Poland leading the way in regional mobile telecom

Poland's mobile phone operators have emerged as the leading players in Central and Eastern Europe, having seized a 27.6% share of the regional market. Of the 47 networks currently operating in the region, the top two are both Polish. The undoubted leader is Era GSM, operated by Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC), which is the only mobile phone operator in Central and Eastern Europe with more than 3 million customers. The Polkomtel-operated Plus GSM network, with its 2.6 million subscribers and a 9.8% market share, is the second largest on the Central and Eastern European market. Another Polish network, Idea, owned by PTK Centertel, comes in at sixth, with a market share of 6.2%. Analysts say there remains great potential for Polish companies to build up an even stronger presence in Central and Eastern Europe, since the level of market penetration for mobile telecommunications in the region can be described merely as average, at around 20%. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 4) M. S.-C.