The year 2009 which dies out today has left its mark in the history of the development of ICT in Malta. Though it did not present unique major events, 2009 showed how much Malta was progressing in the creation of the so-called information society.
Figures issued by the National Statistics Office just a few days ago revealed that two in three Maltese households have access to a computer and the internet. Most of them make use of it for communication through e-mail, 40 per cent accessed e-government services and 58 per cent purchased something online.
For the first time in history, the number of mobile phone subscriptions exceeded the total population in 2009. Some 418,341 subscriptions had been registered by September, which means there is a significant number of users with more than one subscription, in line with most EU countries. The number of fixed telephone subscriptions increased by 4.4 per cent over the third quarter of 2008. Analogue and digital television subscriptions penetrated 96.8 per cent of households, with digital subscriptions accounting for 75.3 per cent of the total.
These numbers, however, cannot tell the entire story.
If we had to give a name to the year, we would say it was the "Year of Personal Wireless Communication". After the launch of the Apple iPhone and RIM's Blackberry in late 2008, their use exploded in 2009, especially in terms of internet access on the go. Statistics confirm that the Maltese are talking more on their mobile, accessing the internet more often, but sending less SMS and much less MMS or making video calls - the latter two options never actually took off in Malta.
The availability of reliable, cheaper and faster internet access on the go was made possible by the two main mobile operators and the third new operator, investing in better access and lowering down data access. This also matched the international trend, whereby the European Commission continued to press for the need to reduce roaming tariffs also in terms of SMS and data.
Internet access through the internet key attached to a laptop or netbook or directly on the mobile handset, with speeds up to 7 megabits per second, caught the imagination of many, at the expense of the other relatively new wireless fast internet access technology, WiMax, which saw a very sluggish increase in usage.
However, it was content that pushed for better wireless access, especially social networks like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, which registered a significant increase in usage by the Maltese in the last 12 months.
The mobile scene was quite hectic in 2009, with the launch of the third national operator, Melita Mobile, in February, the launch of MTV Mobile brand by Go, the launch or imminent launch of two mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), and the folding of one of the first two MVNOs. Ping, the MVNO by the Nationalist Party, will be launched in early 2010 and will follow the Labour Party's Red Touch Fone MVNO launched in 2008. City Mobile is a new MVNO by the Valletta FC. Bay Mobile folded up earlier in the year.
In November, the mobile industry saw the launch of Mobile Monday Malta chapter, an informal movement that promotes discussions and meetings about the mobile industry.
Wired internet continued to be the main technology used for internet access, however, though different international surveys showed it is pricey and the quality does not cater for the present needs, let alone the future of Malta.
However, investment in the infrastructure continued and Melita in June announced its new submarine data cable with Sicily was in operation, bringing the number of Maltese international links to four. The major internet blackouts experienced in 2008 were not repeated in 2009, thanks also to emergency action plans and regulations put in place.
The industry saw some movements, with small ISPs surrendering to commercial pressures and giving over their subscribers to Go in February. Melita, Go and, to a lesser extent, Vodafone, continued to dominate the broadband internet access market in that order.
The announcement in February that the Maltese government had chosen IBM to implement a €70 million smartgrid project for the utilities was reported in the international press. The project will introduce a new billing system and new smart meters among other, enabling differentiated tariffs and less wastage for Enemalta.
Further accolades for the Maltese government came in November when the EU-commissioned benchmarking report on e-government in Europe put Malta at the top place in terms of quality and availability of e-government services in Malta.
The Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), responsible for these e-government services, had a new chief executive officer, Matthew Gatt, appointed in September.
MITA also launched the procurement process for a national "e-learning solution" to implement e-learning in the local educational system.
SmartCity Malta was much in the news merry-go-round in the summer with a spate of resignations of its highest-ranking Maltese officials, including chief executive Claudio Grech, while Tecom Investments from Dubai tried to reassure the Maltese that the project was on track. Bad news on the financial situation in Dubai later in the year fuelled, rather than quelled, speculation on SmartCity Malta as the first building Ricasoli is scheduled for inauguration and its first tenants by mid-2010.
Malta, just like the rest of the world, benefitted from the launch of major hardware and software. Microsoft's Windows 7 and Apple's new iPhone 3GS and Snow Leopard are just two examples.
In the Budget for 2010 presented in November, the government put particular emphasis on research and innovation, voting millions of euros for such initiatives. Timesofmalta.com provided ground-breaking live coverage of this event on the website. Other innovations launched by timesofmalta.com during the year included the Espresso news service.
Several conferences and events were held throughout the year. Informatix, which should have replaced the IT&T fair in March, was not as successful as expected, while the second edition of the Digital Arts Expo and the new Digital Arts Awards were held in November.
The annual conference of the Malta Communications Authority discussed the switchover from analogue to digital TV planned for December 31, 2010. The switchover will be one of the highlights of the new year.
Late this year, the new European telecoms framework was approved and it is expected to be transposed onto Maltese legislation during 2010, to come into effect in early 2011. It brings significant protection to users' rights and boosts competition.