Internet subscriptions climb by 5.8% over third quarter 2013

During the reference quarter, broadband internet subscriptions numbered 143,659, up by 5.8 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.

High speed internet connections exceeding 10 Mbps reached 117,603 and accounted for 81.9 per cent of total subscriptions. On the other hand internet subscriptions with speeds ranging from 2 to 10 Mbps dropped by 24.0 per cent. The internet subscription index as at the end of quarter 3 stood at 154.4, increasing by 5.8 percentage points compared to last year's levels.

Television subscriptions totalled 149,166, up slightly by 0.2 per cent over 2012. Digital subscriptions continued to dominate the market with 94.8 per cent of total share, Analogue subscriptions numbered 7,796, declining by 12.8 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Fixed telephone subscriptions as at the end of September reached 230,841, down by 1.4 per cent over 2012. Total fixed originating minutes to national networks dropped by 8.0 per cent, while minutes towards international networks dipped by 20.1 per cent.

During the reference quarter, mobile telephone subscriptions reached 570,196, up by 5.2 per cent when compared to the previous year. An increase of 6.4 per cent was recorded in the demand for post-paid schemes, while pre-paid subscriptions advanced by 4.8 per cent.

The mobile penetration rate for the third quarter stood at 134.8 per cent, indicating that a share 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 - 5.0 and 13.8 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, the number of SMSes sent while roaming decreased by 7.1 per cent.

Total postal traffic during the reference quarter decreased by 2.1 per cent and stood at just over 9.2 million. Items received and dispatched by courier service totalled 157,328, an increase of 13.5 per cent over the previous year.