ESIS - Information society indicators

	Information Society indicators in the Member States of the EU
<<< Table of contents - Next chapter >>>	Part 1: Telecommunication market and Telephone lines

2. Telephone lines

2.1 Total number of lines in the European Union
In the paragraph below we consider:

Conventional lines (analogue lines),

Mobile subscriptions,

ISDN (integrated services digital network) "lines" correspond to the number of ISDN channels (or "equivalent lines"). They do not correspond to the number of primary and basic ISDN accesses. Indeed, considering the total number of channels (2 channels for a basic ISDN access and 30 channels for a primary ISDN access) better reflects the real capacity and the evolution of subscriber use of a network: substitution between analogue and ISDN lines.

The total number of telephone lines (analogue lines, ISDN channels and mobile subscriptions) in the European Union can be estimated as 352.7 million at the end of 1999. Evaluated at 246.5 million by the end of 1997, it saw an average growth rate of 20% per year between 1997 and 1999.

We note that the total number of lines in the EU grew at a rate of 16% between 1997 and 1998 and 23% between 1998 and 1999.

Graph 4: Total number of lines in the European Union – Evolution 1997 - 1999

Graph 5: Total number of lines in the European Union – Breakdown by type of lines - Evolution 1997 - 1999

One can see from graph 6 that between 1997 and 1999, the total number of telephone lines in the EU rose from around 66 per 100 inh. in 1997 to around 94 per 100 inh. in 1999.

If we look at the penetration rates by type of lines by the end of 1999 :

the number of conventional lines in the EU is around 180 million, which represents 46 lines per 100 inh.

the number of mobile subscriptions is around 148.2 million, which represents 40 lines per 100 inh.

the number of ISDN channels is around 31.1 million, i.e. 8 "equivalent lines" per 100 inh.

Graph 6: Total lines penetration rate in the EU – Evolution 1997 – 1999

In comparison, in 1999, the number of conventional lines was equal to 16 per 100 inh. in Mediterranean countries and 26 per 100 inh. in Central and Eastern European countries. The mobile penetration rate was equal to 5 per 100 inh. in Mediterranean countries and 9 per 100 inh. in Central and Eastern Europe (cf. ESIS Knowledge Base - http://www.ispo.cec.be/esis).

If we consider the growth rates of the different types of lines between 1997 and 1999, growth in mobile subscriptions per 100 inh was very high (average annual growth of 69%), as well as growth in ISDN channels (48%), while the penetration rate for conventional lines decreased (- 2 %) (substitution with ISDN channels).

As a consequence, graph 7 shows:

The mobile share of the total number of lines increased in the EU, growing from 21% to 42% between 1997 and 1999.

The share of ISDN channels of the total number of lines also increased slightly, growing from 6% to 9% of the total number of lines between 1997 and 1999. This growth is expected to accelerate due to rapid internet diffusion.

On the contrary, the share of conventional lines decreased from 73% to 49%. The decreasing should continue in the future, due to mobile expansion. Another factor is ISDN growth as noted above. However, high speed access solutions like ADSL (proposed on PSTN) will act as strong competitors to ISDN access in the future.

Graph 7: Share of the different types of lines in the EU 1997-1999

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All data have been collected from readily available public sources of information (annual reports and publications by regulatory bodies, professional associations, operators, etc.). This is not a scientific document, but rather seeks to identify the key trends. To this end, where necessary, estimations have been made.

Additional data and information sources are available in the country reports that can be found on the ESIS Knowledge Base (http://www.ispo.cec.be/esis).