HT Builds for the Next Decade: Fiber Remains the Foundation as 5G Enters a New Phase

At a time when the telecom industry is facing surging traffic, investment pressure, and increasingly complex user demands, Hrvatski Telekom sees network development as a long-term discipline with little room for short-term improvisation. Nataša Malić, Director of Access Networks at Hrvatski Telekom, argues that today’s network is already capable of supporting a broad range of advanced scenarios, but that the next leap forward will depend just as much on devices, equipment availability, and viable business models as on infrastructure itself.

Discussing the evolution of 5G, Malić stresses that the current network can already deliver significant capabilities. She points to projects and large-scale events that have shown how much can be achieved even without a fully standalone architecture. “The 5G network as it exists today can do a great deal,” she says, noting that some of that potential has already been demonstrated in demanding real-world environments. In her view, however, the real step change will come with broader adoption of standalone architecture and more advanced network functions.

That is also where she sees the value of network slicing, or the ability to adapt network resources far more precisely to the needs of specific users and industrial use cases. “What standalone will bring are additional technological characteristics that will make this easier. A real slice will be easier to configure,” Malić explains. Yet she is quick to add that the main obstacle today is not the technology itself but the lack of mature, repeatable products. “The biggest challenge is that there is no product. Every case is different, it has to be designed from scratch, and it is hard to replicate,” she says. That is why Hrvatski Telekom sees much of the next development wave in campus networks and vertical business applications, where advanced connectivity can be translated into measurable business value.

The Croatian market adds another layer of complexity. It is relatively small and highly sensitive to investment cycles, while major infrastructure projects require a high degree of predictability. For that reason, Malić argues that it is not enough for the network alone to be ready; the wider value chain also has to mature. “It’s not only about the network. The network will be ready. Devices matter too,” she says. In her assessment, the Croatian market could be ready around 2027 for the first more serious and commercially relevant standalone use cases.

In the meantime, operators are being forced to make investment decisions in a far tougher environment than they faced only a few years ago. Equipment costs have risen, delivery times have stretched, and planning has become significantly more difficult. “The problem is not only that something has become much more expensive. The problem is that you wait months for it,” Malić says. Under those conditions, every infrastructure project has to pass a strict return-on-investment test. “For every single thing, you do a business case and then see where it makes sense and where it doesn’t,” she adds, underlining that network development can no longer be separated from hard economic realities.

Pressure is also coming from the demand side, through continuous and difficult-to-predict growth in traffic. Video, streaming, and ever more intensive digital consumption are raising the bar for networks year after year. “We expected 30 per cent growth, and we are seeing that it is even higher,” Malić says. That is why autonomous and automated networks are becoming increasingly important, with systems designed to adjust network operations in real time as traffic patterns shift. “The network is trying to adapt to the situation as traffic changes within it,” she explains. The industry is not yet at the level of full autonomy operators would ultimately like to reach, but she sees a clear direction of travel and one of the most promising technology shifts now underway.

On fixed infrastructure, Malić leaves no room for ambiguity. “Nothing can beat fibre,” she says. By the end of last year, according to her, Hrvatski Telekom had passed the threshold of roughly one million households covered by fibre, but the job is far from complete. The next phase involves more difficult and less economically attractive areas, which is why the operator is combining multiple approaches. “We will keep working, we will keep building, we will not stop, and we will offer both,” she says, pointing out that a converged operator is expected to provide both fibre and alternative fixed access solutions.

From a technology perspective, she sees the future of fixed networks moving steadily toward 10-gigabit capabilities, even if current consumer needs do not yet require such speeds at scale. “The networks are ready,” Malić says, while noting that customer equipment must evolve as well. At the same time, European policymakers and industry players are increasingly discussing the shutdown of copper infrastructure, reinforcing the sense that the shift to fibre is not optional but structural.

One of the more intriguing developments she highlights is the growing intersection between mobile networks and satellite systems. She says she was particularly encouraged by Deutsche Telekom’s cooperation with Starlink, because such an approach could have very tangible relevance for a country like Croatia. “Croatia may be small, but it is demanding to plan for because of mountains, national parks, and islands,” Malić says. In that context, satellite support for mobile coverage could help ensure at least a basic level of connectivity in places where terrestrial infrastructure faces obvious limitations.