Illegal operators now account for 10% of the telecom market in Latvia, according to Izzi, the country’s second largest cable operator.
In total, the ‘grey’ market now has around 100,000 customers.
Commenting on the figures, board member Sandra Kraujina said that the state is losing out in unpaid tax, and content producers and TV channels, including local content producers such as the MTG-owned stations LNT and TV3 in revenues.
Customers, too, are being robbed on the grounds of QoS and often suffer from network problems.
Izzi is now calling on the government to do more to tackle the problem.
