COUNTRY FOCUS: POLAND
Poland is considered
one of the leading nations
for 5G in Europe and we
discover the developments
that are enabling this and
turning digitisation into a reality.
Telecom companies operating
within the country are driving
innovation at speed to bring
Polish citizens the latest
5G capabilities.
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Poland drives
development of mobile
innovation in Europe
P
oland’s liberalised telecom market
has seen considerable development
in the broadband and mobile sectors.
The incumbent telco, Orange Poland, is a
domineering force in the broadband market
and has invested in fibre infrastructure to
support the growing adoption of bundled
services among customers.
The regulatory environment has also
been shaped by EU principles designed to
facilitate competition, allowing competing
operators to enter the market. The
mobile market in recent years has been
characterised by the rapid extension of LTE
networks and the development of mobile
data services based on newly released and
re-farmed spectrum.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
Operators have invested in 5G, with T-Mobile
Poland having launched a pre-commercial
service in Warsaw at the end of 2018, and
with full commercial services expected to be
available in early 2020.
Mobile penetration in Poland is above the
European average, standing at 137% by
mid-2019. This reflects the continuing
popularity among consumers to keep two or
more SIM cards, which has distorted the real
mobile penetration rate. Nevertheless, the
distortion has been addressed on two fronts:
by network operators being encouraged
to disconnect dormant SIM cards, and by
legislation, effective from February 2017,
which obliges subscribers of prepaid services
to register their details. These forces have
resulted in a significant readjustment in the
number of subscribers in the market.
The fixed broadband market has benefited
from the excellent cross-platform
competition, with comprehensive DSL
infrastructure complemented by extensive
cable networks and a growing fibre presence.
Commercial considerations meant that
fibre was for some years restricted to a
number of urban areas, though more
recently the sector has received
considerable financial support from the
government and the European Union. This
support is aimed at building fibre-based
networks across the country (particularly in
eastern areas) and promoting fibre
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