TELECOMS

EUROPE: Aid money supports growth of Telecoms markets in EU accession countries.

Growth in both revenue and customer numbers in the Central and Eastern Europe telecoms sector remain consistently higher than in Western Europe. The recent accession into the EU of eight of the region's countries, as well as preparations for accession of a further three, are important drivers of this growth as aid money from EU structural funds is tied to market liberalisation. In the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary this process is virtually completed while in others it is being initiated.

The majority of growth is in the mobile sector whilst growth for fixed-line operators may be restricted to satisfying the demand for high-speed data services.