French operators step up pace of 5G activations in December
FRANCE 09:52

French operators step up pace of 5G activations in December

The footprint of 5G cell sites emitting a signal across mainland France increased by 757 during December, reaching 45,955 as of 01 January, according to spectrum agency ANFR. This monthly increase was up from 445 in November and 701 in the year-earlier period. All four network operators accelerated the pace of 5G site activations, led by Orange with 521 additional sites across the 700 MHz, 2.1 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands.

Italian retail sales rise again in November, e-commerce up 4.6%
ITALY 09:50

Italian retail sales rise again in November, e-commerce up 4.6%

Italy's retail sales climbed 0.5 percent in value and 0.6 percent in volume in November, following the previous month's similar rise, according to the latest preliminary data from national statistics office Istat. Cosmetic and toilet articles (+5.9%) increased the highest in November, while the steepest decline was seen in other goods (-0.4%).

Belgian VO market grows less than 1% amid increased competition
BELGIUM 06:00

Belgian VO market grows less than 1% amid increased competition

Virtual mobile operators in Belgium showed limited growth in customer numbers in the past year, amid increased competition from newcomer Digi. The latest research by Telecompaper shows the total VO market, including independent MVNOs and second brands owned by mobile operators, accounted for almost 2.7 million Sims in Belgium at the end of Q3 2025, an increase of just 0.8 percent year-on-year. 

Brand Awareness - Video Services 2025Q4
NETHERLANDS 8 JAN

Brand Awareness - Video Services 2025Q4

This report shows the spontaneous and assisted brand awareness of video services in the Netherlands during December 2025. We also look at what is top of mind. Brand awareness is an important indicator of how successful existing and new brands are in their marketing. It is an essential first step in convincing consumers to take out a subscription. The following brands are included: Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV+, Discovery+, Disney+, ESPN, Film1, HBO Max, Netflix, NLZIET, NPO, Pathé Thuis, SkyShowtime, Viaplay, Videoland, YouTube, Ziggo Sport Totaal. 

Polish ICT market expands nearly 4% in 2025
POLAND 8 JAN

Polish ICT market expands nearly 4% in 2025

The Polish ICT market was worth an estimated PLN 131 billion in 2025, according to a report from PMR Market Experts/ Hume's Institute. The market researchers estimates the market grew by almost 4 percent year-on-year, supported by public sector spending, a recovery in private demand and accelerating business investment. The number of companies working in the ICT field exceeded 200,000, more than doubling since 2019 on the ongoing digital transformation.

Hong Kong passes 32 mln mobile lines in September, over 1 mln M2M connections
HONG KONG 8 JAN

Hong Kong passes 32 mln mobile lines in September, over 1 mln M2M connections

Hong Kong passed 32.3 million mobile lines in September, an increase of around 870,000 lines from the previous month, according to the latest figures from the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA). Most of the growth was in the prepaid market, which counted 21.8 million Sims in September. 4G was still the dominant technology, with 22.7 million users, while the 5G base increased slightly to almost 9.6 million. 

Magyar Telekom and Digi named best for fixed internet in Hungary
HUNGARY 8 JAN

Magyar Telekom and Digi named best for fixed internet in Hungary

nPerf released its 2025 annual report on fixed-line internet service providers in Hungary showing that Magyar Telekom and Digi offered the best performance to customers. Magyar Telekom offered an average speed of 314.5 Mbps in download and 213.3 Mbps in upload, while Digi provided 288.3 Mbps and 152.4 Mbps. One placed third (262.3 Mbps/40.8 Mbps), followed by Yettel (91.5 Mbps/23.5 Mbps).

UK music, video and gaming sales top GBP 13 bln on 7% growth in 2025
UNITED KINGDOM 8 JAN

UK music, video and gaming sales top GBP 13 bln on 7% growth in 2025

UK streaming and retail sales of music, video and computer games rose 7.1 percent annually to a record GBP 13.26 billion in 2025, according to the latest estimates from ERA, the national association for entertainment retailers. The growth rate was over double the 3.3 percent reported in ERA's 2024 figures, amid a strong recovery in gaming and continued growth in video and music. The increase was also more than four times faster than the UK's overall GDP economic growth forecast from the Office for Budget Re

Italian jobless rate drops again to 5.7% in November
ITALY 8 JAN

Italian jobless rate drops again to 5.7% in November

Italy's official unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent in November, compared to the previous month's downwardly revised rate of 5.8 percent, according to the latest provisional data from Istat. The result was achieved in spite of a 34,000 monthly fall in the number of employed people (+179,000 YoY).

One Albania reports 48% internet traffic surge for New Year
ALBANIA 8 JAN

One Albania reports 48% internet traffic surge for New Year

One Albania reported a significant surge in network traffic during the recent New Year's holiday. Internet traffic increased by 48 percent compared to a typical day, driven by video calls, messages, and social media greetings, with 5G accounting for nearly 15 percent of total data. Voice calls also saw a 70 percent spike during peak New Year's Eve hours, with 1.32 million users making midnight greetings. The company also experienced a substantial 78 percent rise in roaming users, serving 167,000 internation

50+ Mobiel, Lebara drive growth in Dutch MVNO market
NETHERLANDS 8 JAN

50+ Mobiel, Lebara drive growth in Dutch MVNO market

The number of Sims at independent MVNOs in the Netherlands increased in the past year, thanks mainly to growth at Lebara and 50+ Mobiel. At the end of September 2025, MVNOs had 2.9 million Sims, an increase of around 7 percent from a year earlier and good for a 12.5 percent share of the total mobile market. Along with the second brands at the mobile operators, the total virtual mobile market was up 4.0 percent in the year to September, according to the latest report from Telecompaper.

Brazil's mobile market passes 270 mln lines in November
BRAZIL 8 JAN

Brazil's mobile market passes 270 mln lines in November

Brazil's mobile market in November continued the growth trend, reaching 270.3 million lines, up from 270.1 million in October, resulting in a penetration rate of 101.9 percent. According to figures from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), 4G remains the dominant technology, accounting for 66.4 percent of connections, followed by 5G at 21.0 percent. The total 5G connections numbered 56.6 million, up from 55.0 million the previous month.

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 8 JAN

SKT sees customer satisfaction with post-incident compensation measures

A survey conducted by SK Telecom (SKT) has highlighted customer responses to compensation initiatives introduced following last year's cyber security incident, with discounts on mobile bills and additional data allowances receiving the highest satisfaction ratings. The survey, carried out between 2 and 5 January 2026 among 4,978 customers, found that 68.7 percent of respondents identified the one-month 50 percent discount on August 2025 mobile bills as the most impactful measure.

JAPAN 8 JAN

NTT Docomo grows subs as overall mobile market expands

NTT Docomo grew its subscriber base in the second quarter (September 2025) to 91.9 million, up from 91.6 million in the June quarter, according to Telecommunications Carriers Association (TCA) figures. Over the same period SoftBank recorded 56.4 million in Q2, up from 55.7 million. KDDI expanded its subscribers to 71.5 million in Q2, up from 70.7 million. Overall, the mobile market grew to 229.1 million in Q2, up from 226.9 million. Rakuten Mobile also increased to 9.33 million in Q2, up from 8.97 million.

POLAND 7 JAN

Play, Orange Poland win most porting customers in Q4

A total 452,331 mobile customers ported numbers to a new operator in Poland in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to figures from the regulator UKE. The number grew by almost 53,000 year-on-year. The operator Play, controlled by Iliad, gained the most new numbers (excluding UPC Poland), with the addition of 28,160 SIMs. Orange Poland came second with 20,121 SIMs added.

GLOBAL 7 JAN

Wi-Fi industry prepares for greater SP 6 GHz adoption, Wi-Fi 8 launch in 2026

The Wireless Broadband Association has shared its expected trends for the Wi-Fi industry in 2026 and beyond in its annual industry report. Among things to watch out for is accelerated Wi-Fi 7 adoption, tapping strong consumer and enterprise demand for 6 GHz-capable networks and building on existing market momentum from 2025. Citing ABI Research, the association says 2025 shipments of Wi-Fi 7-capable access points are estimated at 66.5 million units, more then doubling 2024's volume of 26.3 million units. Th

ITALY 7 JAN

Italian inflation up to 1.2% in December

Italy's main domestic inflation rate (NIC) inched up to 1.2 percent annually in December, up from 1.1 percent in November, according to preliminary data from statistics agency Istat. The rise was mainly attributed to higher food and transport prices, partly offset by lower regulated energy and recreation costs.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 6 JAN

MTS sees 36% jump in spending on gaming

Russian operator MTS said that spending on gaming grew by 36 percent year-on-year on its mobile payment service MTS Oplata in January to November 2025. The average bill totaled RUB 1,810, up by 13 percent. The majority of payments were performed on the online service Steam, which enables access to more than 50,000 games. The game Pubg Mobile was the bestseller among mobile games and Genshin Impact led among PC games. 

JAPAN 6 JAN

Study finds big regional variation in Japan's 5G speeds and coverage

A nationwide survey measuring 5G mobile network performance across Japan's 47 prefectures has highlighted significant differences in download speeds, coverage and latency. The study, conducted between July and December 2025 by ICT Research, found that Ishikawa Prefecture recorded the highest average download speed across the four mobile network operators at 193.7 Mbps, followed by Fukui at 192.1 Mbps and Yamagata at 189.1 Mbps.

GLOBAL 6 JAN

Rising memory prices set to increase smartphone costs in 2026 - TrendForce

Smartphone manufacturers are likely to face higher memory costs in early 2026 as constrained supply of mobile DRAM and NAND Flash drives price increases across the sector, according to analysts TrendForce. Despite a seasonal slowdown in smartphone memory demand, tight supply conditions mean contract prices for mobile DRAM are unlikely to ease in the near term. Both LPDDR4X and LPDDR5X markets remain undersupplied, with uneven allocation of production capacity, supporting further price rises in the coming qu

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 5 JAN

Redmi phones top M.Video bestseller list in December

Russian mobile and electronics retail chain M.Video announced the bestselling smartphones in its shops in December 2025. The Redmi 15C 8/256 GB, Redmi A5 3/64 GB and 4/128 GB, аs well as the Huawei nova Y73 8/256 GB and 8/128 GB lead by unit sales, while the iPhone 16 256 GB, iPhone 17 256 GB, iPhone 13 128 GB, Samsung Galaxy S25 FE,  Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, Huawei Pura 80 and Redmi 15C led by sales revenues.

NORTH MACEDONIA 5 JAN

North Macedonia mobile market reaches over 2 million lines in Q3

The number of active mobile phone lines in North Macedonia rose from 1.95 million in the second quarter of 2025 to 2.10 million in the third quarter, according to figures from the regulator, AEK. Of the total, residential postpaid users accounted for 1.02 million, residential prepaid customers for 833,089, and business postpaid users for 248,306. Mobile internet usage reached 1.78 million, while 340,702 active M2M SIM cards were recorded during the period. A1 Makedonija maintained its lead in the active mob

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 5 JAN

Russian telecom operators raise prices in new year

Several Russian providers of telecommunications services started sending notifications to their customers on price increases in the new year, reports RBC.ru. The mobile operator T2, a subsidiary of Rostelecom, informed part of its customers of an increase in monthly rates of RUB 750 to RUB 900. Beeline Russia announced that unlimited daily mobile data traffic will become a paid service, at RUB 4.50 starting from 01 January, and the conditions of numerous other plans and services will be refreshed. Rosteleco

PAKISTAN 5 JAN

Pakistan reaches 57% of people online, 50% with own mobile phone

Less than six in ten people in Pakistan use the internet, mobile or fixed, according to an annual household survey published by the national Bureau of Statistics. Around 57 percent of people are online, while 70 percent of households have internet access. Similarly, only one in two (50%) of people own mobile or smartphones, but 96 percent say there is a phone in their household.

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Background

5 JAN 00:52

The week in telecom: Finnish security check, M&A completions and telco job cuts

23 DEC 2025 10:32

Netherlands TV-video market grows 2.6% in Q3 to EUR 759 mln

22 DEC 2025 00:25

The week in telecoms: YouTube, Instagram take on TV market and WBD rejects Paramount

15 DEC 2025 01:04

The week in telecom: Wi-Fi bolt-ons take off to boost broadband growth, video market works on consolidation