According to the first Global Telecom Health Index by Kearney, which compares 34 countries using 20 indicators, including financial performance, commercial strength, network quality, and market structure, Spain ranks 16th in terms of the health of its telecommunications sector. It also concludes that countries with fewer mobile operators tend to achieve better results in terms of investment, higher quality networks, and a healthier long-term sector performance.
The report cites the country as an example of a concentrated market, where the three main fixed broadband providers exceed 80% of the combined market share, with FTTx coverage of 95% and a penetration of 91%. According to Kearney, these results are linked to investment-friendly regulation, early deployment led by the operators themselves, and a rapid migration from old copper networks to fibre.
Innovation and investment: market challenges in Spain
One of the main findings of the report is the relationship between market concentration and the health of the telecommunications sector. Of the 34 markets analysed, 24 have three or fewer mobile operators, and these consistently achieve better results across all dimensions of the Index, except in customer perception, which remains at similar levels in both groups. The report suggests that greater concentration does not necessarily translate into a worse experience for consumers, as long as it is accompanied by increased investment and better infrastructure. This relationship is also observed in fixed broadband. The most concentrated markets achieve higher fibre coverage (81% compared to 68%) and greater fibre adoption (58% compared to 43%).
The report's results also show that the health of the telecommunications sector is not determined by the size of the country or its GDP. Malaysia, for example, ranks sixth in the global index despite being 32nd in GDP per capita. Although Norway and Switzerland are wealthy countries, the relatively small size of their populations has not prevented them from consistently achieving solid results across all dimensions of the Index.
According to Arianna Molino, director at Kearney, " coverage is just part of the story, and a healthy telecommunications sector also needs investment that can be sustained over time, services that customers value, and a market that rewards innovation. The next step is not to sell more speed to households, but to leverage Spain's advantage in connectivity to help a factory operate a private 5G network, a small business access secure cloud services, or a data centre connect reliably with the digital economy as a whole."