Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/02/2014 -- BMI View: Bulgaria's mobile market contracted in 2013 for the second consecutive year owing to inactive SIM discounting by the country's leading mobile operators. However, we believe this is a one-off development and expect annual growth to return in 2014, albeit moderated by sporadic quarterly contractions. We believe that the limited subscriptions growth opportunities in the mobile sector and increasing smartphone ownership will drive investments in 3G/4G mobile data networks during our forecast period, to 2018, as operators look to seek value growth to maintain profitability in their operations.

Key Data

- The mobile market contracted by 5.5% in 2013, compared to a contraction of 3.1% in 2012.
- The discounting of inactive SIMs by some operators resulted in improved performances in FY13, with market blended ARPU appreciating by 2.6% during the year.
- The fixed-line market contracted by 4.6% in 2013.

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Key Trends And Developments

Max Telecom could move ahead of the incumbent mobile operators in the 4G market with plans to launch commercial 4G services based on the LTE technology in H114. The operator was scheduled to launch the services in Sofia, Ruse, Sliven, Stara Zagora and Bansko at the end of December 2013, but postponed plans owing to bureaucratic red tape, reports TeleGeography. Max Telecom carried out the first successful trials in the country over its LTE network in October 2013. The operator is also conducting network trials and tests in Pleven, Veliko Tarnovo, Plovdiv and other resorts.

After initially opposing the government's position, Bulgarian mobile operators Mobiltel, Globul and Vivacom each introduced new subscription plans incorporating per-second billing on April 14 2014. The telecoms regulator the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) amended the general requirements for the provision of public electronic communications in January 2014 in order to accommodate the oprators' demands. The new plans - which are slightly more...

The Bulgaria Telecommunications Report features Business Monitor International (BMI)'s independent industry forecasts on the future strength of Bulgaria's ICT market, covering the fixed-line, mobile and internet segments and analyses latest regulatory developments and corporate news, including investment activity, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships. Leading operators and manufacturers are fully profiled, highlighting their quarterly financial performance, capital expenditure plans and latest contracts.

BMI's Bulgaria Telecommunications Report provides industry professionals and researchers, operators, equipment suppliers and vendors, corporate and financial services analysts and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on the telecoms industry in Bulgaria.

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