Investments by electronic communications operators increased last year.

2025-08-19 08:28:00, Ekonomi CNA

According to data from the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP), it is estimated that mobile and fixed service operators invested around 5.2 billion lek, an increase of 16% compared to the previous year.

Based on AKEP data, during 2024, mobile service entrepreneurs invested around 2.3 billion lek, 29% more compared to the previous year.

About 93% of the reported investment value has gone towards improving the infrastructure for broadband provision by mobile networks.

Mobile service consumption figures continue to show a long-term trend of concentration of these services on the internet and the decline of voice call and text messaging services.

For the first quarter of the year, data (internet) traffic increased by 8.8% compared to a year earlier, while average monthly data usage per user increased by 8.6%.

These figures show that communication is increasingly shifting to OTT, internet-based applications.

Meanwhile, fixed network entrepreneurs have made around 2.9 billion lek investments in their networks, a figure that slightly increased by 5% compared to a year ago.

According to operator reports, last year, investments were also channeled mainly towards improving access to broadband services, around 87% of the total, with the main investments focusing on the shift of transmission networks from DSL technology to fiber technology.

The fixed-line internet service market has been highly competitive in the last decade, especially in large urban centers, where population concentration is higher and where operators' investments in network infrastructure are also concentrated.

According to data reported to AKEP by market operators, total revenues of the electronic communications market last year reached 39.3 billion lek (about 400 million euros), an increase of 4% compared to 2023.

The market growth came all in the mobile services segment. The two mobile network operators, Vodafone Albania and One Albania, last year reported revenues from electronic communications worth 27.93 billion lekë, an increase of 8.9% compared to the previous year.

The mobile services market continues to provide the largest volume of market revenue, with 71% of the total market turnover, further increasing from the level of 69% a year ago.

In total, the two mobile operators earned approximately 1.68 billion lek for 2024, while 2023 closed with a net profit of 370 million lek.

Meanwhile, the market volume of fixed network services last year fell to 11.39 billion lek, a 4% decrease compared to the previous year. Data on the profits of operators in the fixed segment have not been published by AKEP./ Monitor