BEREC REPORT ON IMPACT OF FIXED-MOBILE ... - berec - Europa

BoR (11) 54
In order to purchase a fixed broadband service, a consumer needs to rent the access
line to their property. Since this line is also needed to provide the fixed voice service it
is common to sell fixed voice and broadband services as a bundle. A mobile voice and
fixed voice service may be considered by some consumers to offer a functionally
similar service in the home, but because fixed networks tend to offer better broadband
speeds a bundle of mobile voice and broadband services may not be viewed as
equivalent to the fixed alternative. As superfast (fixed) broadband is rolled out to more
households the difference in the speed of fixed versus mobile broadband may become
even greater. However, where high speed mobile broadband (LTE) is available this
may make mobile access technology a real alternative.
As discussed below, fixed services currently have a higher capacity to offer television
services than mobile services. If consumers prefer to buy a bundle of telephony,
broadband and television services together then mobile may be less likely to be seen
as a substitute for fixed. The extent to which this matters depends on how consumers
purchase services e.g. do they prefer to purchase a bundle of services together or the
individual elements (which in turn may link to price and the structure of the offers).
It is worth considering which part of the bundle consumers value most in order to
understand what is driving consumer demand. For example, the fixed voice component
of a bundle may be largely seen as an ancillary service, with access to fixed broadband
driving demand. It is useful to understand these dynamics in an assessment of FMS.
However, bundling is not necessarily a barrier to FMS as is shown in the example
below.
Analysis of bundles in Austria
In its analysis of broadband FMS RTR found that bundles including fixed broadband
were relatively common (58% of DSL and CATV users purchased fixed voice alongside
fixed broadband, and 36% purchased TV alongside fixed broadband).However, around
20% of DSL and CATV users purchased their internet connection as a standalone
service. Also RTR noted that many households had given up their fixed voice access in
the past as prices for mobile telephony decreased. This indicated that a significant
share of people would be willing to give up their fixed voice access when switching to
mobile broadband.
Finally, RTR noted that in Austria the majority of households use a satellite (~50%) or
terrestrial antenna (5-7%) to receive TV signals limiting the potential for multi-play
bundles including TV. RTR concluded that there seems to be enough potential
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