Internet subscriptions increase by 6.2%

Internet and mobile subscriptions as at the end of June both registered increases over 2012, contrasting with fixed telephone and TV subscriptions which saw declines, the NSO said. 

In June 2013, Internet broadband subscriptions numbered 142,299, increasing by 6.2% over the comparative period last year.

High-speed Internet connections exceeding 10 Mbps advanced to 115,250 and accounted for 81% of the total.

On the other hand, Internet subscriptions of between 2 Mbps and 10 Mbps went down by 58.6%. The Internet subscription index as at the end of Quarter 2 stood at 152.9%, increasing by 6.2 percentage points when compared to the corresponding period in 2012.

The number of television subscriptions totalled 146,544, down by 1.3% over 2012. Digital subscriptions continued to dominate the market, and analogue subscriptions numbered 7,964, dropping by 14% over the second quarter last year.

The number of fixed telephone subscriptions as at the end of June reached 229,997, down by 1.4% over 2012. Total fixed originating minutes to national and international networks declined by 5% and 12.1% per cent respectively.

During the reference period, mobile telephone subscriptions reached 554,651, up by 3.3% over 2012.

An advance of 8.2% was recorded in the demand for post-paid schemes, and an increase of 2% in pre-paid subscriptions.

The mobile penetration rate for Quarter 2 stood at 131.9%. 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 - 5.8% and 15.3% respectively.

Meanwhile the number of SMS's sent while roaming decreased by 1.1%.

At around 9.9 million items, total postal traffic went down by 2.1%. Items received and dispatched by couriers amounted to 167,054, an increase of 17.2% over last year.