(Telecompaper) Investments in the Belgian telecom market increased 49.2 percent in 2013 to EUR 1.87 billion, according to annual statistics from the regulator BIPT. Two-thirds of the increase was due to the sale of licences for the 800 MHz band. The increased investment comes as the market deals with a structural decline in revenues, started in 2011. Revenues fell 3.9 percent last year to EUR 7.26 billion. The drop was due mainly to the wholesale segment, while retail revenues were largely stable, at EUR 6.15 billion. Voice revenues fell both in the fixed (-2.9%) and mobile (-4.6%) markets, but this was offset by growth in broadband, up 1.5 percent in fixed and 1.9 percent in mobile. The annual report also shows a drop in the number Sim cards in the market, of 1.9 percent among the three network operators and 18.2 percent among virtual operators. According to BIPT, mobile broadband grew by around 40 percent in 2013 to some 5 million users. This is equal to a penetration of 45.7 percent, still below the EU average of 62.4 percent.