Fixed communications market in Australia is forecast to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.4 percent from US$9.1 billion in 2021 to US$9.7 billion by 2026, according to GlobalData.
The fixed voice service revenue in Australia will drop at a CAGR of 2.8 percent over 2021-2026 due to falling circuit-switched subscriptions and drop in overall fixed voice average revenue per user (ARPU) levels.
“Subscribers’ inclination towards mobile and OTT-based communication services will also drag down fixed voice revenues over the coming years,” Aasif Iqbal, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, said in a news statement.
Fixed broadband service revenue in Australia is expected to increase at a CAGR of 3.4 percent, driven by the growth in fiber-to-the-home/business (FTTH/B) subscriptions, on the back of ongoing coverage expansions by the local government.
Fiber lines in Australia will increase to about 77.6 percent by 2026 from 70.9 percent share of the total fixed broadband lines in 2021 — supported by the rising demand for high-speed Internet services.
The government in May 2021 announced a list of suburbs and towns where an additional 900,000 households and businesses will benefit from the deployment of fiber network, capable of offering 1 Gbps download speed by 2023.
Telstra will lead the fixed voice services market through 2026 in terms of subscription, supported by its strong foothold in both circuit switched and VoIP segment. The mobile network operator will also lead the fixed broadband market supported by its focus on fiber network coverage expansion and promotion of more cost-effective multi-play plans.
Telstra plans to expand its fiber optic network to an additional 20,000 kilometres, with deployment set to begin in late 2022 and testing already underway.
