The only exception is in the
second and third years, when the high user acquisition costs
(due to the sharp increase in the number of customers during
these years) drive the overall OPEX. In comparison with
CAPEX, OPEX is more evenly distributed across different
cost elements. BTS site related costs (NW maintenance, site
lease) account for approximately 60% of OPEX, and user
acquisition costs around 3000. Transport costs are somewhat
lower than one could expect: less than 10% of the total
operation costs. For the most part, this is a result of the everdecreasing
cost of leased lines in the telecommunications
industry. However, since the BTS site related costs are still
dominant, the need for the network operator to optimize the
number of the sites is again emphasized.