OREANDA-NEWS. December 15, 2015. Fitch Ratings says the outlook for Western European telecoms and cable remains stable. The trend in the financial performance of European telecoms markets continues to gradually improve. Increased 4G and fibre coverage is increasing the utility and availability of high-speed broadband networks. This enables operators to offer improved bundles with higher value for an increased fee.

Regulatory pressures from the past few years have been largely absorbed, along with the erosion of voice and SMS revenue. Several major European markets have seen in-country consolidation. As a result, pricing appears to have become more rational. The slight improvement in the macroeconomic backdrop has also helped.

Anti-trust regulation remains a source of uncertainty. The more relaxed view on in-country consolidation that allowed mobile mergers in Austria, Germany and Ireland seems to have hardened. Anti-trust scrutiny of announced transactions in Belgium, Italy and the UK is likely to be more rigorous.