Alternative fixed telephony to soar to 54m euros

Alternative fixed telephony operators are likely to account for more than 20% of the entire domestic market by yearend, should the current pace of growth be sustained, Dan Georgescu, chairman of the National Communication Regulation Authority, told ZF. "These providers' market share widened from 4.1% in the first half of 2005 to around 10% at the end of last year. By comparison, in Great Britain, 20 years after the market liberalisation, alternative operators held a market share of about 18% in October 2005," specified Georgescu. Nicolae Oaca, a telecom analyst, states that at an average annual income of 70 euros per subscriber, the market of alternative operators was worth approximately 18 million euros in 2005. For the current year, Oaca expects the value of the market to triple. He even considers the fixed telephony market is likely to grow as a whole, and not only at the level of alternative operators.