0.3 million are installed in rural areas. The penetration rate per 100 households reached 53% on a national level, respectively 67% in urban areas and 35% in rural areas.

Fixed internet infrastructure

The data processed by the Authority reveal also that the broadband fixed internet infrastructure, which enables such high data transfer rates in Romania, witness significant increase y.o.y., in the FTTH segment, by approximately 70%, reaching 570 thousand at mid-2016. Thus, in the context of the operators’ upgrading their fiber optic networks and investing in FTTH technologies, xDSL connections dropped by 6%, while UTP/FTP connections decreased by 4%, the latter still holding the largest share (49%) in the total number of broadband Internet connections in Romania.

Moreover, one can see considerable growth, by 66% compared to 30 June 2015, in the fixed connections provided via mobile technologies, which are increasingly seen as an alternative in areas without coverage with fixed internet networks.

Fixed telephony dynamics

Romanians use fixed telephony services less and less, the voice traffic generated in the first half of 2016 dropped by 14% y.o.y., down to 1.7 billion minutes. On average, an average monthly traffic of 1 hour and 7 minutes was registered over an access line, by 11% less compared to the first half of 2015, with an average call duration of 3 minutes and 7 seconds.

Both the number of subscribers and the number of telephone lines witnessed slight decrease, by approximately 1%, down to 3.7 million subscribers, respectively to 4.2 million lines. On 30 June 2016, the fixed telephony penetration rate per 100 inhabitants was 21%, while per 100 households, it amounted to 46%.

ANCOM’s Statistical data report

ANCOM’s Statistical data report on the Romanian electronic communications market in the first half of 2016 is based on the statistical data reported by the active electronic communications service providers that carried out commercial activities during 1 January – 30 June 2016 and is available on the Authority’s website, here.