Internet broadband grows by six per cent in third quarter

Both Internet and mobile subscriptions registered increases as at end September when compared to the last year. Subscriptions to fixed telephony continued declining, while a slight drop was noted in the number of TV subscriptions.

Internet, analogue and digital TV subscriptions

During the third quarter this year, Internet broadband subscriptions grew by 6 per cent, reaching 135,845. A substantial increase was noted in high speed Internet connections (above 10Mbps), while the number of subsciptions below 10Mbps dipped by 67.6 per cent. The Internet subscription index as at the end of September stood at 146 per cent - 6 percentage points higher when compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Television subscriptions totalled 148,939, down by 0.1 per cent over 2011. Digital subscriptions continue to dominate the market, with a share of 94 per cent. Analogue subscriptions stood at 8,937 - 19.5 per cent less when compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Telecommunications

Fixed telephone subscriptions numbered 234,097, down by 1.5 per cent over 2011. During the reference quarter, total fixed originating minutes to national and international networks went down by 2 per cent, while minutes towards international networks declined by 9.3 per cent. On the other hand, total fixed originating minutes to national networks between fixed and mobile telephone lines increased by 7.5 per cent.

During the quarter under review, mobile telephone subscriptions continued advancing to 551,736, up by 4.9 per cent when compared to the previous year. Increases were recorded in both postpaid and pre-paid subscriptions.

The mobile penetration rate stood at 130.9 per cent. This means that a considerable number of individuals had more than one mobile account during the reference period. Increases were recorded in local originating mobile traffic, both towards fixed and mobile telephone networks - 21.5 and 15.9 respectively. Increases were also noted in outbound and inbound roaming activities, while SMSs sent by local subscribers while abroad increased by 5.8 per cent.

Post and Courier Services

Total postal traffic during the reference quarter exceeded 9.4 million items, decreasing by 5 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Items received and dispatched by couriers totalled 133,852 - 4 per cent higher than the previous year.