The market for computer equipment, which has grown faster than any other segment of the consumer durables market in recent years, is set to continue its rapid expansion over the forecast period, albeit at a slightly slower rate than during the historical period. Corporate debt within the industry has been slashed in recent years, while product innovation will continue to drive consumer demand.

Corporate spending on information technology (IT) grew modestly in 2004 and should remain firm over the next few years, reflecting the improved level of business sentiment both in Austria and abroad. The sector likely to record the strongest growth in corporate spending is corporate security systems and software, as companies gear up to meet potential terrorist and IT threats. Personal computer (PC) penetration, both at home and in offices, is expected to increase over the forecast period, with lower prices, the increasing availability of broadband Internet access, and the growing popularity of laptops (especially among business customers) helping to boost demand. Sales of cheaper consumer products such as digital cameras, MP3 music players, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and the latest mobile (camera/ Internet) phones are also expected to remain buoyant over the forecast period.

Austria has a modern telecommunications system. Telephone usage and related services, such as use of the Internet, are widespread, despite (until recently) high telephone costs. The overall number of fixed-line accounts of the former monopolist, Telekom Austria (TA), has been on a steady decline since 1997. Customers have moved over to relatively new access operators, such as United Telecom Austria (UTA), or have migrated to the cable telephony services on offer since 1999 by companies such as UPC Telekabel. Mobile substitution is also a significant factor in the erosion of TA's public switched telephone network (PSTN) subscriber base. Mobile subscriber penetration overtook that of fixed lines as early as 1999 and now far outstrips the latter. With the mobile market now approaching saturation, however, the decline in TA's and Austria's narrowband subscriber base is expected to ease over the next few years and to fall into a more graduated attrition pattern in subsequent years.

At the same time, the growth of broadband services, including digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable Internet, is helping to set overall fixed penetration levels back on a more stable path. In 2004 an estimated 21% of households were connected to the Internet via some form of fixed (broadband) network. The market for Internet access in Austria is currently undergoing a period of rapid change, as customers switch from dial-up networks to high-speed fixed access, and this trend will continue over the coming years.

In contrast to the projected decline in the number of fixed-line connections, mobile telephony and related services should continue to grow over the forecast period. The expansion in telecoms spending is forecast to outpace global GDP growth over the coming years, driven mainly by the development of broadband and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) services and robust demand for the very latest mobile phones. With the level of mobile penetration now at a high level in Austria (an estimated 95% of the population in 2004), the growth rate of mobile subscriptions is projected to slow over the forecast period, after the rapid rate of expansion in the late 1990s. Nevertheless, it will still be sustained by growth in multiple subscriptions, as consumers seek to take advantage of numerous product offers.