Broadband services market. Broadband access. Key principles for successful broadband deployment

The number of wired Internet users in Russia (broadband access, broadband access) in 2017 increased by 4.3% to 32.9 million. This follows from the TMT Consulting report. Revenue from their services increased by 3.7% to RUB 130.1 billion. At the end of the year, broadband penetration in Russian households amounted to 58%.

Rostelecom had the largest increase in its subscriber base at the end of 2017 – the number of its subscribers increased by 400,000 (3.4%). TMT Consulting associates this with Rostelecom’s active construction and modernization of networks. In 2nd place in terms of growth is Er-Telecom Holding. Over the year, the number of its users increased by 386,000 (+12.4%). This is the fastest growth rate among the largest Russian providers. The company acquired a significant portion of new subscribers through mergers and acquisitions. In particular, Er-Telecom Holding bought Novotelecom from Novosibirsk last year, Akado in St. Petersburg and Sverdlovsk region, Columbia Telecom in Volgograd, noted in the report.

For the first time in the last few years, VimpelCom not only managed to stop the decline in its broadband subscriber base, but even increased the number of users of this service by 3.2%, according to the TMT report. Analysts attribute the growth to the development of the converged “All in One” offer (free home Internet for users of cellular tariffs of the “All” family). The user base of home fixed Internet has been steadily declining in 2013-2016, notes TMT Consulting analyst Irina Yakimenko.

« Rostelecom» continues expansion into small towns and villages, notes his representative Valery Kostarev. In 2014-2017 The operator, under the program to eliminate the digital divide, built 46,000 km of new fiber-optic communication lines, covering more than 5,600 villages and other settlements, he says. Rostelecom’s base is also expanding in large cities, where the operator has built optical access networks for up to 33 million households, adds Kostarev.

The strategy of acquiring assets in the broadband market is now the most effective way to develop the retail business of providers, says Iskratelecom CEO Alkhas Mirzbekov. According to him, another way of development is to work with developers and provide broadband access services in new buildings. In Moscow, the market has already been formed - and the growth of subscriber bases of certain providers is associated with the reconnection of clients from one provider to another, says Mirzabekov. Perhaps the shares of players in the Moscow market will change during the renovation, he predicts.

Active marketing and convergent tariffs allowed VimpelCom to increase its user base, notes its representative Anna Aibasheva. In 2017, the number of All-in-One users nearly doubled to more than 870,000, she says. More than half of those connected are new subscribers who have not previously used the company’s mobile or fixed-line services, says Aibasheva. According to her, the development of fixed-line communications is one of VimpelCom’s strategic priorities in 2018.

A company representative attributes the growth of Er-Telecom's subscriber base in 2017 to local operators. He also talks about the development of digital products and services. In 2017, Er-Telecom paid much attention to the quality of services, improving customer and technical services, modernizing the network and subscriber equipment, the operator’s representative lists.

February 2015

Analytical Report (full version)

February 2015

Market Review

February 2015

J'son & Partners Consulting presents brief preliminary results of the study Russian market fixed (wired) broadband Internet access in the segment of private users.

Market Review

The Russian fixed broadband market in the segment of private users dates back to 2002, when there were only a few thousand subscribers in this segment. In 2007, the market entered a stage of active growth, and after another 7 years in 2014, one can already note the transition to the stage of maturity and gradual saturation of demand.

According to preliminary estimates by J'son & Partners Consulting, the number of Russian households with fixed broadband Internet access in 2014 amounted to 29.7 million, an increase of 5% compared to 2013. Service penetration reached 53.6%. According to preliminary results from J’son & Partners Consulting, the volume of the Russian broadband market in the segment of private users in 2014 grew by 4% and amounted to almost 110 billion rubles.

Further market growth will occur due to the following factors:

Extensive increase in geographical coverage and development of data transmission networks;
. an increase in the number of devices and their variety (PCs, laptops, netbooks, tablets, set-top-boxes) in the home segment, as a result of an increase in the required bandwidth per household;
. increasing the attractiveness of tariff plans through complex tariffs (bundled offers).

The main market factors that will ensure growth in the number of subscribers are the extensive growth in coverage of small settlements by communication networks of medium and large Internet providers. In this regard, the revival of satellite broadband providers is possible.

SpaceX and Virgin Galactic plan to create a network of 4,000 microsatellites to provide broadband Internet access around the world. This method will make it possible to cover those parts of the planet where terrestrial network infrastructure is poorly developed, but there is a need for Internet access services. Nowadays, advanced satellite technologies have significantly reduced the cost of deployment, and small microsatellites can be launched in dozens at a time.

An increasing number of devices in a family and their diversity require more and more bandwidth for comfortable use of broadband services. In this regard, there is an active spread of optical technologies in the construction of data transmission networks (to a FTTH apartment, FTTB building, etc.). However, progress continues to improve copper access technologies.

In 2014, several companies presented their developments that could increase DSL speeds to 1 gigabit per second. Among them are Broadcom, the Chinese company Triductor Technology and the Israeli startup Sckipio. These developments in the development of DSL technology are positioned under the general name G.Fast and will extend the “life of the copper pair.”

It is worth noting that the development of mobile communication networks using LTE technology has not yet had a significant impact on the development of fixed Internet access; this technology is distributed mainly in regional centers and rather complements the need for fast Internet outside the home.

Average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) of broadband access will stabilize in the future; now providers are guided by the principle “ more internet for the same money,” which no longer talks about reducing the cost of tariffs as such; instead, operators are increasing access speeds. The tariff policy of operators will continue to focus on Special offers according to tariffs and package offers, which actually reduce the cost of services individually, but maintain total income operator. As a result, the average income per broadband subscriber will drop to 310 rubles per month by 2016. Thus, the annual increase in the number of home broadband connections will be the main driver of market growth.

According to J"son & Partners Consulting forecasts, in the next 2 years the growth of fixed broadband subscribers will be at the level of 2-3% per year. By 2016, the number of subscribers will be 31.4 million. The market volume will continue to grow by 2-3% due to increase in subscribers with a stable ARPU of 310 rubles per month.

Despite the stabilization of quantitative market indicators, qualitative changes continue. The increase in the number of devices and their diversity, cloud services requires increasing bandwidth of access channels. Wherein tariff plans begin to include more and more services, resulting in a total reduction in their cost.

The beginning of competition between wired broadband access and fourth generation mobile communications (LTE) and satellite communications in small towns and remote areas cannot be ruled out. In such areas, satellite two-way Internet tariffs are already approaching wired broadband tariffs. For example, in the Kamchatka Territory they are already at the same level in terms of subscription fees and access speed.

Competitive situation

In total, the top five account for two-thirds of the market, both in terms of subscribers (66.2%) and revenue from broadband services (69.0%). The undisputed leader remains Rostelecom with a market share in subscribers and revenue of 35.1% and 38.7%, respectively. The share of other players is gradually decreasing. The top three in terms of number of subscribers are closed by Er-Telecom (9.7%) and VimpelCom (8.5%). In terms of revenue from the provision of home broadband services, ER-Telecom took second place at the end of 2014 (10.6%), VimpelCom took third place with a share of 8.8%. There were no structural changes in the ranking in 2014.

It is worth noting that VimpelCom’s subscriber base showed growth in 2014, despite the fact that the data does not take into account cities in which the company stopped providing wired broadband services in 2014.

Rostelecom also took a leading position in terms of absolute growth in its subscriber base. In total, in 2014, the company increased the number of subscribers by 610 thousand. TransTeleCom and MTS took second and third places in this category, increasing their subscriber base by 170 thousand and 160 thousand subscribers, respectively.

Main trends of the broadband access market in the medium term:

• Increase in the share of package offers in the number of new connections of telecom operators. The broadband market began to increasingly overlap with adjacent markets (pay television, telephony). At this point in time, operators are trying to provide subscribers with comprehensive offers: package offers are being created to better meet the needs of subscribers, as well as to increase operators’ profits from one client.

With the growing share of package offers in operator sales, the question of how operators account for income from such contracts is becoming increasingly relevant. A survey of the top 5 operators conducted by J"son & Partners Consulting showed that operators currently do not have a unified accounting scheme for packaged tariff plans. Providers use the following accounting options:

 Direct division of the cost of services, which is also specified in the agreement with the subscriber
 Proportional division of the cost of the package by the cost of monoservices
 Cost sharing based on billing and financial accounting

• Operators prioritize quality of service and increasing subscriber loyalty.

There is a trend in the European market to increase loyalty through the free provision of additional services. Deutsche Telekom and BT provide free parental control services and cloud storage space when ordering package offers. In Russia, such services are mostly paid, even when ordering package tariff plans. In addition, tariff contracts abroad have a subscription period of 12 months or more, which is also aimed at reducing the outflow of subscribers.

• The development of services such as “triple play” and “quadro play” (Internet, TV, telephony and cellular communications) and the development of a single bill for all services, which will cover several devices, are expected. 

Industry representatives' opinions:

As part of the preparation of the study, J"son & Partners Consulting specialists interviewed the top 5 players in the Russian market for fixed broadband Internet access and found out their opinions on the main trends in the coming years.

- What are the main trends that will take place in the Russian fixed broadband market in 2015-2016?

Maria Florentyeva

Rostelecom, Vice President for Strategy, M&A and IR

“In the next two years, market saturation in large and medium-sized cities will continue in the fixed broadband segment. The driver of growth will be small towns that are not yet fully covered by fixed access. At the same time, the project to eliminate the digital divide, implemented with the support of the state, will make it possible to cover remote and sparsely populated areas with fiber optics, which will increase the level of penetration of broadband Internet access throughout the country. In addition, there will be an active growth in digital consumption: an increase in the required Internet access speed, an increase in service consumption, and an expansion of the list of consumed services and additional services. The related OTT and IPTV segments will grow rapidly, as the massive construction of optical access networks and the reduction in the cost of HDTV-ready and Smart TV TVs will make it possible to provide TV services in HD quality and interactive format.”

Andrey Chazov
Er-Telecom, Product Director, Dom.ru

“The growing number of devices that require access to the Internet continues to have a significant impact on the market. In addition to PCs, families are increasingly using laptops, tablets and smartphones, as well as Smart TVs. Subscribers are increasingly consuming innovative services - interactive TV, multiscreen, OTT services. Subscribers are increasingly accessing the network using wireless access, which entails an increase in the number of Wi-Fi spots.

The constant growth of heavy content in the total volume of traffic places new demands on the operator’s network, quality and uninterruption, and the comfort of consuming services. Providing such access, further increasing speeds, improving the quality of service and maintenance are becoming one of the key tasks of providers.

Thus, operators need to invest in network modernization, including Wi-Fi, develop additional services and services, and focus on customer service. But the crisis will restrain these plans, force them to save, and recalculate the return on projects.”

Svetlana Shamzon
TTK Company, Vice President of TTK - Head of the Access block

“Small towns in Russia today indeed remain growth points for wired broadband operators, however, against the backdrop of a significant increase in cost investment projects, resulting from the currency crisis and rising borrowing costs, the speed of construction of broadband networks in the regions is likely to slow down. We can expect a redistribution of the regional market in favor of large federal players and a gradual withdrawal of small local home network operators from it.

Despite the temporary stabilization of ARPU, we believe that in the medium term, revenue per subscriber in the broadband access segment will grow. This is facilitated by an increase in the cost of broadband access services (increasing utility bills, equipment costs), as well as a significant lag in the average ARPU level in Russia compared to European markets, to which our country is largely oriented. Today, the cost of broadband services in Europe starts at an average of 20 euros per month, while in Russia this figure does not exceed 5 euros.”
 

The newsletter was prepared by J"son & Partners Consulting. We make every effort to provide actual and forecast data that fully reflects the situation and is available at the time of publication of the material.

J"son & Partners Consulting reserves the right to revise the data after individual players publish new official information.

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Contents of the full version of the Report: "Prospects for the Russian broadband Internet access market. Comparison with the foreign market. Preliminary results of 2014"

1. Summary
2. Introduction. Description of the study and methodology
3. Wired broadband market in Russia
3.1. Number of subscribers in private and corporate segments
3.2. Broadband penetration in private and corporate segments
3.3. Market volume in monetary terms in the private and corporate segments
3.4. Average income per subscriber (ARPU) in private and corporate segments
3.5. Market structure by access technologies in the private and corporate segments
4. Competitive situation on the market of broadband network operators in Russia in the private segment
4.1. Description of the Top 5 leading providers in Russia
4.2. Technologies used by providers and plans for their modernization
4.3. Dynamics of the number of subscribers of leading providers
4.4. Tariff policy of leading providers

4.5. Research of opinions of broadband access users from leading operators, advantages and disadvantages of operators, according to broadband access users
5. Traffic in broadband networks
5.1. Volume of consumed traffic in broadband networks, broken down by federal district
5.2. Share of traffic consumed via xDSL channels, broken down by federal district
5.3. Traffic consumption forecast
6. Analysis of the broadband network market by type of Russian city in the private segment, 2nd quarter. 2014
6.1. Cities with a population of over a million
6.1.1. Description of the largest broadband network operators. Geography of presence
6.1.2. Coverage of households of leading operators with broadband networks
6.1.3. Number of households connected to broadband networks
6.2. Cities with a population from 500 thousand to 1 million
6.2.1. Description of the largest broadband network operators. Geography of presence
6.2.2. Coverage of households of leading operators with broadband networks
6.2.3. Number of connected households to broadband networks
6.3. Cities with a population from 100 to 500 thousand.
6.3.1. Description of the largest broadband network operators. Geography of presence
6.3.2. Coverage of households of leading operators with broadband networks
6.3.3. Number of connected households to broadband networks
7. Analysis of GPON technology in Russia as the most promising
7.1. Dynamics of the number of users connected via GPON technology
7.2. Operators providing GPON technology
7.2.1. Number of users
7.2.2. Tariff policy
7.2.3. Players' plans for the development of GPON networks
8. Foreign wired broadband market
8.1. Number of broadband subscribers in the world
8.2. Market structure by access technologies
8.3. Countries with the highest optical technology penetration
8.4. Top 10 countries for wired broadband access in the private segment
8.5. Top 10 countries by broadband connection penetration per 100 inhabitants
8.6. Tariff policy of foreign GPON operators
9. Conclusion

According to the results of the study, the communications market in Moscow is in deep stagnation. According to Direct INFO, the total market volume for 9 months of 2016 amounted to 104.1 billion rubles and, compared to 2015, decreased by 6%. The penetration level of broadband Internet access in Moscow decreased by 1%, presumably due to competition between fixed-line technologies and mobile ones.

Operators' market shares have also changed. The only operator that demonstrated an increase in its presence in the market was MGTS. Compared to 2015, MGTS’s share in the broadband Internet market increased by 4% to 37%; in the digital TV market, the operator’s share increased by 8% to 34% compared to last year. At the end of 2016, MGTS was recognized as a leader in these market segments.

Key points of the study:

• Revenue from the provision of communication services by Moscow operators amounted to 582 billion rubles and decreased by 1.9% year-on-year;
• The total volume of the market for fixed-line communications, data transmission and the Internet* amounted to 104.1 billion rubles for 9 months of 2016 and, compared to 2015, decreased by 6%. This is due to the crisis, as a result of which all consumer segments showed negative dynamics;
• The number of fixed Internet subscribers in Moscow at the end of 2016 was 3.72 million (since the beginning of 2016, the decline was 1%; the fixed broadband market for the population declined for two quarters in a row). The total market volume in monetary terms amounted to about 11.9 billion rubles at the end of the year;
• The pay TV market is characterized by general stagnation and even a slight reduction in the pay TV market in January-September 2016. This may be due to competition between the service and other channels: OTT video services, online video. The growth in operator income in this market is primarily due to an increase in tariffs for services;
• Fixed broadband penetration level decreased slightly over the year due to competition with mobile internet(from 92% to 91%). The penetration level of digital pay TV remained approximately at the same level (about 32%).

In conditions of stagnation, the following changes in the shares of the main players in the market occurred:

• Three players - MGTS, Rostelecom and Beeline - control more than 70% of the broadband market in terms of the number of clients. MGTS is in first place by the number of clients (37%), Rostelecom is in second (22%), and Beeline is in third (14%). MGTS's share in the market has increased significantly (from 34% in 2015 to 37%). The share of Beeline and Akado, as well as small operators, decreased;
• Three players - MGTS, Rostelecom and Akado - control more than 77% of the paid digital TV market in Moscow in terms of the number of clients. MGTS is in first place (34%), Rostelecom is in second (24%), and Akado is in third (19%). MGTS's share in the market has increased significantly (from 26% in 2015 to 34%). The share of Beeline and Akado decreased. Rostelecom's share remained at approximately the same level.

“We are able to maintain the growth rate of our broadband user base thanks to the unique speed characteristics of our tariffs. We try to maintain the market average ARPU with virtually no reduction, providing our users with more speed than our competitors. At the end of 2016, more than 30% of our subscribers were connected at speeds of more than 100 Mbit/s. Convergent offers with TV and mobile communications also play an important role in preserving ARPU. All this together led to a noticeable increase in broadband revenue in 2016 compared to 2015,” MGTS Marketing and Business Development Director Dmitry Kulakovsky commented on the research results.

CompanyJ’ son & PartnersConsulting presents brief results of a study of the Russian fixed broadband access (BBA) market among private users .

Russian market by number of fixed broadband users ranks 1st in Europe and 4th in the world. There are more fixed broadband users only in China, the USA and Japan. In terms of penetration, Russia ranks 8th among the world's 10 largest fixed broadband markets, ahead of China and Brazil.

Key Research Questions

In the report “Main indicators of the fixed broadband market in Russia. Development Forecast until 2025” analyzes the total market volume, market structure by technology and competitive situation, and also provides forecasts for further market development.

Practical value of the study

• Estimation of the number of subscribers and the volume of the fixed broadband market;
• dynamics of market structure by technology and access speed (tariff plan);
• general forecast of the structure of the broadband access market by type of mobile and fixed access;
• prospects for the development of key market indicators until 2025;
• description and analysis of key legislative initiatives in the field of communications;
• more than 40 profiles of regional operators with an assessment of their activity, strengths and weaknesses.

The target audience

The study is intended for fixed data operators providing their services in Russia or planning to enter the Russian fixed broadband Internet access market, investment companies, research agencies and other companies participating or potentially interested in participating in the broadband market in Russia.

Summary of the study

Description of the fixed broadband market

The market for fixed broadband Internet access in Russia is at the stage of saturation. Market growth rates continue to decline, and in the near future they will not exceed 1-2%.

According to preliminary estimatesJ" son & PartnersConsulting, in 2015 the number of fixed broadband users in Russia increased by 2%, to 30.3 million users.

Assessment of the competitive situation

The total subscriber base of the top 5 players grew by 490 thousand subscribers, an increase of 2.5%. In 2015, Rostelecom and MTS showed strong growth - 284 and 147 thousand subscribers, respectively. In its comments to this press release, Rostelecom notes that the high pace of network construction ensures the growth of “optical” broadband subscribers at a rate higher than the market.

The leaders of the rating are still the companies Rostelecom and Er-Telecom. In 2015, there were changes in the ranking of broadband operators. MTS took third place in terms of the number of broadband subscribers, displacing VimpelCom to fourth position.

As er-Telecom notes in the comments below, the company managed to fulfill planned indicators in terms of revenue and subscriber base due to organic growth and M&A transactions. At the end of 2015, the subscriber base of the broadband service reached 2.8 million. The TTK company reports that its subscriber base grew faster than the market - 6% in 2015. NETBYNET reports that they were able to maintain their subscriber base in those regions where the company holds leading positions and increase their base in growing markets. The operator AKADO Telecom also comments that, despite the dumping of the main players, in 2015 the company managed to maintain its broadband customer base and increase the share of users of comprehensive services (Internet + digital TV).

Main trends in the Russian market of fixed broadband Internet access among private users:

• Growth in high-speed tariff plans (100 Mbit/s and more)

Over the past 2 years, the share of users who chose tariff plans with speeds of 100 Mbit/s or more has doubled. Tariffs with speeds of 1 Mbit/s and lower are practically a thing of the past; they account for no more than 3% of connections.

• Growth of connections using optical technologies, includingPON

The growth of video services on the Internet requires more and more bandwidth for comfortable use of broadband services. In this regard, there is an active spread of optical technologies in the construction of data transmission networks (to a FTTH apartment, FTTB building, etc.). According to J"son & Partners Consulting, in 2015 the growth of FTTH/B subscribers was 12%. ADSL technology continues to lose ground. Thus, in the 2nd quarter of 2015, a significant event was the predominance of “optical” users over “copper” users for the company Rostelecom, which clearly shows the obsolescence of ADSL and the gradual withdrawal of this technology from the Russian broadband market.

• Increased penetration of broadband devices and their diversity (Multiscreen)

In Russia, the variety of access devices is growing and the gradual replacement of desktop computers with portable ones continues. According to J"son & Partners Consulting, in Russia in 2015, 53% of families used desktop PCs, 63% used laptops. In addition, over the past three years, the average retail price of a smartphone and tablet PC has decreased, even taking into account the price increase in 2015 These devices have become available to people with almost any income level, and their sales have increased significantly. Thus, different family members began to actively use broadband access from different devices and often simultaneously.

Industry Opinions

As part of the preparation of the study, J"son & Partners Consulting specialists interviewed key players in the fixed broadband market and found out their opinions on the main trends in the corporate market.

Artem Chermenin

PJSC Rostelecom, Director of the Mass Segment Products Department

In 2015, Rostelecom continued building optical access networks at a record pace for the company. Over the 9 months of 2015, networks were built for up to 4 million households; in December, the total technical coverage reached 30 million households (the plan in accordance with the strategy is 33 million households). Thus, Rostelecom will ensure the competitiveness of access networks for many years to come with the ability to provide any range of services. This pace of construction ensures the growth of “optical” broadband subscribers at rates higher than the market. At the same time, the number of broadband subscribers connected via copper continues to decline. In 2015, for the first time, the number of optical subscribers exceeded the number of copper subscribers: 52% versus 48%. This is a very important result for the company. Also, the active construction of optical networks stimulates the growth of the company’s second flagship segment - Interactive TV, the number of subscribers of which is growing by 25% year on year.

In terms of product offerings, the company prioritizes package solutions (Internet + TV). In a difficult economic situation, we focus on price advantages. The main word of 2015 in this regard was “Forever”: we developed and offered packages with favorable rates that will never change. That is, tariffs will remain low forever, and not just for a certain promotional period. In addition, if a subscriber simultaneously uses a home phone from Rostelecom, then additional preferences are provided for him. It is package offers that ensure loyalty of the subscriber base and work to reduce churn.

Andrey Chazov

"Dom.ru", marketing director

One of the main trends is the updating of speed characteristics of tariffs: there are more and more offers with speeds of more than 100 Mbit/s.

The market continues to be significantly influenced by the further growth in the number of devices that require Internet access, including wireless. Increased requirements for the quality and comfort of service consumption lead to an increase in demand for dual-band routers that operate at two frequencies - 2.4 and 5 GHz - and provide a stable Wi-Fi signal. There has been a tendency to close torrent resources, which hinder the development of the industry. More and more users are beginning to consume licensed content.

The key to successfully attracting and retaining subscribers is the high quality of services: consistently high speed Internet access and no interruptions, high-quality images and big number digital and HD channels, additional services, call center availability, efficiency in resolving any issues. Our company plans to continue to actively develop the installed network capacity in all 56 cities of presence, implementing an effective package strategy and offering profitable terms when connecting mono services. We plan to develop OTT and other services that are on the periphery of two services - Internet access and digital TV. For example, more and more users want to watch video content from mobile devices and when it is convenient for them.

We met our revenue and subscriber base targets through organic growth and M&A transactions. At the end of 2015, the subscriber base of the broadband service reached 2.8 million people.

Alexey Nazarov

"NETBYNET" Director of Business Development for the Mass Market

In every industry there is a so-called turning point: a period during which irreversible changes occur in the market. In other words, there comes a point of no return when things will never be the same again. In the fixed-line market, this moment began in mid-2014, and now the “arrows” have irrevocably moved us into a different era. era rapid growth The fixed broadband market has ended. Now growth is increasingly achieved through additional services based on familiar services: Internet access, pay TV and telephony. The development of OTT video services has begun actively; last year there were many steps aimed at providing even better quality service. Another significant point was that the term “Cost Effective” has become almost the most popular in the strategy of many of our colleagues in the market.

We firmly decided that we would not enter into price wars with our market partners, since such a strategy would destroy the market much earlier than those playing the “sales at any cost” game would receive any dividends from it. We will continue to focus on new products, quality and service, and we encourage our market colleagues to do the same. We introduced a new bonus program, developed and implemented various promotional and product cases for existing clients, and modernized the network where necessary. In 2015, NETBYNET clients began to more actively purchase package offers that allow significant savings. For example, when purchasing services as part of the Wifire package, you can save up to 30%.

Maxim Chernov

"AKADO Telecom" deputy general director for commercial activities

The main trend is a slowdown in market growth due to the difficult economic situation in the country, falling income levels, lack of import substitution of Internet equipment, lack or reduction of investments in the construction of new networks and an increase in the cost of broadband services. Therefore, all the efforts of operators were aimed at maintaining the existing subscriber base: companies increased speeds, reduced tariffs, improved package offers, and abandoned promotional offers that contributed to the outflow of subscribers.

For home Internet users based on broadband access, AKADO Telecom plans to launch such services as Security Alarm, Video Surveillance, and Home Automation. We focus not only on ensuring high speed and reliability of channels, but also on creating a high-speed, high-quality home Wi-Fi network for subscribers using modern additional equipment. In 2015, we significantly expanded the line of such equipment - these are Wi-Fi routers premium class, Wi-Fi repeaters, PLC devices that allow you to reliably connect any device in the house to the Internet without additional wires. In the near future, our company plans to introduce additional service work for computer equipment clients - “Emergency computer assistance”.

As for the subscriber base, despite the dumping of the main players, in 2015 we managed to maintain the broadband client base and increase the share of users of comprehensive services (Internet + DTV).

Oleg Leonov

"TTK" Head of Sales and Service Department

The main trend of 2015 is the saturation of the broadband access market and the slowdown in its growth. TTK's subscriber base grew faster than the market in 2015: the annual increase in TTK subscribers was 6%.

Against the backdrop of declining organic growth rates, there has been a trend towards acquisitions large companies smaller players, and we expect this trend to continue in 2016. Price competition has intensified, users can receive more and more high speed access for less money.

For further successful development in the market, our company focuses on maintaining High Quality The main service is Internet access. As our practice proves, it is the quality of service that is the main tool for retaining users, without which any traditional loyalty programs are of little importance.

Detailed results of the study are presented in full version report:

“Main indicators of the fixed broadband market in Russia. Development forecast until 2025"

Broadband Internet Access(abbreviated broadband) is also called high-speed access, which reflects the essence of this term - access to the Network at high speed - from 128 kbit/s and above. Today, when 100 Mbit/s is available to home subscribers, the concept of “high speed” has become subjective, depending on the needs of the user. But the term broadband access was introduced at a time when dial-up was widespread, when a connection was established using a modem connected to the public telephone network. This technology supports speeds of about a maximum of 56 kbit/s. Broadband involves the use of other technologies that provide significantly higher speeds. However, a connection, for example, using ADSL technology with a data transfer rate of 128 kbit/s also applies to broadband access.

From the history of broadband technology development

Around the beginning of the 2000s. dial-up technology has actively begun to be replaced by xDSL technologies (ADSL, HDSL, etc.), providing significantly higher access speeds. For example, ADSL2+ technology allows you to download data at a maximum speed of 24 Mbit/s, and upload at a speed of 3.5 Mbit/s. To obtain access using xDSL technology, a modem and a telephone line are also used, however, unlike dial-up access, the line is not completely occupied, that is, it remains possible to use both the telephone and the Internet at the same time.

Broadband today

Today, broadband Internet access is provided by various technologies- both wired and wireless. The first include the xDSL family of technologies, DOCSIS technology (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications - data transmission over a television cable), (data transmission in computer networks using twisted pair, optical cable or coaxial cable), the FTTx (fiber to the x) family of technologies - optical fiber to point X) and PLC (Power line communication - data transmission using power lines). As for FTTx, there are two basic varieties, although essentially they differ little from each other - (fiber to the building) and FTTH (fiber to the home).

Today, wireless Internet access technologies, especially mobile ones, are being actively introduced and developed. Fixed wireless access is provided through satellite Internet, technology and fixed line. However, many operators have already cellular communication and wireless providers offer . They are developing “third generation” () and higher technologies, which include communication standards such as , etc. Mobile WiMAX competes with these technologies. In the near future, we can expect the emergence of services based on the latest generation technology - i (3GPP Long Term Evolution), which provides data transmission of up to 173 Mbit/s for reception and 58 Mbit/s for upload.

Broadband operators

The largest broadband access operator in Russia is the company "", represented in all regions of the country. Rostelecom, through the acquisition of a number of RTOs (interregional communications companies), provides broadband access services using various technologies. According to the analytical agency iKS-Consulting at the end of the first quarter of 2011, Rostelecom occupies 36.1% of the Russian broadband access market in the segment of private users. The top three also includes “” (“”), with market shares of 9.5% and 8.3%, respectively. These operators provide Internet access via both wired and wireless “third generation” technologies. For example, MTS, having acquired the company "", became a large operator of Internet access services using ADSL and ADSL2+ technologies, and. Beeline, in addition to wireless access and mobile communications services, provides the service " Home Internet" By FTTB technologies(fiber to the building - fiber optic to the building).

In fourth place with a broadband market share of 7.7% is the operator "", which provides Internet access services under the Dom.ru brand using FTTB technology. The Akado company closes the top five leaders in the Russian broadband market with a share of 3.8%. The operator provides Internet access using DOCSIS and Fast Ethernet technologies.

The remaining Russian broadband providers occupy less than half of the market - their share is 34.6%.

Penetration of broadband services

According to iKS-Consulting, in the first quarter of 2011, the penetration of broadband Internet access services in Russia reached 36%, the number of subscribers in the private segment amounted to 19 million users. But it should be taken into account that in local markets local players - for example, providers in St. Petersburg or providers in Moscow - can occupy significant shares, surpassing the indicated large players in the total subscriber base. In St. Petersburg, among such players: “” (InterZet), “” (the “” brand, which, however, is now part of Rostelecom), (“SkyNet”), etc. In Moscow, such companies can be mentioned.