Overview
The Regulatory Authority of Electronic and Postal Communications (RAEPC) estimated the total number of fixed and mobile internet users in Kosovo in 2021 was 383,868and 1,777,859, respectively. These numbers equate to 24.52 and 97.92 percent penetration rates, as some users use both mobile and fixed internet connections or have multiple accounts. RAEPC data indicates mobile telephone penetration in Kosovo covers 100 percent of inhabited zones and 94 percent of Kosovo’s territory. Kosovo’s telecommunications sector is one of the least expensive in the region and has similar quality voice services in comparison with other providers in the region. Five main companies – IPKO; Kosovo Telecom (KT); ArtMotion; Kujtesa; and a branch of Serbia’s telecom company, MTS – provide internet service for about 80 percent of Kosovo’s market, while KT, IPKO, and MTS also provide mobile internet (3G and 4G). Kosovo Telecom offers mobile telephone services through its subsidiary Vala and has approximately 50 percent of the market share. KT, once the most profitable state-owned enterprise and still the major provider of landline services, is in a crisis state due to political interference, a bloated workforce, inflated wages, and years of mismanagement. The company is facing its current financial crisis, in part due to failure to pay an international arbitration award, and has come close to bankruptcy.
Leading Sub-Sectors
- General service mobile (GSM) operator
- GSM network supplies, equipment, and technology
- Network management
- Telecommunications infrastructure development, including WiMax and other municipal wireless internet services.
- Digitalization of TV broadcasting
Opportunities
- Infrastructure development
- Network upgrades, including a likely 5G roll-out in the coming years
Resources
Regulatory Authority of Electronic & Postal Communications at http://www.arkep-rks.org/
Independent Media Commission at https://www.kpm-ks.org/?gjuha=3&mod=ballina