The CEE Connectivity Surge: What Operators Need to Know for 2026–2030

Central and Eastern Europe is no longer a peripheral consideration in European telecom planning. CEE telecom growth 2026 is now one of the clearest opportunities on the continent, with the market forecast to expand at 6.3% CAGR through 2030. As we covered in Why Vienna Is the New Capital of European Telecoms, the region is moving rapidly from infrastructure catch‑up to becoming a leader in next‑generation connectivity. For operators, investors, and vendors deciding where to allocate capital, central eastern europe connectivity represents a growth corridor that complements — and in many cases outpaces — more mature Western European markets.

Sizing the CEE Opportunity

To understand the scale of this shift, we start with the numbers. Between 2019 and 2024, the telecom sector’s contribution to gross value added across leading CEE economies rose from 4.6% to 5.3%, reflecting how critical digital infrastructure has become to national economic performance. Romania consistently leads this metric, followed closely by the Czech Republic — proof that connectivity investment directly drives wider prosperity.

This is what underpins the telecom CAGR CEE figure. The region hosts around 285 operational data centres, with Poland and Romania accounting for a large share of current and planned capacity. Poland alone is set to deliver more than 65% of upcoming IT power capacity across the region, supported by hyperscaler expansion and the growing focus on digital sovereignty.

Growth is driven by three key factors:

• EU and national funding, including the Digital Decade initiative and Connecting Europe Facility, which unlock billions in grants for broadband and cross‑border infrastructure.
• Rising consumer and enterprise demand, as businesses and households shift from legacy DSL and cable networks to high‑capacity fibre and 5G services.
• Greenfield deployment opportunities, where infrastructure gaps in many markets mean operators are building AI‑native, cloud‑ready networks from the ground up — not just upgrading ageing systems.

While penetration rates still lag behind Western Europe in some areas, that gap is exactly what creates the opportunity — and the urgency to act.

Market‑by‑Market Snapshot

To turn regional trends into actionable strategy, we look at four priority markets leading the transformation.

Poland

Poland dominates the CEE landscape by scale and investment momentum. By early 2026, leading operators reported more than 13 million mobile subscribers, with broadband customer growth reaching 84% year‑on‑year in some segments.

Fibre rollout is accelerating rapidly, supported by the European Investment Bank, which has backed projects to serve 1.1 million homes using an open wholesale model. This structure ensures competition while making investment viable in both cities and rural areas. Following the 2025 spectrum auctions for the 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands, 5G deployment has scaled up significantly, helping operators lift ARPU as customers move to premium mobile and fibre plans.

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic offers a stable, investor‑friendly environment. Mobile subscribers stand at roughly 6.6 million, while broadband connections grew over 10% year‑on‑year. The market was transformed by structural separation, which created CETIN — an independent wholesale infrastructure provider — enabling consistent long‑term investment while maintaining competition at the retail level.

CETIN now holds investment‑grade credit ratings, allowing it to raise capital for expansion projects targeting an additional one million premises with fibre connectivity. This model has become a blueprint for how to fund large‑scale network build‑out across the region.

Hungary

Hungary is strategically positioned within European transport and digital corridors. Leading operators serve 6.6 million mobile customers and nearly 2 million broadband users. Following structural separation, its infrastructure is managed as part of the CETIN Group, which operates across Hungary, Bulgaria, and Serbia.

With strong backing from institutional investors, the group is expanding fibre and backhaul capacity to meet demand from logistics, manufacturing, and enterprise clients. As a transit hub between Western and Eastern Europe, Hungary is also a growing market for data centre interconnect and high‑capacity transport services.

Romania

Romania stands out as a connectivity leader. It already has one of the highest FTTH penetration rates in Europe, exceeding 90% in many urban centres. Having moved beyond basic deployment, operators here are now shifting focus to monetisation — introducing premium enterprise services, network APIs, and fixed‑mobile convergence.

EU funding has been key, with Romania receiving significant support through the Connecting Europe Facility to expand coverage in rural areas and build cross‑border links to neighbouring countries. The regulatory framework supports open access, encouraging competition and ensuring infrastructure investments deliver long‑term value.

Of course, challenges remain: regulatory differences between markets, varying rollout timelines, and the need to understand local competition. But for those who move now, the region offers a chance to shape the market before it matures.

How do the DACH and CEE markets interact?

For operators active in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, CEE is more than an adjacent market — it is a natural extension of existing strategies. DACH provides scale and stability, but growth rates are slowing as networks mature. CEE offers higher‑return opportunities, aligned with EU rules and standards, and increasingly integrated into the wider European economy.

These are the clearest operator opportunities eastern europe presents:

• Partnership and investment: The wholesale infrastructure model, as seen with CETIN, offers a low‑risk way to gain exposure without building from scratch. Groups like Deutsche Telekom already operate across multiple CEE markets, gaining operational efficiencies and transferring best practices.
• Technology alignment: Fibre, 5G, and AI‑driven automation are the same priorities across DACH and CEE. Solutions proven in Western Europe can be adapted and scaled eastward, often at lower operational costs.
• Connectivity services: As data flows between regions multiply, operators with strong IP‑optical and transport networks have a clear advantage, selling premium data centre interconnect, peering, and cross‑border services.

As Thomas Kicker, CEO of Magenta Telekom, notes: “Europe’s digital future will be built on networks that are not only fast, but intelligent, secure and sovereign.” This holds true across the continent — but nowhere is it being built faster than in CEE.

Where Network X 2026 Fits

To turn data into decisions, you need more than reports — you need to hear directly from the operators, regulators, and vendors shaping the landscape. This is exactly where Network X 2026 delivers value – benchmarking, networking and thought-leadership amongst telco peers

Taking place 13–15 October at VIECON, Vienna, the event sits at the gateway between Western and Eastern Europe, making it the ideal forum to discuss this growth story. Through dedicated CEE sessions in the exhibition, attendees will explore exactly what is working in CEE: open access models, AI‑driven deployment strategies, 5G evolution and FWA.

Speakers include leaders such as Melinda Szabo, CEO of T‑Mobile Czech Republic & Slovak Telekom; Ken Campbell, CEO of Play Poland; and Mariusz Gatza, CEO of Orange Slovensko, who bring on‑the‑ground experience navigating these markets. Beyond the sessions, the Operator Lounge and networking zones create a neutral space to compare notes, discuss partnerships, and understand the nuances of regulation and competition across borders.

As Dr Klaus Steinmaurer, Managing Director of RTR Telekom & Postal Services, puts it: “At a time of high fibre rollout, this is a critical moment for our industry and Network X is uniquely placed to bring together operators, regulators and innovators to advance Europe’s digital future.”

Conclusion

The CEE connectivity surge is more than a statistic — it represents a fundamental shift in Europe’s digital map. While Western Europe focuses on optimisation and revenue generation, CEE is building the infrastructure that will serve businesses and consumers for the next two decades.

For operators, vendors, and investors, ignoring this region means missing one of the clearest growth opportunities in telecom. To move from understanding the market to acting on it:

Claim your complimentary Operator Pass for Network X 2026 and join peers shaping this transformation

Read our full overview of the strategic location in Why Vienna Is the New Capital of European Telecoms

Download our guide to the Vienna connectivity landscape for deeper regional insights

For how DACH operators are approaching their own sustainability and efficiency targets, see our upcoming analysis.