HAKOM

The coverage with and access to the 5G network in Croatia has grown since the summer of 2021, when licenses for the 5G frequency range were issued, to 60-70%, and a new auction is being prepared for the existing frequencies, to be held in early 2023, said Tonko Obuljen, Chairman of the Council at HAKOM.

HAKOM, the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries, will organize a new auction on the allocation of spectrum frequencies for the development of 5G infrastructure at the end of this year, and at the beginning of 2023 at the latest.

HAKOM notes that total investment in the Croatian electronic communications market in 2021 reached HRK 3.01 billion, which is an increase of 20.5 percent compared to the previous year.

The Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) has confirmed that A1 Croatia reported the incident in the form of unauthorized access to the user base and the threat of publishing unauthorized data. The telco must now contact all users whose personal data has potentially been breached.

New information on data traffic in Croatia shows an exceptional increase in GB consumption and use per average inhabitant in the last three years. Thus, in the third quarter, i.e. from July to the end of September, 40 GB of traffic was used per connection.

Investments in the electronic communications market jumped by 16 percent in the first nine months of last year, compared to the same period in 2020 while the same period in the fixed-line network saw a 127% boost in investments in fiber access infrastructure, HAKOM reported.

According to the European Commission’s 2021 edition of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), Croatia has moved up to 19th place, but the biggest step forward has been made by investing in the development of the 5G network.

Telecom companies generate higher revenue from data services than telephony. The total telephone service revenue of major telcos in the three spring months of 2021 amounted to HRK 1.17 billion, most of which relating to mobile phones.

In just three months, from April to June 2021, 664.8 million gigabytes of data traffic were consumed in Croatia, HAKOM analytics reports, which clearly marks the beginning of a strong growth in “internet spending”, to be intensified with the deployment of 5G technology.

The public auction has been completed and the 700 MHz, 3600 MHz and 26 GHz bands were awarded at the national level, and 3600 MHz at the regional level.