Communications Sector Review 1/2016. Publications by FICORA 002/2016 J

Transcription

1 Communications Sector Review 1/2016 Publications by FICORA 002/2016 J

2 1 Contents Introduction Data transfer and telephone subscriptions The number of fixed subscriptions has developed steadily The total number of mobile subscriptions remained unchanged Changes in market shares Usage volumes of electronic communication services Fewer calls are being placed from mobile phones The use of services per inhabitant per month Information security violations and functionality incidents in networks and services Information security violations Functionality of communications networks and services Postal services The delivery speed of letters met the requirements set out in the Postal Act The number of SmartPost parcel points continued to increase The number of problems in postal deliveries decreased Use of frequencies Using frequencies Radio licences Supervising the use of frequencies and the radio device market Valid fi-domain names Customer queries received by FICORA Figures and tables... 30

3 2 Introduction Communications sector reviews by the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) describe changes in telecom, postal and mass communications services, for example, in terms of the range and use of services, the operation of networks and systems, and information security. This first communications sector review of the year includes a compilation of all key statistics of 2015, apart from financial key figures. The statistics and observations presented in this review are mainly based on information collected from providers of communications services, such as telecom companies, and information collected from FICORA's systems. Examples of the latter information include information about malware provided by the Autoreporter service, information about the use of frequencies, and the number of fidomain names issued. On the basis of these diverse statistics, it is possible to generate a fairly exhaustive picture of the current state of FICORA's operating environment and its development in recent years. Even though the environment is rapidly developing and partly unpredictable as a whole, statistics offer tools to look ahead. The indicators presented in this review are also available in the Statistics and reports section on the FICORA website, from where most figures can also be downloaded in the form of tables. The website also offers a number of other statistics and development-themed articles. FICORA releases information about its operating field around the year. In late spring and summer, FICORA will issue information about the communications services based on a consumer survey, information about the income and investments of telecom companies, and international reference tests, for example, of how the number of subscriptions has developed.

4 3 1 Data transfer and telephone subscriptions A review on how the number of fixed network and mobile network subscriptions has developed in relation to the population of Finland illustrates the large number of communications connections Finnish people are using. In recent years, the number of mobile subscriptions per inhabitant has remained fairly unchanged, with the total number of subscriptions being more than 170 per one hundred inhabitants at the end of An increasing number of Finnish people are using mobile broadband, and there are as many as 135 mobile broadband subscriptions per one hundred inhabitants. Finland is among the leading countries in the world in terms of the number of mobile broadband subscriptions per inhabitant: According to statistics released by the OECD in February 2016, Finland is the leading OECD country when it comes to the use of mobile broadband. The number of fixed broadband subscriptions has remained at approximately 30 subscriptions per one hundred inhabitants over the eight-year review period. The number of landline telephone subscriptions has collapsed to one third during the same period. In Finland, there are only ten landline subscriptions per one hundred inhabitants. As a result, IPTV subscriptions, a new service that has emerged in the 2010s, are already almost as common as landline telephones. In total, there are seven IPTV subscriptions per one hundred inhabitants. Figure 1 Fixed and mobile network subscriptions per inhabitant

5 4 Figure 2 The number of fixed broadband subscriptions 1.1 The number of fixed subscriptions has developed steadily There were a total of 1.73 million fixed network broadband subscriptions at the end of Compared with the year before, the figure fell by approximately 2 per cent. Of these subscriptions, 86 per cent were used by households and 14 per cent by corporate customers. As the number of subscriptions has not increased significantly in recent years, the current number of fixed broadband subscriptions can be regarded as fairly stable. At the same time, the number of mobile subscriptions used for data transfers only has increased, with there already being more than two million subscriptions in total. In fact, some Finnish people are using their mobile broadband subscription for data transfers only. Fixed broadband subscription technologies have become more modern in recent years. At the end of 2015, slower DSL subscriptions made up 37 per cent of all fixed network subscriptions. Faster VDSL subscriptions based mainly on optical fibre connections represented 12 per cent of all subscriptions. Ethernet subscriptions where optical fibre extends at least to the boundary of the premises accounted for 21 per cent of all subscriptions. In addition, modern DOCSIS 3 subscriptions in the cable network made up 19 per cent, and FTTH subscriptions based on optical fibre only accounted for 5 per cent of all fixed broadband subscriptions at the end of the year. Even though the number of fixed network broadband subscriptions has remained fairly unchanged, changes, even significant ones, are continuously taking place in connection technologies and speeds. The number of subscriptions based wholly or partly on optical fibre has increased steadily in recent years. At the same time, the number of DSL subscriptions based on telephone connections in the old copper network is decreasing. Even though the number of high-speed VDSL subscriptions increased by nearly one third in 2015, the number of other DSL subscriptions decreased much more notably. Compared with the situation four years ago, the number of these types of DSL subscriptions has nearly halved.

6 5 Figure 3 Fixed broadband subscriptions by connection technology One of the most significant changes in fixed broadband technologies during 2015 was the relative growth in FTTH subscriptions. Even though the total number of these subscriptions is still fairly small, their number increased by 20,000 subscriptions during the year. This means an increase of one third compared with the situation in the year before as there were 82,000 FTTH subscriptions at the end of the year. Even though the number of FTTH subscriptions built with optical fibre that extends all the way to the user is still relatively small, up to 24 per cent of all fixed broadband subscriptions, however, offered speeds of at least 100 Mbps. This situation, together with the number of Ethernet and VDSL subscriptions, shows that optical fibre connections extend to hundreds of thousands of Finnish people, albeit not all the way to the indoor socket. During 2015, the number of subscriptions of more than 100 Mbps increased by more than 60,000 subscriptions. At the same time, the number of subscriptions of 2 10 Mbps decreased roughly by the same number. However, the total number of subscriptions has remained fairly unchanged, meaning that operators are upgrading their customers subscriptions to offer higher speeds, while customers are acquiring faster and faster subscriptions. At the end of 2015, of all fixed broadband subscriptions: 24 per cent offered speeds of at least 100 Mbps 32 per cent offered speeds of at least 30 Mbps 77 per cent offered speeds of at least 10 Mbps.

7 6 Figure 4 Fixed broadband subscriptions by connection speed The number of fixed telephone subscriptions continued to decrease In recent years, the number of fixed telephone subscriptions has decreased steadily. At the end of 2015, there were only 540,000 landline telephone subscriptions, which is 100,000 subscriptions fewer than in the year before. Of these subscriptions, 55 per cent were used by companies and 45 per cent by household customers. The proportion of corporate customers among the total number of subscriptions is increasing annually. The number of subscriptions among both customer groups is decreasing, but household customers are cancelling their landline telephone subscriptions at a faster pace than corporate customers. Of all fixed telephone subscriptions, there were more than 16,000 VoIP telephone subscriptions operating with a broadband connection at the end of the year. While this figure increased by 28 per cent during the year, VoIP subscriptions still represent a marginal phenomenon in Finland. For example, the number of VoIP subscriptions in other Nordic countries is many times more than in Finland. This difference can partly be explained by differing productisation because subscription packages compiled of fixed network services are much more common elsewhere in Europe. The number of television subscriptions increased steadily Even though the majority of Finnish households are watching television via the terrestrial network, the number of cable TV and IPTV subscriptions has increased in the 2010s. IPTV subscriptions are television services offered by telecom operators to households through broadband subscriptions, through which it is possible to view the same real-time programming as through cable or terrestrial television. At the end of 2015, there were 380,000 IPTV subscriptions in Finland. The increase in the number of IPTV subscriptions has decelerated in recent years. As recently as at the beginning of the 2010s, the number of IPTV subscriptions increased by one third annually, but in recent years, the growth has settled down to roughly 5 per cent. The increase in cable TV subscriptions has risen steadily in recent years, being approximately 2 3 per cent a year. At the end of 2015, there were a total of 1.56 million cable TV -

8 7 Figure 5 The number of cable TV and IPTV subscriptions subscriptions. A single household may simultaneously be using several different television reception methods. An IPTV subscription, in particular, is a supplementary service that is purchased in conjunction with a broadband subscription to supplement other reception methods. 1.2 The total number of mobile subscriptions remained unchanged At the end of 2015, there were 9.46 million mobile network subscriptions in Finland. The number of subscriptions remained fairly unchanged from the previous year. As the year 2015 came to a close, a little more than 7 million mobile subscriptions were being used by household customers, and 2.4 million subscriptions were being used by corporate customers. Household customers accounted for 74 per cent and corporate customers 26 per cent of all subscriptions. These numbers have remained highly stable in recent years. In recent years, the increase in the number of mobile subscriptions used by households and companies has nearly stopped, and on the basis of the development of statistics, the number of household subscriptions, in particular, is estimated to be approaching saturation point. In fact, the number of household subscriptions increased by a few tenths of a per cent last year compared with the year before. In , annual growth varied between 7 and 13 per cent. Of the 9.46 million subscriptions, roughly 8 per cent, or 750,000 subscriptions, were prepaid subscriptions. The number of prepaid subscriptions has been in decline for a few years, and last year, their number decreased by approximately 2 per cent. Of all mobile subscriptions, 2.1 million subscriptions do not include any voice or messaging services, and these subscriptions are used for data transfers only. These dedicated subscriptions are used, for example, on tablets and USB modems. In 2015, the number of dedicated subscriptions increased by approximately 110,000.

9 8 Figure 6 The number of mobile subscriptions More than half of all mobile subscriptions already include unlimited data transfer On the basis of their data transfer capabilities, mobile subscriptions can be divided into four groups (proportion of all subscriptions): unlimited data transfer in terms of usage volume with a monthly charge (51 per cent) limited data transfer in terms of usage volume with a monthly charge (28 per cent) data transfer is charged according to use or through other means (4 per cent) voice and messaging services only (17 per cent) With regard to the first three groups, the subscriptions may, in addition to limitations on data transfer volumes, include limitations associated with data transfer speeds. Of these main groups, monthly-billed subscriptions that include unlimited data transfer were the only subscriptions that increased last year. Their number increased by 16 per cent during the year, and there were approximately 4.8 million subscriptions of this type at the end of the year. Of these, 2.1 million subscriptions were of the aforementioned type, i.e. used for data transfers only. For the first time, more than half of all mobile subscriptions included unlimited data transfer. Correspondingly, the number of the three other subscription types decreased last year. The number of subscriptions billed monthly with limited data transfer decreased by approximately 10 per cent, with there being 2.6 million of these subscriptions. The number of subscriptions other than subscriptions billed monthly including a data transfer agreement also fell by approximately 10 per cent, and there are only 440,000 of these subscriptions. The number of subscriptions that only have voice and messaging services fell by approximately 15 per cent, with there being 1.6 million of these subscriptions. A general trend in mobile subscriptions clearly is that most subscriptions offer not only traditional voice and messaging services, but also mobile data. It is likely that, in a few years, nearly all mobile subscriptions will include data transfer.

10 9 Figure 7 Mobile subscriptions with a data transfer agreement The number of M2M subscriptions is increasing In addition to traditional mobile subscriptions, approximately 1.1 mobile M2M subscriptions were in use in Finland at the end of The number of M2M subscriptions has increased in recent years, and in 2015, their number increased by 7 per cent, or 70,000 subscriptions. M2M subscriptions are not included in the previously discussed number of subscriptions. 1.3 Changes in market shares With regard to the market share of operators calculated on the basis of the number of subscriptions, DNA has been able to increase its share in terms of both fixed broadband subscriptions and mobile subscriptions. As in previous years, Elisa remains the market leader in all three central subscription types: mobile, fixed broadband and landline telephone subscriptions. Being the market leader, Elisa covered 31 per cent of all fixed broadband subscriptions. The gap to TeliaSonera in second place was only one percentage point. At the end of the year, DNA's market share was 25 per cent, showing growth of two percentage points during the year. Correspondingly, TeliaSonera's market share decreased by two percentage points during the year. Subscriptions of Finnet Group's operators made up 12 per cent of all subscriptions, showing growth of one percentage point. Other operators made up only 2 per cent of all fixed broadband subscriptions. In terms of landline telephone subscriptions, Elisa's market share is 38 per cent. Finnet Group companies are the second largest operator in the area of landline subscriptions with a market share of 24 per cent. TeliaSonera holds 23 per cent and DNA 15 per cent of such subscriptions. The total number of fixed telephone subscriptions has decreased rapidly in recent years, and the service is no longer significant within the scope of electronic communication services.

11 10 Figure 8 Market share of fixed broadband subscriptions Furthermore, Elisa is the market leader in mobile subscriptions with a market share of 39 per cent. The gap to TeliaSonera in second place is five percentage points. Both TeliaSonera and Elisa lost market share during the year by one percentage point, while DNA increased its market share by two percentage points. At the end of 2015, DNA's market share was 26 per cent. The Finnish mobile market is dominated by the three largest operators, with other operators having market share of less than 1 per cent of all mobile subscriptions. Figure 9 Market share of mobile subscriptions

12 11 2 Usage volumes of electronic communication services The use of mobile network services has undergone major changes in Finland in recent years. Instead of using traditional voice and messaging services, communication is increasingly carried out via services based on an internet connection, as a result of which the use of mobile data is increasing exponentially. 2.1 Fewer calls are being placed from mobile phones In 2015, a total of 4.1 billion calls were placed in the mobile network, with the total duration being approximately 15.2 billion minutes. The number of call minutes placed remained nearly unchanged, whereas the number of calls placed fell by 5 per cent. In the mobile network, the number of calls began to decrease as early as in 2011, and a similar turn took place in terms of call minutes in This recent development has meant that fewer calls are being placed from mobile phones, but the average duration of calls has increased. Last year, the average duration of a single call was 3 minutes and 40 seconds, an increase of nine seconds from the year before. Compared with the situation ten years ago, the duration of calls has increased by up to 41 per cent, meaning that calls are now longer by more than one minute. In the fixed network, the number of calls and call minutes decreased last year, as in previous years. The number of calls placed using landline telephones decreased by 18 per cent and call minutes by up to 23 per cent from the year before. Last year, approximately 2.9 billion text messages were sent in Finland, a decrease of 12 per cent from the previous year. The number of text messages sent changed to a downward trend in 2013, compared to which the number of text messages sent last year was smaller by one third. The annual growth has continued in terms of multimedia messages sent, but their number, however, remains highly marginal compared with traditional text messages. Last year, Finnish people sent 89 million multimedia messages. Year Fixed network call (min) Mobile data (terabyte) Mobile call (min) Mobile call (pcs) SMS MMS Figure 10 Use of voice and messaging services in the mobile network, call minutes in the fixed network and mobile data (figures for calls, call minutes and messages are in millions)

13 12 The most significant factor for the decrease in traditional voice and messaging services is social media. Instead of telephone conversations or text or multimedia messages, more and more discussions are being held and images are being shared via rapidly increasing internet services, such as WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram. These free services are largely used on mobile phones and tablets that utilise wireless data transfer connections. The volume of data transferred in the mobile network has increased exponentially in recent years. In 2015, a total of 630,000 TB of data was transferred in the mobile network, which is 93 per cent more than in the year before. The growth in the volume of data transferred accelerated steadily in , and it is interesting to see whether annual growth this year exceeds the threshold of 100 per cent. 2.2 The use of services per inhabitant per month On average, every Finnish person placed 63 calls per month in the mobile network. The average calculated call duration was 3 minutes and 40 seconds. On a monthly level, this means that an average Finn talked for nearly four hours a month on their mobile phone. An average Finn only talked for 11 minutes a month on a landline telephone. Last year, an average Finn sent approximately 44 text messages a month, and only 1.4 multimedia messages per month. On average, Finnish people used 9.5 GB of mobile data per person per month. Figure 11 Usage volumes per Finnish person per month

14 13 3 Information security violations and functionality incidents in networks and services In 2015, the functionality and information security of Finnish communications networks and services were at a good level, even though the number of minor functionality incidents increased. The majority of all functionality incidents concerned mobile networks. No significant malware epidemics occurred during the year. 3.1 Information security violations Malware indidents The number of malware infections detected in Finnish communications networks remained at a relatively low level throughout During the year, FICORA detected nearly 64,000 Finnish computers sending malicious traffic. In 2013 and 2014, no extensive malware epidemics were observed. Malware statistics are based on information provided by FICORA's Autoreporter service. Autoreporter automatically transmits information to telecom companies about international observations of malware operating in Finnish communications networks or other activities violating information security. Telecom companies are able to utilise the information provided by Autoreporter in order to contact customers whose subscriptions are sending malicious traffic. In addition to actual malware incidents, the reported figures are affected by changes in the data sources from which Autoreporter collects its information. When reviewing the malware incidents in 2015, the most widespread malware was, surprisingly, XcodeGhost, which is directed at Apple products. Autoreporter transmitted nearly 10,000 observations of the malware. XcodeGhost was discovered in September It is an unauthorised program attached to Xcode, Apple's application development environment, and it is copied to every application developed using an infected development environment. Figure 12 The number of malware incidents transmitted by the Autoreporter system by quarter

15 14 Figure 13 The number of malware incidents transmitted by the Autoreporter system in 2015 On a global scale, infected development environments have mainly been detected in China, but applications infected by XcodeGhost have been detected in large numbers around the world also in Finland. XcodeGhost steals private user data. In practice, only a single large infection of the Nymaim ransomware was detected in August 2015, when more than 6,000 related observations were transmitted. Individual observations of Nymaim have been made since Conficker is still the cause of a significant number of Finnish malware incidents. In 2015, approximately 4,700 Conficker observations were transmitted, but the figure is decreasing. Conficker was discovered back in 2008, and only a few malicious programs are as old as this one. Tinba, data-stealing malware, increased its spread in Finland during 2015, with a little more than 4,000 Tinba observations being made. During the year, a little more than 4,000 unidentified internet scans were made. Scanning other networks without proper authorisation is not permitted because it can be regarded as preparation for an attack. Significant violations of information security Telecom companies are obligated to report to FICORA any significant information security violations, threats thereof and information security violations directed at personal data. In 2015, FICORA received 25 such reports. Of these, only one information security violation led to a functionality incident in a communications service. The number of reports has decreased since 2012, when FICORA received 38 reports. The causes of significant information security violations reported to FICORA vary greatly from one year to the next. A single information security violation may have a number of different causes. In 2015, a significant DoS attack was a cause of five information security violations, with this number being lower than in many previous years. Usually, DoS attacks are targeted at name servers of telecom companies or web servers they offer to their customers. In addition, the number of system intrusions and the unauthorised use of communications services is showing a

16 15 slight decrease. The use of a service is unauthorised, for example, if a party guesses the password of a system user and logs in to the system using that password. In 2015, a system break-in was a factor affecting five significant information security violations. Vulnerabilities of data systems or threats thereof were involved in four significant information security violations. The exploitation of a vulnerability may lead to incorrect or unexpected operation of a system or software. A successful exploitation may lead to protected data being modified or leaked, or its legitimate use being prevented. Since the beginning of 2013, telecom companies have been obligated to specifically report any information security violations directed at personal data. In 2015, a total of 19 information security violations were targeted at personal data. Of these, eight incidents were errors in customer data management. The total number of information security incidents is decreasing In addition to the observations made by FICORA's Autoreporter service and the information security violations reported to FICORA, telecom companies continuously investigate large numbers of other information security incidents in their customer subscriptions and services. The number of all information security incidents handled by telecom companies has been clearly decreasing since Last year, there were a total of 200,000 information security incidents, whereas the corresponding figure was more than three times higher in Of these, the majority concerns malware detected by FICORA's Autoreporter system. Regarding 2015, the number of all violations has only been reported over the latter half of the year due to an amendment to FICORA's regulation on telecommunications disturbances. If it is assumed that an identical number of violations occurred during the first half of the year, the total number of violations that occurred in 2015 is more than 196,000. The trend concerning actions taken by telecom companies as a result of information security violations has been that problems can be increasingly solved by giving advice to customers who own the subscription in which the violation was detected. In as many as 70 per cent of the 196,000 incidents that occurred in 2015, contacting the customer was enough to resolve the situation. Filtering network traffic is a sufficient repair measure in more and more incidents. In 2015, network traffic was filtered in 14 per cent of all incidents. More rarely telecom companies need to disconnect a subscription that endangers information security. In 2015, this was necessary in only 5 per cent of all cases. Unfounded observations and reports accounted for 11 per cent in Only an insignificant number of incidents to be resolved are forwarded to other parties.

17 16 Figure 14 Actions taken by telecom companies to resolve information security incidents in The 2015 statistics only include the latter half of the year. 3.2 Functionality of communications networks and services In 2015, a total of 154 significant functionality incidents occurred Telecom companies are obligated to report any significant functionality incidents to FICORA. FICORA collects statistical data on other functionality incidents from telecom companies. During the past five years, the total number of significant functionality incidents in communications services has decreased. Even though the number of significant incidents was a little higher in 2015 than in 2014, the numbers were clearly lower than in A total of 14 severe incidents affecting more than 100,000 users (severity rating A) occurred in There were 33 serious incidents affecting tens of thousands of users (B) and 107 significant incidents affecting thousands of users (C). More incidents occurred during the latter half than during the first half of the year. The aforementioned thresholds regarding the number of users are not only indicators of severity; they are merely simple examples. Detailed criteria have been set out in FICORA regulation Impact of significant functionality incidents on telecom services Significant functionality incidents had a relatively similar impact on communications services in 2014 as they did in Service impact statistics of functionality incidents are presented as ratios because each incident may have an impact on several communications services. The majority of all significant functionality incidents had an impact on telephone, data or messaging (SMS and MMS) services in mobile networks. These accounted for a little less than 63 per cent of all incidents. This proportion decreased slightly from However, the proportion of incidents in internet 1 ndsupervision/actsregulationsdecisions/regu lations/regulation66ondisturbancesintelecom municationsservices.html

18 17 Figure 15 The number of significant functionality incidents in communications networks and services connections in the fixed network has increased since In 2015, they accounted for 18 per cent of all incidents. Less than 6 per cent of all incidents concerned telephone services in the fixed network. Some 8 per cent of all functionality incidents that occurred in 2015 concerned mass communications services, i.e. television, radio and IPTV. Of all mass communications services, cable TV had the highest number of significant incidents. services were affected by less than 3 per cent of all incidents and wireless networks other than mobile networks were affected by 2 per cent. Examples of the latter case include services based on wireless local area networks offered by telecom companies. Causes of significant functionality incidents The number of causes of significant functionality incidents varies quite a lot from one year to the next. As each incident may have several root causes, statistics of the causes of incidents are presented as ratios. The most frequent causes of significant incidents in 2015 were faults in the hardware or software of communications network devices. Incidents were caused by hardware malfunctions in 19 per cent of all cases, and by software malfunctions in 19 per cent of all cases. In recent years, the relative proportion of hardware malfunctions among all incidents has varied around 20 per cent. In , the proportion of software malfunctions was per cent, whereas it was approximately 10 per cent in

19 18 Figure 16 The relative number of the impact of significant functionality incidents in communications networks and services Power cuts caused incidents in 11 per cent of all significant cases. This proportion is unusually low compared with This difference can largely be explained by the lack of extensive storm-induced power cuts in 2015 compared with previous years. Problems with equipment facilities, such as cooling malfunctions or vandalism, were the cause in 3 per cent of all significant incidents. Disruptions in power unit systems, such as the breakage of a supply system in an equipment facility, caused only 1 per cent of all significant incidents in In previous years, this corresponding proportion has been roughly 3 5 per cent. This difference can also be clearly seen in the absolute number of incidents. Updates or modifications carried out in communications networks or services caused approximately 11 per cent of all significant functionality incidents. There has been a downward trend, even though there has been some annual variation. Cable breaks also caused 11 per cent of all incidents in This is nearly double the amount of 2014, but it is close to the long-term average. In 2015, factors other than those stated above caused 10 per cent of all significant incidents. Furthermore, the cause was unknown in 14 per cent of all cases.

20 19 Figure 17 The relative number of the causes of significant functionality incidents in communications networks and services The total number of incidents in communications networks has remained unchanged in recent years In addition to the aforementioned significant functionality incidents reported to FICORA, telecom companies are continuously investigating a number of other functionality problems. In 2015, telecom companies reported a total of 316,090 functionality incidents to FICORA in their statistics. This figure includes the 154 significant functionality incidents stated above. The number of all functionality incidents has remained at roughly the same level in recent years.

21 20 4 Postal services While the number of SmartPost parcel points continued to increase last year, the total number of postal service points decreased in The number of letter-related queries fell last year. 4.1 The delivery speed of letters met the requirements set out in the Postal Act FICORA monitors and supervises compliance with the Postal Act and any regulations and provisions issued on the basis of it. The purpose of the Postal Act is to ensure the equal availability of postal services and, in particular, universal postal services in all parts of Finland. Universal postal services are first- and second-class letter deliveries, as well as parcels paid for in cash. Under the Postal Act, letter deliveries within the scope of the universal service are governed by a quality standard: A total of 80 per cent of first class letters must arrive on the first weekday following the day they were posted. A total of 95 per cent of second-class letters must arrive on the second weekday following the day they were posted, and 98 per cent on the third weekday. In 2015, the delivery speed of first-class letters fulfilled the statutory requirements. Of all domestic first-class letters sent, 82.5 per cent were delivered to their recipients on the first weekday following the day they were posted. Furthermore, the delivery speed of second-class letters fulfilled the statutory requirements, as 95.9 per cent of these letters were delivered to their recipients on the second weekday following the day they were posted and 98.3 per cent on the third weekday. Under the Postal Act, first- and secondclass letters must be delivered to all households on five days a week. On average, deviations from the five-day delivery schedule affected 106 households, while the corresponding figure was more than 180 households in the previous year. The five-day delivery schedule can only be deviated from in 300 households if the household in question is located in an area which is difficult to reach, i.e. in the archipelago. Postal deliveries pay attention to people of more than 75 years of age and people with disabilities. In 2015, there were a little more than 19,000 households where personal special needs had been taken into account in terms of delivery services. This figure was identical to that of the previous year. With regard to universal service letters, there were disturbances in the fulfilment of the five-day delivery schedule during However, these disturbances concerned only a very small proportion of all universal service letters delivered. In 2015, at minimum 0.07 per cent and at maximum 1.12 per cent of universal service letters posted were undelivered between April and December. In practice, at least one letter and at most 11 letters remained undelivered every month per every one thousand posted letters. After Posti issued a sufficiently full account of the monitoring of delivery disturbances and related corrective actions, FICORA maintained the obligations based on its previously issued decision, according to which Posti must effectively monitor the fulfilment of its delivery services and, if required, take action concerning disturbances in deliveries being monitored. FICORA has extended until further notice the effective monitoring of the five-day delivery schedule that began in The number of SmartPost parcel points continued to increase. At the end of 2015, Posti Oy had 84 service points and 777 postal agency shops. The number of Posti's service points and postal agency shops has decreased in the 2010s. The number of

22 21 SmartPost parcel points increased by 5 per cent last year, with the total number of parcel points being 480 at the end of The rapid increase in SmartPost parcel points is partly based on the general increase in online shopping and the resulting growth in the number of parcels shipped. In addition to the aforementioned Posti's service points, Posti Oy maintained 46 parcel pick-up points; this number has, however, started to decrease. In total, there were 6,580 post boxes and 3,260 stamp sales outlets at the end of the year. According to a Government Decree, postal service outlets must be placed in such a manner that the permanent residence of at least 82 per cent of the postal service users in the whole of Finland is located no more than three kilometres from the closest postal service outlet. Furthermore, the distance between the residence of at most 3 per cent of all postal service users and the closest service outlet can be more than ten kilometres. At the end of 2015, 83 per cent of the population of Finland lived at most three kilometres from a postal service point, a pick-up location or a SmartPost parcel point, and 3 per cent of the population had at most ten kilometres to such a service point. These percentage values comply with the requirements laid down in the decree on postal service points under the Postal Act. There was a postal service point as required by the Postal Act in each Finnish municipality. 4.3 The number of problems in postal deliveries decreased Posti Oy received approximately 7,400 queries related to regular and registered letters, nearly one third fewer than in previous years. Queries related to regular letters accounted for per cent of the total volume, and those related to registered letters made up per cent of the total volume. This means that the number of queries was very low compared with the total number of letters. Of all queries, approximately 3,300 letters were found and more than 2,100 remained missing. After the lost and found letters, less than 2,000 queries remained unsolved. These included those letters, the mailing of which cannot have been verified. Figure 18 Postal service points

23 22 A very small portion of postal deliveries are damaged during handling. The proportion of damaged first and secondclass letters was per cent of the total volume in This figure also includes deliveries that were damaged before entering Posti's sorting process. FICORA is responsible for securing postal deliveries and investigating the recipient or sender of unreceived letters. In 2015, FICORA handled a total of 122,000 deliveries sent to it, of which it was able to forward 34,000 deliveries to their recipients or senders. Unreceived parcels are handled by Posti Oy. In 2015, there were 295 unreceived parcels.

24 23 5 Use of frequencies One of the most significant changes in the use of frequencies in 2015 was the start of frequency changes in the 700 MHz frequency range. It will be transferred from TV broadcasts to wireless broadband. In addition, a number of decisions affecting the current and future use of frequencies was made at the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC- 15) held at the end of the year. For example, investigations of frequencies to be used by future 5G networks were initiated at WRC Using frequencies The objective of frequency planning is to provide users of radio equipment with sufficiently disturbance-free radio frequencies according to their needs and the general demand. The use of frequencies can best be illustrated by dividing them over different frequency ranges. Most frequencies are used in radio relay and radar operations. The majority of low (68 1,000 MHz) frequencies are used in analogue voice radio operations, mobile communication and TV broadcasts focused on this frequency range only. The 700 MHz frequency range used previously for TV broadcasts will be transferred to the use of wireless broadband from the beginning of 2017, and the transfer of TV broadcasts from this frequency range started in July Frequency changes in the terrestrial network concern approximately half of all Finnish households, and information about these changes will be announced actively according to the project schedule. To secure frequency resources for TV operations at frequencies under 700 MHz, FICORA also continued to negotiate over frequencies with our neighbouring countries. The construction of LTE networks has continued rapidly in the 800 MHz frequency range, which was already transferred to the use of wireless broadband from TV broadcasts in 2014, and this has improved the availability of wireless broadband. In 2015, a large number of new frequencies was allocated for the use of FM radio operations. As these operations are also affected by the use of frequencies in neighbouring countries, the release of new frequencies required successful negotiations between FICORA and the frequency administrations of our neighbouring countries. The popularity of radio operations subject to short-term radio licences has continued to increase. These are used, for example, at various sporting events, in local radio operations and in various theme-specific radio services, particularly in the summer and during Christmas. The most significant users of the 1 3 GHz range are mobile communications networks, but the range is also used for other purposes, such as weather services and marine radio operations. The 3 6 GHz range is mainly used by fixed wireless networks, aviation radio communications, SRD and the military. The highest frequencies of 6 10 GHz are mainly used by radio relays, radars and satellites. As frequency bands of several GHz need to be assigned to the new 5G technology, the current use of frequencies will need to be reorganised. Investigations are already in progress, initially concerning frequency bands above 24 GHz. However, 5G also has a need for lower frequencies. FICORA supports and promotes research and development concerning 5G by issuing test licences with terms that are as flexible as possible and by taking active part in international cooperation. In 2015, radio relays were the single largest user of frequencies. Relays mainly focus on higher frequency ranges

25 24 Figure 19 The number of radio relay spans by bandwidth above 6 GHz. Radio relays set up a fixed data transfer connection between two locations. In recent years, operators have busily replaced old, narrowbandwidth radio relays with wider bandwidth relays, with this trend also continuing last year. The capacity of modern wide-bandwidth radio relays is up to 1 GB per second. The increase in capacity is based, for example, on the significantly growing use of mobile networks. 5.2 Radio licences Most radio devices can be used without a separate licence, while the use of specific radio devices requires a radio licence issued by FICORA to secure functional radio traffic. On the basis of radio licences, FICORA estimates the number of frequency users and the development of demand for frequencies. Furthermore, FICORA uses licence information to contact users of radio devices in questions related to limitations on use or other changes. The number of radio licences issued has shown slight growth in recent years, and there were more than 73,000 valid radio licences at the end of The majority of radio licences (65 per cent) are used by private radio networks. Private licensed radio networks are used for business and professional communications, such as in industry, municipal engineering (energy and water management), transportation, traffic control systems and official uses. Number of radio licences Private radio networks Vessels and aircraft Amateur radio operators Radio and remote control Radio links Aviation and maritime systems Personal locator beacons Radio microphones Mobile networks FM radios Others Total Figure 20 Valid radio licences

26 25 The second largest group of radio licences is formed of ships and aircraft, including radiotelephones used on boats and radio systems used on aircraft. There are nearly 15,000 of these licences, accounting for 20 per cent of all radio licences. 5.3 Supervising the use of frequencies and the radio device market Investigation and elimination of radio interference FICORA receives a large number of notifications concerning problems with the use of radio systems. If it is assessed on the basis of notifications that a problem may be caused by another radio device or electrical appliance, FICORA starts to investigate the matter as radio interference. The majority of radio interference cases require field work. For this purpose, FICORA has three measurement vehicles and portable measurement equipment. In addition, fixed remotely controlled monitoring receivers provide assistance. In 2015, FICORA investigated 140 reported cases of radio interference, half of which concerned TV reception or mobile networks. The majority of the interference in mobile networks was caused by faulty television antenna amplifiers in households. Five investigation requests were sent to the police concerning unauthorised repeaters causing interference in mobile networks, and two investigation requests were sent to installation companies. Of the solved cases of radio interference, ten concerned interference with emergency and safety traffic, and seven were processed as urgent cases. Electrical appliances caused 15 per cent of all interference. Approximately 40 per cent of the causes of radio interference remain unsolved, or the interference disappeared by itself. Supervision of the use of frequencies At international sporting events, the number of frequency users is high. Teams use radiotelephones to communicate within the team, whereas representatives of the media use frequencies, for example, to produce their programmes and distribute TV broadcasts. FICORA's experts inspect all radio devices carried to the event area Object (pcs) Cause (pcs) Terrestrial TV 40 2 Mobile networks SRD applications 8 1 Radio amateur devices 15 4 Professional mobile radio systems (PMR) 11 6 FM radio 12 3 Aviation radio systems 3 3 Navigation systems and radiolocation (civil) 1 1 Satellite services 0 Maritime radio systems 6 2 Fixed service 8 5 Interference source unknown 60 Other than radio devices (e.g. electric appliances) 33 Other radio devices 3 1 Illegal use of radio equipment 7 Total Figure 21 Objects and causes of radio interference investigated by FICORA in 2015

27 26 and their radio licences in order to verify that they operate at the correct frequency. During events, the use of frequencies is monitored in order to quickly eliminate any disturbances. In 2015, the use of frequencies was controlled and supervised at four internationally televised sporting events: the Lahti Ski Games, Biathlon World Championships in Kontiolahti, Neste Oil Rally and Ruka Nordic World Cup. The number of voice radio transmitters inspected during 2015 continued to be high (54 in total). Compliance with radio licence terms and conditions concerning voice radio transmitters is also monitored using random inspections. Problems have been identified, in particular, in frequency deviations of voice radio transmitters, and radio operators have been asked to investigate and solve these problems. Secured TV reception FICORA processes a large number of queries concerning problems in TV reception. In 2015, significant causes of problems continued to be 800 MHz base stations and wind turbines. After investigations conducted by the frequency administration, it was revealed that problems in TV reception were often caused by customers having inadequate antenna systems. Only a small number of the reported problems were caused by radio interference or shadow areas. FICORA ensures that everyone in Finland is able to receive the television services defined in the licence conditions by monitoring the coverage obligations set for network operators and programming licence holders. A network operator of multiplexes A, B and C is obliged to construct a network for a shadow area that affects more than 50 persons and has a diameter of 20 km. FICORA has investigated availability problems concerning eight different areas as part of the supervision of the coverage obligations of operators, with wind turbines causing problems in four of these areas. FICORA has processed dozens of reception problems or suspected cases of radio interference through advisory work or fieldwork. It has also forwarded queries to telecom operators for investigation on the basis of their obligations. In addition, FICORA made sure that in cases where a shadow area only concerns individual households, the television signal should be made available by an alternative means of distribution, usually by using satellite reception. FICORA has supervised the Free Frequency Help service set up to eliminate disruptions caused by LTE networks in the 800 MHz frequency range. In 2015, the service eliminated more than 10,000 disturbances in TV reception. To solve problems caused by wind turbines, FICORA has entered into discussions with different ministries, telecom operators and wind power companies. Because no authority has any jurisdiction to settle problems between wind turbines and radio networks, FICORA set up a working group that seeks solutions by means of self-regulation. The term of office of the working group will end on 30 April According to FICORA's estimate, approximately half of reception antennas in households are insufficient. Resolving TV reception problems is made significantly more difficult by the consumers being unaware of the requirements set for antenna systems and the responsibilities of households. In this respect, FICORA has paid attention, in its supervisory activities, to the advisory obligation of TV operators and its fulfilment. Market supervision of radio equipment The legislation on radio equipment will be amended this year because the new Radio Equipment Directive will come into force nationally in June FICORA has actively participated in

28 27 preparing the amended legislation, i.e. the Information Security Code. The compliance of radio equipment with governing requirements was supervised in 2015 through inspections and measurements. FICORA also took part in a European supervisory campaign to identify the compliance of remotely piloted planes and helicopters. FICORA also carried out inspections and supervisory activities in physical and online shops. FICORA identified new radio devices and trends by taking part in six exhibitions. It also performed inspections as a result of reports received and cases of radio interference that it had investigated. In 2015, FICORA inspected a total of 194 devices. Defects in documents or markings were identified in approximately 38 per cent of all devices inspected. The majority of these were caused by defects in the Declaration of Conformity delivered with the device or the lack of the specific document in the sales package. The package or operating instructions of a device must also include information about the countries or geographic areas in which the device is intended to be used. These defects were identified in 10 per cent of all devices. CE markings were missing from approximately 4 per cent of all inspected devices. In 2015, five radio devices were measured, with all measured devices being in compliance with their requirements. FICORA also discovered radio devices designed for the US market available on the Finnish market. These operate at too high a power or at incorrect frequencies in Europe. On the basis of its investigations, FICORA imposed sales bans on non-compliant devices.

29 28 6 Valid fi-domain names The year 2015 was an eventful one with regard to domain names, both internationally and in Finland. The adoption of new generic top-level domains (new gtlds) continued actively and, by the end of the year, more than 11 million domains were using the new gtlds. Of these, some 7,000 domains were registered in Finland. The most popular new gtld in Finland was.club. Debate over the administration of the internet and, in particular, the position of IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) continued to be lively throughout the year. According to a previous statement from the US Department of Commerce, the supervision of IANA is to be reassigned from the US Government to a party accepted by the internet community. However, this party cannot be an organisation under the control of any individual state or states. In order to meet these conditions, the IANA Stewardship Transition Coordination Group hosted by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) was established to coordinate the work to plan a new administrative model. The work was divided between several subgroups and, according to the original plan, the proposal for a new administrative model was to be ready during Because of the diversity of the internet community, the completion of the proposal was, however, postponed far into Starting from 5 September 2016, a new operating model will be applied to fidomain names to clarify the roles of FICORA and domain registrars. In the future, it will only be possible to acquire fi-domain names and all associated services from domain registrars. FICORA continues to guarantee the high quality of fi-domain activities by supervising registrars. The planning of and preparation for the new operating method to be adopted from 5 September 2016 continued throughout the year. In 2015, the number of valid fi-domain names continued to grow steadily, as in previous years. A total of 379,000 fidomain names were active in December This figure was 6 per cent higher than the year before. Figure 22 Valid fi-domain names