Internet broadband grows by 5.3% in first quarter 2014

During the first quarter, internet broadband subscriptions grew by 5.3 per cent, reaching 144,800.

High speed internet connections exceeding 10 Mbps advanced by 19.5 per cent, reaching 131,930. In contrast, internet subscriptions with speeds ranging from 2 to 10 Mbps decreased by 52.0 per cent.

The internet subscription index as at the end of Quarter 1 stood at 155.6 per cent, increasing by 5.3 percentage points when compared to 2013 levels.

Television subscriptions totalled 148,545, at par with last year’s levels. Digital subscriptions continued to dominate the market while analogue subscriptions dropped by 12.2 per cent.

Fixed telephone subscriptions as at the end of March totalled 230,384, edging up by 0.5 per cent over 2013. Total fixed originating minutes to national networks declined by 4.5 per cent, while minutes towards international networks decreased by 11.4 per cent.

Local originating mobile traffic rose by 10.9 per cent. Positive trends were recorded both towards fixed and mobile telephone networks – 3.2 and 11.7 per cent respectively. Meanwhile the number of SMSes sent while roaming increased by 2.0 per cent.

Total postal traffic during the reference quarter declined by 11.8 per cent, and stood at 9.6 million items. Items received and dispatched by couriers totalled 183,086, up by 21.2 per cent over last year.