Internet broadband subscriptions continue to grow

As at end of December, internet and mobile subscriptions increased when compared to 2011. Conversely, subscriptions to fixed telephony as well as the number of TV subscriptions continued to decline.

During the last quarter of 2012, internet broadband subscriptions grew by 5.9 per cent, reaching 137,009. A substantial increase was noted in the use of high speed internet connections (above 10Mbps), while the number of subscriptions of between 2Mbps and 10Mbps declined by 67.7 per cent.

The internet subscription index as at the end of Quarter 4 stood at 147.2 per cent, an increase of 8.3 percentage points when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2011.

Television subscriptions numbered 147,896, down by 1.2 per cent over 2011. Digital subscriptions continue to dominate the market, with a majority of 94.2 per cent. Analogue subscriptions stood at 8,516 - 16.1 per cent less than the figure for the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

Fixed telephone subscriptions during the reference period numbered 229,736, down by 1.1 per cent over 2011. During the reference quarter, total fixed originating minutes to national and international networks dropped by 2.8 per cent and 7.9 per cent respectively. On the other hand, total fixed originating minutes to national networks between fixed and mobile telephone lines increased by 5 per cent.

During Quarter 4, mobile telephone subscriptions went up to 539,452, or by 3.4 per cent, when compared to the previous year. Increases were recorded in both post-paid and pre-paid subscriptions, with post-paid subscriptions showing an increase of 8.1 per cent over 2011.

The mobile penetration rate stood at 128.6 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 - 9.3 and 13.3 per cent respectively.

Increases were also noted in outbound and inbound roaming activities, and in the number of SMSs sent by Maltese subscribers while roaming.

Total postal traffic during the reference quarter exceeded 11.2 million items, decreasing by 3.5 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2011. Items received and dispatched by couriers totalled 140,338, a decline of 8 per cent over the previous year.