Markets: Croatia, its neighbours and the EU

Status: November 2026. Market data move every quarter and company ownership changes. Each country below gives the structure that lasts (regulator, operators, owners, spectrum/5G story) and dated figures with their source. Where a source was secondary or old, the text says so. For current numbers always open the regulator's latest quarterly report (links at the bottom).

1. The region at a glance

MCC values are consistent with the ITU E.212 lists (Austria's 232 was not re-checked in this session). Owner groups are as reported in public sources; ownership changes often.

2. Croatia in depth

2.1 Structure

• Regulator: HAKOM (Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries). Law: the Electronic Communications Act (ZEK, 2022), implementing the EU Electronic Communications Code.
• Three network operators; MVNOs and flanker brands exist but are small. Hrvatski Telekom (HT) is the historic incumbent (now part of Deutsche Telekom group), A1 Hrvatska was VIPnet, and Telemach Hrvatska is the former Tele2 Croatia merged into the United Group.
• Market shares of mobile telephony users (HAKOM, Q4 2024): HT about 44.4%, A1 about 34.1%, Telemach the remainder. (The Q1 2026 quarterly report does not break users down by operator.)

2.2 The market in numbers — HAKOM Quarterly Data, Q1 2026 (primary source)

What the numbers tell you - Penetration above 100% means more SIMs/subscriptions than people (second SIMs, M2M, tourists, business lines). - SMS is shrinking fast in a country that still has lots of SMS-based OTP; A2P fraud and pumping are therefore a bigger share of what remains. - 5G phones are now nearly half of mobile-phone data subscriptions (about 2.4 million vs. about 2.5 million on 3G/4G) and growing 59–63% a year while 3G/4G falls; fibre is replacing copper — the access network is changing generation. - Seasonality: tourism creates large summer peaks in roaming and capacity on the coast (HAKOM quarterly series show it in roaming minutes).

2.3 Spectrum and 5G history (HAKOM)

• October 2020: first commercial 5G through Dynamic Spectrum Sharing on existing spectrum.
• 12 August 2021: HAKOM awarded national rights in 700 MHz, 3.6 GHz and 26 GHz (plus regional 3.6 GHz), 15-year licences, total about HRK 359 million (≈ EUR 48 million), with coverage obligations on the 700 MHz licences; EOLO received a 26 GHz licence alongside the three operators.
• Operators then expanded 5G beyond the cities.

2.4 What is special about Croatia

• Strong tourism effect on traffic; networks are dimensioned for the season.
• Infobip (founded 2006 in Vodnjan) is one of the world's larger CPaaS/A2P messaging companies — a Croatian company on the global SMS value chain (Module 30).
• CIX (Croatian Internet eXchange) in Zagreb; CARNET runs the academic network and the .hr domain registry.
• Number portability, EU roaming rules and 112 apply as in the rest of the EU (Module 22).

3. Neighbours

3.1 Slovenia

• Operators: Telekom Slovenije (brand Mobitel; majority state-owned; the largest), A1 Slovenija (formerly si.mobil; A1 Telekom Austria Group), Telemach (formerly Tušmobil). Reports also mention T-2 as a fourth player.
• Regulator: AKOS.
• 5G: AKOS tied sub-1 GHz licences to a 99% population 5G coverage by end-2025; Telekom Slovenije states it reached that target (operator claim). AKOS Q1 2025 data gave Telekom Slovenije a 33.1% share of mobile subscriptions.
• Quality: Opensignal's September 2026 report named Telekom Slovenije the overall leader, with Telemach winning several 5G categories (third-party measurement; methods differ from the regulator's).

3.2 Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Complex state structure (two entities and Brčko district) leads to three operators with regional strongholds: BH Telecom (Bosniak-majority areas), HT Eronet (Croat-majority areas, Mostar) and m:tel (Republika Srpska; owned 65% by Telekom Srbija and 35% by the Republika Srpska government). The Federation government controls BH Telecom and HT Eronet. Haloo is an HT Eronet MVNO.
• Regulator: RAK; 4G licences were issued in April 2019.
• Older market split (a U.S. commercial guide, approximate): BH Telecom 42.3%, m:tel 36.2%, HT Eronet 21.1%.
• 5G: reports conflict — delays in licensing are reported, while travel sites claim city coverage; verify with RAK.

3.3 Serbia

• Operators: Telekom Srbija (largest), Yettel Serbia (ex-Telenor), A1 Srbija.
• Regulator: RATEL.
• 5G auction 3–7 November 2025: Yettel paid EUR 100,028,170, Telekom Srbija EUR 100,050,530, A1 EUR 100,020,730; the first half was paid within 15 days, the rest due by 30 June 2026.
• Launch: 5G signals appeared on 2 December 2025. RATEL reported 2,354 active 5G base stations in early August 2026 (Telekom Srbija 1,013, A1 807, Yettel 534 as of 4 August).
• Shares: end-2023 figures gave Telekom Srbija 44.15%, Yettel 31.87%, A1 23.98%; a 2026 analysis puts Telekom near 42.7%. (Treat as approximate.)

3.4 Montenegro

• Operators: Crnogorski Telekom, m:tel and One (formerly Telenor). Population about 680,000; three operators for a very small market.
• Regulator: EKIP; 700 MHz and 3.6 GHz assigned; Crnogorski Telekom received the largest share (2×100 MHz in 700 MHz and 140 MHz in 3.6 GHz).
• 5G: Crnogorski Telekom and One launched first NR base stations in 3.6 GHz in Podgorica in March 2023, m:tel in May 2023.
• Shares (mid-2020s snapshot): m:tel 35.6%, Crnogorski Telekom 34.5%, One 30.0%.

3.5 Hungary

• Operators: Magyar Telekom (Deutsche Telekom owns about 59.3%), Yettel Hungary (ex-Telenor; PPF Group) and One Hungary (ex-Vodafone Hungary, acquired by 4iG and the Hungarian state; rebranded around January 2025).
• Regulator: NMHH. DIGI entered Hungary's mobile market in 2019; its later status is reported inconsistently, so check NMHH.
• Shares: an NMHH 2025 household survey found Telekom 48%, One 30%, Yettel 28% of mobile users (household presence; shares overlap because people use several SIMs). Older TeleGeography data (2022): Telekom about 45%, Yettel and Vodafone about 26% each.
• 3G: operators are completing 3G shutdowns (Budde, June 2026).

3.6 Austria

• Operators: A1 (A1 Telekom Austria Group), Magenta Telekom (formerly T-Mobile Austria; Deutsche Telekom group), Drei (Hutchison).
• Regulator: RTR. In an RTR 2.3/2.6 GHz auction A1 paid EUR 11.01 M for 50 MHz, Magenta EUR 13.18 M for 100 MHz and Drei EUR 15.21 M for 100 MHz (total EUR 39.41 M).
• MVNO share: 18.3% (RTR Telekom Monitor, Q1 2025).
• Shares: older estimates put A1 about 35%, Magenta about 32%, Drei about 24% (secondary sources, differing dates).

3.7 Italy

• Big, four-network market: TIM, Fastweb + Vodafone (Swisscom bought Vodafone Italia for about EUR 8 bn and merged it with Fastweb), WindTre and Iliad Italia.
• Regulator: AGCOM.
• Indicative shares (report undated): WindTre 24.2%, Fastweb + Vodafone 23.3%, TIM 20.9%, Iliad 17.8% (Iliad gaining).
• Consolidation: talks have been reported between Iliad and TIM, and between Iliad and WindTre — a 4→3 merger would face competition remedies.

4. Who owns whom across the region

Rows come from the dated sources above and from widely known corporate structures; ownership and brand names change (rebrands and acquisitions are frequent), so confirm with annual reports before relying on a row. Montenegro and Serbia ownership details of Yettel/One/Crnogorski Telekom were not re-verified here.

5. The EU picture (Digital Decade, mid-2025 data)

What shapes the EU market - Fragmentation: about 25 national markets, each with 3–4 operators; consolidation debates (4→3) weigh price against investment. - Rules: EECC, roaming regulation to 2032, net neutrality, NIS2, 5G Toolbox (Module 22). - Targets: the Digital Decade aims at full 5G coverage and gigabit access by 2030. - Lag in 5G SA and in investment compared with the US and Asia is a policy topic.

6. How to read a country yourself — checklist

1. Regulator report (quarterly): subscribers, revenue, SMS/voice trends, broadband by technology.
2. Spectrum decisions: bands, price, licence length, coverage obligations.
3. Operators: ownership group, annual report, network sharing deals.
4. MCC/MNC for identity of networks (ITU E.212 list).
5. Independent measurement: Opensignal, regulator drive tests, crowd-sourced.
6. Events: mergers, 3G/2G shutdowns, 5G SA launches, outages.

Remember this: neighbouring markets share owners, vendors and roaming partners — an operator group's decisions in Vienna or Budapest affect networks in Zagreb or Podgorica — but each country's regulator, spectrum and history make it different. In Croatia right now (Q1 2026), SMS is falling about a fifth a year, 5G phones are nearly half of phone data subscriptions and growing fast, and fibre has just overtaken copper.