Broadband internet doesn't come cheap in Malta - European survey
European consumers paid less for their fixed broadband internet access (DSL, cable modem and fibre technologies) in 2008 than the previous year according to a study released last week by the European Commission. However, the study revealed that...
European consumers paid less for their fixed broadband internet access (DSL, cable modem and fibre technologies) in 2008 than the previous year according to a study released last week by the European Commission.
However, the study revealed that broadband internet did not come cheap to Maltese users who for the high-speed packages had to fork out some of the highest prices in the EU. This has not escaped the attention of the European Commission.
Furthermore, 80 per cent of broadband subscriptions in the EU are unmetered, i.e. without limits on the time or data downloads. All Maltese packages included in the study were metered with download limits.
The basic broadband access service in Malta a year ago consisted of a 2048 Mb/s (megabit per second download) connection. Charges for this entry service decreased significantly over 2007 and in fact it was cheaper in Malta than the EU 27, €19.9 compared to €23.76.
A Maltese internet user had to pay €33.3 per month compared to the EU average of €36.89 for a 4 Mb/s connection excluding installation charges. This makes Malta the seventh most expensive in the EU27 but second most expensive when the installation charges are taken into account.
A 6Mb/s connection in Malta cost €70.48 per month, compared to the EU27 average of €37.42 for a similar connection between 4 and 6 Mbit/s. This is the fourth most expensive in the EU27.
Maltese internet users had to pay €93.38 per month for a 10 Mb/s broadband connection in April 2008 whereas the EU27 average was €42.52, or less than half. The previous year such a speed was not being offered in Malta but when it was introduced it was the most expensive among all 27 member states.
No broadband connection of 20 Mb/s or higher was being offered in Malta at the time under study and the average price in the EU27 was €54.06/month.
The report also takes into account bundles of internet, TV and telephony services, the so-called triple play. Mobile telephony was not included in the analysis.
Here again we find the services offered in Malta being more costly than the European average. A bundle of internet access (2 Mb/s connection), TV and fixed-line telephony in Malta cost €75.34 per month and was the third most expensive in the EU27, compared to the average of just €58.7.
The report, compiled by Van Dijk management consultants on behalf of the European Commission, analysed broadband internet access offers in 33 countries, namely the 27 member states of the EU, Norway, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Canada and the USA. Prices for access packages available between April 1 and 15, 2008 were analysed.
The term broadband internet access was defined as "access assuring an always-on service with speeds in excess of 144 kbps" in download terms.
Offers by Go and Melita (OnVol) were covered in this study, but since Vodafone Malta only offers broadband wireless access (WiMax), it was not included.
The study looks at the cost of 1,800 retail broadband offers (not wholesale) from 147 internet service providers. It compares the price of broadband subscriptions in seven groups ("baskets") at different download speeds for broadband via DSL, cable modem and fibre. Higher speeds allow faster downloads of rich and better quality services like video streaming.
The price of Maltese broadband services did not reflect negatively on the popularity of the service which increased during 2008, spurred by the government's push with low-priced entry packages before the general election.
"European users now enjoy higher broadband speeds at lower prices thanks to more competition in the broadband market," said EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding on the release of the report findings. "The right combination of competition between companies and regulation means that prices are down and internet speeds are up. The majority of European broadband users can get online at speeds of above two Megabits per second, a speed that allows TV over internet, at cheaper prices. The trend is good but there are still important differences in prices between countries. We need to ensure a single market for telecoms by having a consistent set of telecoms rules for the whole of the EU."
The study found out that broadband access costs are, on average, higher in the new member states, including Malta, than in the EU 15, except for two baskets (1-2 Mb/s incl. and + 20 Mb/s).
The average monthly prices for broadband subscriptions fell in the EU between April 2007 and April 2008. The biggest fall was in the 2-4 Mb/s bracket with 29 per cent. On the other hand, for the four per cent of European broadband consumers who opt for lower speed broadband connections, (144-512 kilobits per second), prices went up by seven per cent, from €28.2 to €30.2 per month in 2008.
About 23 per cent of European citizens subscribe to broadband nowadays, and a large majority of them use connections above two Mb/s. However, there is often a gap between what subscribers are offered and the speeds they effectively get when they download web services.
The Commission said it will soon launch a study to measure this gap and will continue monitoring prices to make sure that consumers get a fair deal from their subscriptions.
It also announced that before this summer it will propose a new European broadband strategy
to promote 100 per cent coverage of broadband and to assist the transition to higher speed internet for both fixed and mobile internet.
In the last budget speech the government announced it will start experimenting very high speed broadband access directly to homes through fibre optic cables.
However, the study revealed that broadband internet did not come cheap to Maltese users who for the high-speed packages had to fork out some of the highest prices in the EU. This has not escaped the attention of the European Commission.
Furthermore, 80 per cent of broadband subscriptions in the EU are unmetered, i.e. without limits on the time or data downloads. All Maltese packages included in the study were metered with download limits.
The basic broadband access service in Malta a year ago consisted of a 2048 Mb/s (megabit per second download) connection. Charges for this entry service decreased significantly over 2007 and in fact it was cheaper in Malta than the EU 27, €19.9 compared to €23.76.
A Maltese internet user had to pay €33.3 per month compared to the EU average of €36.89 for a 4 Mb/s connection excluding installation charges. This makes Malta the seventh most expensive in the EU27 but second most expensive when the installation charges are taken into account.
A 6Mb/s connection in Malta cost €70.48 per month, compared to the EU27 average of €37.42 for a similar connection between 4 and 6 Mbit/s. This is the fourth most expensive in the EU27.
Maltese internet users had to pay €93.38 per month for a 10 Mb/s broadband connection in April 2008 whereas the EU27 average was €42.52, or less than half. The previous year such a speed was not being offered in Malta but when it was introduced it was the most expensive among all 27 member states.
No broadband connection of 20 Mb/s or higher was being offered in Malta at the time under study and the average price in the EU27 was €54.06/month.
The report also takes into account bundles of internet, TV and telephony services, the so-called triple play. Mobile telephony was not included in the analysis.
Here again we find the services offered in Malta being more costly than the European average. A bundle of internet access (2 Mb/s connection), TV and fixed-line telephony in Malta cost €75.34 per month and was the third most expensive in the EU27, compared to the average of just €58.7.
The report, compiled by Van Dijk management consultants on behalf of the European Commission, analysed broadband internet access offers in 33 countries, namely the 27 member states of the EU, Norway, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Canada and the USA. Prices for access packages available between April 1 and 15, 2008 were analysed.
The term broadband internet access was defined as "access assuring an always-on service with speeds in excess of 144 kbps" in download terms.
Offers by Go and Melita (OnVol) were covered in this study, but since Vodafone Malta only offers broadband wireless access (WiMax), it was not included.
The study looks at the cost of 1,800 retail broadband offers (not wholesale) from 147 internet service providers. It compares the price of broadband subscriptions in seven groups ("baskets") at different download speeds for broadband via DSL, cable modem and fibre. Higher speeds allow faster downloads of rich and better quality services like video streaming.
The price of Maltese broadband services did not reflect negatively on the popularity of the service which increased during 2008, spurred by the government's push with low-priced entry packages before the general election.
"European users now enjoy higher broadband speeds at lower prices thanks to more competition in the broadband market," said EU telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding on the release of the report findings. "The right combination of competition between companies and regulation means that prices are down and internet speeds are up. The majority of European broadband users can get online at speeds of above two Megabits per second, a speed that allows TV over internet, at cheaper prices. The trend is good but there are still important differences in prices between countries. We need to ensure a single market for telecoms by having a consistent set of telecoms rules for the whole of the EU."
The study found out that broadband access costs are, on average, higher in the new member states, including Malta, than in the EU 15, except for two baskets (1-2 Mb/s incl. and + 20 Mb/s).
The average monthly prices for broadband subscriptions fell in the EU between April 2007 and April 2008. The biggest fall was in the 2-4 Mb/s bracket with 29 per cent. On the other hand, for the four per cent of European broadband consumers who opt for lower speed broadband connections, (144-512 kilobits per second), prices went up by seven per cent, from €28.2 to €30.2 per month in 2008.
About 23 per cent of European citizens subscribe to broadband nowadays, and a large majority of them use connections above two Mb/s. However, there is often a gap between what subscribers are offered and the speeds they effectively get when they download web services.
The Commission said it will soon launch a study to measure this gap and will continue monitoring prices to make sure that consumers get a fair deal from their subscriptions.
It also announced that before this summer it will propose a new European broadband strategy
to promote 100 per cent coverage of broadband and to assist the transition to higher speed internet for both fixed and mobile internet.
In the last budget speech the government announced it will start experimenting very high speed broadband access directly to homes through fibre optic cables.