There’s still life in the printed version of telephone directory

Four companies have expressed interest in producing a printed or an online version of the telephone directory, the Malta Communications Authority has an­nounced.

However Go, which in the past was entrusted with the publication as the monopoly telecommunications company in Malta, has decided not to get involved in this venture.

Media Today Co. Ltd and Yellow Pages (Malta) Ltd are interested in the printed version while Abakus Solutions came forward for the online version. Malta Directories Ltd is interested in both.

Yellow Pages Ltd and Malta Directories Ltd are not new to publishing directories, as the former publishes the local Yellow Pages, the later has its own version of the business directory. Media Today Co. Ltd publishes newspapers while Abakus Solutions is a web and multimedia development company.

The MCA said it will “evaluate all expressions of interest by adopting an adjudication process that ensures an efficient, objective, transparent and non-discriminatory designation mechanism in the forthcoming period.”

Last April, the authority decided that the printed telephone directory, together with access to fixed telephony services, a directory enquiry services and access to public payphones, were to be considered as ‘universal service obligations’ in electronic communications services. Universal services are the minimum set of electronic communication services considered essential to the general public.

Findings of a survey commissioned by the authority a year ago revealed that 60 per cent of the Maltese population does not make use of the printed version of the telephone directory. Around 15 per cent thought the printed version had completely lost its relevance; 31.5 cent felt its relevance had diminished.

However the results of the survey still pushed the MCA to label the printed directory as an essential communication service, especially for the elderly who are not so internet literate.

A Go spokesman last April had told i-Tech that the company had to evaluate the business implications of such a publication, last printed in 2004. As for the online telephone directory, Go has been providing this service for years, expanding it to include mobile numbers of other local operators. It is not clear how the company chosen to produce the online directory will handle the existing, updated directory.

Users can also call the directory services on numbers 1182, 1187, and 1189.

The companies which will eventually take on the responsibility of providing the printed and the online directory will have a tougher task ahead than Telemalta/Maltacom/Go in the past. The local communications market has grown and matured, with several players and users changing their telecoms providers while keeping their fixed-line and mobile numbers thanks to number portability introduced in 2006.

According to the latest MCA statistics, there were 3,794 new fixed-line subscriptions and around 36,000 new mobile subscriptions last year.

Around 4,000 fixed-line subscribers changed provider while retaining their number. A staggering 60,000 did the same for their mobile service, prompted by new mobile service providers in the market.