Latvia: Latvia Communication Profile 2012

Latvia’s incumbent edging towards 75% fibre broadband coverage

Latvia’s telecom market has been shaped by the EU’s 2002 regulatory policies and the revised 2009 New Regulatory Framework. The country is as well a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the EU, but it is not expected to introduce the euro until 2014 at the earliest.

Although Latvia’s economy showed considerable increase following independence from Russia, this was swiftly halted in 2008 as a result of the economic crash. Real GDP contracted almost 18% in 2009, the highest part the EU27 member nations. This improved in 2010, and by 2011 GDP increase reached about 5%, before falling to about 2% in 2012. This cycle has had a profound result on the telecoms market, with consumer confidence in the economy resulting in lower spending on telecom services. The incumbent, Lattelecom, inclunding the major mobile network operators, has reported lower revenue since 2008, creating a knock-on result in the ability to fund network upgrades. Nevertheless, in contrast to a lot of other economic sectors, spending on telecom services will be buttressed by the utility nature of most services.

Latvia’s broadband market continues to suffer from inadequate evolution on local loop unbundling, though the government has stepped up its efforts to build a national fibre broadband network, recently securing funding from the EC.

A healthy digital TV market is evident, with offerings available from established cable TV, satellite, digital terrestrial TV and broadband TV providers. Digital TV uptake is increasing rapidly, and although parallel analogue broadcasting exists, the switch to digital terrestrial TV was completed in mid-2010, a lot of months before than originally scheduled.

Four GSM/CDMA/WCDMA mobile network operators vie for customers in a competitive market. LTE services have been launched commercially, while the recent auction of 2.6GHz spectrum will enable four players to use this band for LTE from 2014.

Key telecom parameters – 2010; 2013