More markets: the rest of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas

Status: November 2026. This module completes the map begun in Modules 31 and 32. It covers 25 more countries with the same format: regulator, operators and owners, one or two dated facts, and a warning where sources disagree. Numbers come from public reports found during research (regulators, trade press, analysts); several are old, secondary or conflicting and are labelled that way. Use them to understand structure, not as final statistics.

1. Summary table

MCC values are from ITU E.212 lists as commonly published and were not individually re-checked here. Regulator names marked "general knowledge" were not verified in this research.

2. Europe — what is distinctive

Spain

• After the Orange + MásMóvil merger (general knowledge: completed in 2024) the market has three large groups plus Digi, the fast-growing challenger (revenue +21% in Q1 2025; strongest in number portability). CNMC reports that the three biggest groups held about 84.5% of mobile lines in Q1 2026 and 96.6% with Digi.
• Fixed network: fibre is more than 90% of fixed broadband accesses; PremiumFiber, a joint fibre network company of MasOrange and Vodafone, started in December 2025.

Poland

• Auction rules: only the four biggest operators could bid for 5G spectrum (3.6 GHz blocks assigned end-2023; 700 MHz distribution expected around mid-2025).
• 5G coverage: Orange reported coverage of more than 84% of the population (up from about 37% at end-2024). Plus has a wider 5G footprint but slower median speeds.
• Switching: number portability statistics (UKE) are a good proxy of who is gaining customers — see the table.

The Nordics

• Sharing is normal: Sweden (Telenor + Tele2), Denmark (Telenor + Telia as TT Network), Finland and Norway have joint-network arrangements.
• High 5G readiness: Telia Norway claims close to 99% population coverage; Nordic countries lead Europe in 5G availability and in switching off old networks (GSMA analysis).
• Consolidation history: Telenor acquired DNA in February 2020.

Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland

• Netherlands: three networks (KPN, VodafoneZiggo, Odido). Odido is the former T-Mobile NL brand.
• Belgium: Proximus, Orange Belgium, Telenet; Digi has entered as a new player.
• Switzerland: a highly concentrated market where Swisscom holds more than half of mobile users (53.1% end-2024); 3G phase-out planned by end 2026 (Module 33).

Southeast and Central Europe

• Romania: the Telekom Romania Mobile (ex-Cosmote Romania) asset was split between Vodafone (postpaid, business, most infrastructure) and Digi (prepaid) on 1 Oct 2025 — a 4→3 consolidation. Revenue shares (2025): Orange 33%, Digi 32%, Vodafone 23%.
• Greece: Cosmote (OTE group), Vodafone and Nova; note that Cosmote Greece is a separate business from the former Cosmote Romania.
• Czechia and Bulgaria: three networks each (O2/T-Mobile/Vodafone; A1/Vivacom/Yettel); quality leadership differs by test and quarter.

Russia and Ukraine

• Russia: four national operators. MTS (82.9 M) and MegaFon (78.5 M) were the largest by subscribers in Q2 2025; Beeline stopped publishing subscriber figures in 2024 (estimated near T2's level); T2 (formerly Tele2 Russia) is part of the state-controlled Rostelecom group; Yota is the largest MVNO on MegaFon's network (about 9.5 M). Estimates differ by source.
• Ukraine: three mobile networks (Kyivstar, Vodafone Ukraine, lifecell). In early 2026 number-porting data showed outflows from Kyivstar and Vodafone and gains for lifecell. The sector is also covered in Module 27 for the December 2023 attack on Kyivstar and in Module 21 for resilience.

3. Asia

Pakistan

• PTA held a 5G auction in March 2026: 480 MHz sold for about US$507 million; Jazz took 190 MHz, Ufone 180 MHz and Zong 110 MHz; the PTA then authorised them to start 5G. Telenor Pakistan is being absorbed in the PTCL/Ufone group (one report says PTCL completed the acquisition on 31 Dec 2025; another describes Ufone in the final phase) — treat as unclear.

Bangladesh

• Grameenphone and Robi started limited 5G in September 2025 after receiving unified 15-year licences; the 700 MHz auction (January 2026) gave Grameenphone 10 MHz and state-owned Teletalk 10 MHz; the BTRC plans to open about 460 MHz of the 3.5 GHz band in 2027. GSMA argues that high spectrum fees slow 5G. About 190 million mobile connections were reported.

Vietnam

• Viettel (military-owned, general knowledge) is dominant: about 56% of mobile users; VNPT 21%; MobiFone 18%. Viettel says it installed 23,500 5G stations in 2025 and holds over 30,000; another report counted about 11,000 5G stations across all three in mid-2025 (different dates and definitions).

Philippines and Thailand

• Philippines: three operators — Smart (PLDT), Globe, and the newer DITO (15 M subscribers in July 2025; ranked first for reliability by Opensignal in July 2026).
• Thailand: True and dtac merged on 1 March 2023 after NBTC approved it with conditions (October 2022), leaving two main operators — a duopoly with AIS. Subscriber leadership depends on the source (True slightly ahead by subscribers; AIS ahead in revenue, about 49% at end-2024).

4. Africa

Kenya and Ethiopia — the M-PESA story

• M-PESA is the best-known mobile money system. Safaricom reported about 35.8 million active M-PESA customers in FY2025 (year to 31 March 2025), +10.5%. Its Ethiopian subsidiary, launched in October 2022, reported 15 million 90-day active subscribers by September 2026 (growth slowing).
• Ethiopia was a single-operator market (Ethio Telecom, state-owned) until Safaricom arrived; Ethio Telecom reported about 90 million customers and 72 million active mobile subscribers for the year to June 2026, and its own mobile money Telebirr had far more users than M-PESA Ethiopia (older figure, about 7 M vs 2 M).

Egypt

• Four operators — Vodafone Egypt (Vodacom majority), e&, Orange and WE (Telecom Egypt). WE got its 5G licence in January 2024; Vodafone, Orange and e& received theirs in October 2024. Reported licence totals differ (US$675 M vs US$525 M in one report). Latest subscriber counts found are from mid-2024.

5. Americas and Oceania

Canada

• Three national networks plus Quebecor: Rogers, Bell, Telus, and Freedom/Videotron. In 2024 the CRTC found the Big Three and their flanker brands held 85.9% of the market (86.5% in 2020), and challengers took over 55% of subscriber additions. Quebecor had a little over 10% of subscribers (TeleGeography) and added 54,000 wireless customers in Q1 2025. In November 2025 the CRTC ruled on Rogers' wholesale MVNO application — a sign of policy aimed at more competition. (Freedom Mobile was acquired by Quebecor in 2023 as part of the remedies for Rogers' purchase of Shaw — general knowledge, not re-verified here.)

New Zealand

• One NZ, Spark and 2degrees hold 97.5% of the mobile market (Commerce Commission, which is concerned about the concentration). Share estimates differ by method: the Commission puts 2degrees at 22% (subscribers), while Telcowatch (active devices, Q4 2025) shows One NZ 36%, Spark 32% (+Skinny 6%) and 2degrees 26%. Reports also describe a 3G shutdown starting region by region (verify the schedule) and fast growth of Starlink satellite broadband.

6. Patterns across 40+ markets (Modules 31–34)

7. Remaining gaps

Still not covered: most of Latin America beyond Brazil and Mexico (Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru), most of Africa beyond Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and Egypt (Morocco, Ghana, Tanzania, Algeria), central and South Asia (Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal), Southeast Asia beyond Indonesia/Vietnam/Philippines/Thailand (Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar), and many European countries (Portugal, Ireland, Austria-adjacent Slovakia, Baltics, Iceland, Balkans beyond those covered).

Remember this: across all these countries the same few questions explain the market — who regulates, how many networks, who owns them, how spectrum was sold, and what changed this year. If you can answer those five for a country, you can read its news.