Mobilabonnemangsmarknaden i Europa - Hur ser prisbilden ut och vad påverkar den?

Sammanfattning: This paper examines the pricing structure of the European mobile subscription markets. The paper analyzes two questions: 1) what is the price level of mobile subscriptions across Europe today? 2) What factors influence the price level? A sample consisting of 33 operators from 15 European countries is collected for the purpose of the study. For 1) a pricing model is developed. The model includes “free” traffic (included minutes, SMS etc.). For 2) a linear multiple regression model is specified using the OLS-estimator. The price generated by the pricing model is used as dependent variable. Results imply that northern Europe, Croatia, and the U.K has the lowest price for mobile subscription in Europe for both consumers. The model finds prices to vary across, but also to some extent, within countries. Results from the regression imply that an increased number of operators decrease price and that pricing of SMS differ significantly between operators. Due to several assumptions and measuring problems the results of the study are weak. The weak results make it difficult to apply valid economic theory for the mobile subscription markets (e.g. price or quantity competition).