Global Insight Perspective | |
Significance | Slovanet, a Slovak alternative telco, has bought regional ISP AmiTel. At the same time, the regulator has told the local incumbent to comply with a cost-based pricing model for the fixed-line telephony calls it wholesales to other carriers. |
Implications | Slovanet's purchase provides it with AmiTel's clientele of 2,400, who are served on its fibre-optic network. Meanwhile, Slovak Telekom says that its wholesale voice services have already been put in line with the regulator's requirements. |
Outlook | Slovanet has been a key driver of consolidation in the Slovak alternative space. Having said that, it plans to invest a total of approximately US$60 million in acquisitions and network roll-outs over the next couple of years. In the meantime, Slovak fixed-line telephony is set to decline further. |
Slovanet, an alternative fixed-line operator, has bought a 51% stake in AmiTel, an ISP based in the city of Poprad (northern Slovakia), reports Slovak news agency SITA. The remaining 49% of shares will remain in the ownership of AmiTel's management. According to Slovanet spokesperson Stanislav Kratky, AmiTel provides fibre-optic triple- and quadruple-play services to 2,400 households in Poprad and its surroundings, and has coverage of 14,000 households. No financial details of the agreement have been disclosed.
In other news, SITA reports that the Slovak telecoms authority TU has passed a motion that the local incumbent, Slovak Telekom (a unit of Deutsche Telekom), must price its wholesale fixed-line telephony services to other operators on a cost-based basis. Slovak Telekom's spokeperson, Jana Burdova, commented on the decision by saying that the operator's wholesale pricing system for fixed-line voice services already meets the criteria imposed by the TU and thus it does not need to change it. The company also does not plan to appeal the decision.
Outlook and Implications
- Slovanet's Shopping Spree: Slovanet is 51%-owned by Asseco, an IT services company, with the management holding the remaining 49% of stock. The operator has grown significantly through buying a number of regional telcos, with the purchase of AmiTel—which has operated in Poprad since 2005—representing the sixth acquisition in Slovanet's corporate history. Earlier this year, it bought ISPs Micronet and Kryha, as well as cable TV firm Tekov (see Slovakia: 19 June 2008: Slovanet Continues Expanding, Buys Micronet and 17 April 2008: Slovanet Acquires Slovenian CATV Provider Tekov). At the end of the third quarter of 2008, Slovanet posted revenue of 504 million koruna (US$22.6 million). The company has also said that over the medium term it will invest some US$60 million in acquisitions and infrastructure deployments, which will include a full-scale IP TV service. Earlier this month, the Slovak alternative sector saw Dial Telecom of the Czech Republic buy Telekom Austria's Czech and Slovak assets (see Austria – Czech Republic – Slovakia: 5 December 2008: Dial Telecom Acquires Telekom Austria's Czech and Slovak Units).
- Better Deal for Fixed-Line Callers: The regulator's decision to force the incumbent to use a genuinely cost-based pricing model instead of its own calculations is meant to drive down charges for calls made by carrier selection and pre-selection, and having largely anticipated it, Slovak Telekom had already shifted towards a new pricing method voluntarily. For 2008, IHS Global Insight forecasts a drop of 2.3% in the number of Slovak main lines in service to 1.124 million, with the penetration rate standing at 20.8 accesses per 100 inhabitants, but with fixed-to-mobile substitution taking its toll, the figures are set to decrease further.