Belgium: Country Intelligence Report
Summary
Belgium is the seventh most populated country in Western Europe with a population of 11.4m as of 2017. We expect the population to grow at a CAGR of 0.5% over the 2017-2022 periods to reach 11.7m by 2022 driven by increase in life expectancy and immigration. Belgium’s nominal GDP will reach US$469.5bn in 2017, a 0.5% growth over 2016. Belgium will experience higher growth over the next two years led by an accommodative fiscal stance and rise in private consumption to reach $563.4bn by 2022, a 4.7% CAGR over 2017-2022.
Telecom services revenue in Belgium is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 2.3% during 2017-2022, primarily driven by rising smartphone adoptions, increasing OTT consumption as well as high-speed LTE connectivity. Mobile data will be the largest revenue-contributing and fastest-growing segment, followed by fixed broadband. Both are estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% and 2.5%, respectively, during 2017-2022. Going forward, operators should continue to focus on network investments and upgrades, particularly expanding 4G networks, and invest in 5G trials. Government plans to extend at least 30Mbps broadband speed to 100% of households by 2020 will open ample opportunities for operators in the market in coming years.
Belgian telecom services revenue will reach $6.6bn (6.2bn) by the end of 2017, a slight growth of 0.8% over 2016 in local currency. The revenue will decline by 0.2% in 2018 before recovering in 2019 and posting 0.7% CAGR in over 2017-2022. While decline in voice and messaging revenue will squeeze overall revenue growth, steady rise in demand for fixed broadband and robust growth projections for mobile data adoption will sustain revenue growth over the 2017-2022 forecast periods.
Mobile subscription penetration will grow from an estimated 137.3% in 2017 to 176.4% by 2022. The growth in subscription penetration over the forecast period will be facilitated mostly by gradual rise in adoption of M2M communications.
The report “Belgium: Country Intelligence Report” provides an executive-level overview of the telecommunications market in Belgium today, with detailed forecasts of key indicators up to 2021.
In particular, this report provides the following –
– Regional Context: Telecom market size and trends in Belgium compared with other countries in the region.
– Economic, demographic and political context in Belgium.
– The regulatory environment and trends: A review of the regulatory setting and agenda for the next 18-24 months as well as relevant developments pertaining to spectrum licensing, national broadband plans, number portability and more.
– Demand Profile: Analysis as well as historical figures and forecasts of service revenue from the fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, and mobile data markets.
– Service evolution: A look at changes in the breakdown of overall revenue between the fixed and mobile sectors and between voice, data and video from 2016 to 2021.
– Competitive landscape: An examination of key trends in competition and in the performance, revenue market shares and expected moves of service providers over the next 18-24 months.
– In-depth sector analysis of fixed telephony, broadband, mobile voice, and mobile data services: A quantitative analysis of service adoption trends by network technology and by operator, as well as of average revenue per line/subscription and service revenue through the end of the forecast period.
– Main Opportunities: Details the near-term opportunities for operators, vendors and investors in Belgium’s telecommunications markets.
Companies mentioned in this report: Proximus, Orange Belgium, Telenet, Lycamobile.
Scope
– The overall telecom service revenue in Belgium will grow at a CAGR of 2.3% during 2017-2022, mainly driven by growth in the mobile data and fixed broadband segment.
– Mobile revenue will account for 54.1% of total telecom revenue in 2022; mobile data will be the fastest-growing segment and will grow at a CAGR of 7.5% over the forecast period 2017-2022.
– The top two operators, Proximus and Orange Belgium, is estimated to account for 67.7% share of total mobile subscriptions in 2017. We expect competition to intensify further as operators focus on improving their mobile network by expanding to 4.5G networks and trials for 5G.
– The fiber segment is estimated to witness robust growth in the fixed market.
Reasons to buy
– This Country Intelligence Report offers a thorough, forward-looking analysis of Belgium’s telecommunications markets, service providers and key opportunities in a concise format to help executives build proactive and profitable growth strategies.
– Accompanying GlobalData’s Forecast products, the report examines the assumptions and drivers behind ongoing and upcoming trends in Belgium’s mobile communications, fixed telephony, broadband markets, including the evolution of service provider market shares.
– With more than 20 charts and tables, the report is designed for an executive-level audience, boasting presentation quality.
– The report provides an easily digestible market assessment for decision-makers built around in-depth information gathered from local market players, which enables executives to quickly get up to speed with the current and emerging trends in Belgium’s telecommunications markets.
– The broad perspective of the report coupled with comprehensive, actionable detail will help operators, equipment vendors and other telecom industry players succeed in the challenging telecommunications market in Belgium.