PLN 41bn – this is the value of the Polish telecom market today, showing a further upward trend

The telecommunications market in Poland, despite its very high saturation, continues to attract users and build its value.

Three factors have been key to the market’s business climate in recent months:

the operators’ more-for-more strategy aimed at ensuring higher-margin services (in mobile and ISP segments),
demand for high-bandwidth fixed lines, which is triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic,
market consolidation and convergence of telecom services.

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RGU in the telecommunications market in Poland

According to PMR data, the Polish telecommunications market records approx. 80 million RGUs (revenue generating units, i.e. individual, active services that generate a recurring retail revenue), including M2M cards and pre-paid SIM cards. However, the subscription services segment accounts for the vast majority of them. Mobile telephony is responsible for the largest number of total RGUs, followed by the pay TV and ISP markets. In the next few years (2021-2026), the biggest growth prospects in volume terms will continue to be seen in the mobile telephony market.

Main factors and trends conducive to the telecom market growth

The growth in the telecommunications market is mainly a result of the operators’ focus on building value and increasing revenue and profitability as part of the more-for-more strategy. In addition, the quality of provided services is important, including high parametrisation of mobile and fixed-line access services. The development of 5G networks and the sale of 5G tariffs also play a insignificant role.

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Other factors driving growth in the value of the telecommunications services market include: the growing number of fixed-line internet access subscribers, additional demand for high-bandwidth fixed lines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, investment in fibre optics, market consolidation and convergence of telecommunications services, bundling of telecom services, among others of pay TV, which is stemming the cord-cutting phenomenon in Poland, and premium content offered as part of pay TV and added services. An exceptional phenomenon in the telecommunications market is the fact that it has been growing at a rate of 1-2%, even in the conditions of strong saturation with services or the market overvaluation, which occurred in prior years.

Katarzyna Sacha
Senior Analyst w PMR

The telecommunications market in Poland is mature and highly saturated, which is why its value has been on a sideways trend for a long time, yet with an upward tendency in the coming years.

In 2020, the market value – defined as the total of telecom operators’ revenues, including from pay TV services – experienced a rebound and amounted to PLN 41.1bn. This is a 1.3% higher result than in 2019. The positive market climate is the outcome of results generated by operators in the segments of mobile telephony, ISP and pay TV.

In the short term (2021-2022), the telecommunications market will face slight declines. On the other hand, in the medium and long term (2023-2026), the market will again be supported by positive growth rates. Overall, the market will grow at a compound annual rate of 0.4% throughout the forecast period.

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