In Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), prepaid mobile PAYG (pay-as-you-go) represents the majority of mobile telephony accounts, at almost 60%, and is set to retain this position for the foreseeable future, driven by Ukraine (more than 80% PAYG) and Russia’s (more than 70% PAYG) large prepaid bases. The two nations alone represent more than half of the total mobile telephony customer base in CEE countries, and around three quarters of the region’s prepaid base at the end of 2020, according to Ampere’s Markets—Operators data.

Excluding Ukraine and Russia, however, the remaining CEE nations show a similar trend to the neighbouring Western European countries, where, in 2012, the number of postpaid mobile subscriptions overtook PAYG customers, and now represents 68% of the market. Without these two countries, around two thirds of mobile accounts in CEE are postpaid, including almost 90% of mobile customers in Estonia, the fifth highest in all of Europe.

For content providers seeking to bundle their services in with mobile subscriptions, postpaid customers represent a preferable target base, as they have access to an appropriate payment mechanism, as well as a willingness to pay for something on a regular basis. Current examples of mobile operators featuring local subscription streaming services within postpaid contracts include Vodafone Turkey, which offers a free one year subscription to BluTV, and Bulgaria’s Telenor, which offers a free one year subscription to the sports content streaming service Play Diema Xtra. Partnerships with mobile operators could be a valuable way to engage the many mobile customers in CEE who do not currently take an SVoD service.