New regulations bring opportunities for FTTx in Spain

CAMBRIDGE, USA: FTTx in Spain is expected to skyrocket from just 0.2 million lines in 2011 to 4.9 million lines, or 18 percent of total access lines, in 2016, thanks to the Spanish regulator's reforms aimed at stimulating operator investment in network deployment and development, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

Spain: Network Rollouts Will Drive Opportunities in Broadband and Mobile Data offers a precise profile of the country's telecommunications, media and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid's research in the market. It provides a detailed competitive analysis of both the fixed and mobile sectors, tracks the market shares of technologies and services and monitors the introduction and spread of new technologies.

Over the past year, the Spanish government and telecom regulator CMT have introduced a number of regulations designed to ensure fair competition and help overcome the "digital divide" in Spain. "Investments in fiber-optic networks will allow operators in Spain to attract high-end customers with better service quality and attractive multi-play offers," says Dr. Ewa Romaniuk-Calkowska, analyst at Pyramid Research.

Driven primarily by increasing adoption of fiber, Pyramid expects broadband accounts to reach 14.5 million by 2016, increasing at a CAGR of 4.8 percent. "Intensified competition among the four major fixed operators (Telefonica, Vodafone, Orange and ONO) will continue to drive growth in the broadband market," notes Romaniuk-Calkowska.