Company control, Signal Capital and data in the Cypriot telecommunications market
Around 10% is Primetel's market share according to the latest market research data. Specifically, it has 123 thousand connections in mobile telephony and 32 thousand fixed line connections.
Of Maria Herakleous
The news that the telecommunications company Primetel is going into administration has understandably caused consternation among subscribers and companies with which the company has entered into agreements. Among them are the football teams Omonia Nicosia and AEK Larnaca, for which Primetel has the television rights to broadcast their matches, until 2024. The news was followed by reasonable questions about the reasons for this development, with the answers being found in the agreement between the Signal Capital company and the company's shareholders. What is certain is that there are many readings on the subject and on what and if this development signals changes more broadly for the competitive field of telecommunications in Cyprus. What is underlined in any case by the internal affairs of the company and by the manager Marios Kallias, who spoke to “K”, is that this is a matter between investors and shareholders within the company and nothing changes, not only for the television rights of the football teams, but also for all the issues and services that the company provides.
What changes
What changes is that the control of the company has passed into the hands of the Administrator, who replaces the Board of Directors, and that the Signal Capital private equity fund has a more active role and will continue to support the company in every way (the company, based in London, is an investment fund that focuses on European investments). This is something that has been repeated by Primetel and the Operator and makes sense since Primetel was an investment of the company five years ago. It is also emphasized that the company's strategic commitment remains the development of its services, products and plan, as it is.
Subscribers and staff
In any case, the point is that there is no insecurity for Primetel consumers-subscribers, with the company assuring that absolutely nothing is changing. The same applies to the company's staff, around 360 employees in total. In fact, in the last few days Primetel has posted on job search platforms, looking for staff for six jobs, among them Corporate Sales Consultant, a position that was posted just last week. Speaking to “K”, the Commissioner of Electronic Communications and Posts, Giorgos Michaelidis, said that they will examine what will now change for the operation of the company, while actions are being initiated to ensure consumers. In any case, he emphasized, the fact that the company entered management status does not mean its closure. However, his Office is investigating the whole situation and is proceeding to ensure the rights of the consumer, so that if the need arises, then consumers can immediately receive services from another provider.
New balances?
It is also taken for granted that the development at Primetel has stirred up discussions about changes in the Cypriot telecommunications market. It is known that in the past there were such discussions between Primetel and Cablenet, that if they went ahead, it would mean that the players in the market would become from four to three. Besides, the position of important players in the market was largely clear, that the number of providers was disproportionate to the size of the Cypriot market and that it would be smarter for the main players to think about mergers or acquisitions, especially since the shares show that some of the players are stronger in mobile telephony and some others in fixed network services. Market experts report to “K” that this may be remote at present, based on specific data. For example Cyta is the first player in the market, and theoretically, it has no reason to be interested in making a move towards Primetel. Second in market share epic, is in the stage of investing in fiber and 5G networks and acquisition or merger with another company does not seem to be in its priorities. The third player in the market is Cablenet, but this scenario is also not considered likely at this stage.
Market shares
According to the latest market research the total number of mobile users is 1,392,480 (one person can have more connections). For 2022, the mobile market shares are distributed as follows: Cyta remains in 1st place with a 50.8% share, followed by epic with a 31.9% share, Primetel in 3rd place with 10.6% and finally Cablenet with a 6.7% share. The shares in question are derived from the latest data of the market Observatory of the Office of the Commissioner for Regulation of Electronic Communications and Posts (GERIET). In real numbers, the figures translate to around 123,000 connections for Primetel, 707,000 connections for Cyta, 445.5k for epic and 93,000 for Cablenet. Regarding fixed telephony, according to the latest Market Watch, Primetel's market share in fixed telephony was in the 4th quarter of 2022 at 10.7%, (31.8 thousand connections) following Cyta (54.3%) and Cablenet (27%). The total number of fixed telephony connections shows a decrease in the second half of 2022, and they amount to 297,382.
