310 million SMSs sent in six months

310.3 million SMS messages were sent in Malta in the first half of this year, compared to 242.4 million in the first half of 2009, a report by the Malta Communications Authority shows.

Mobile telephony subscriptions totalled 439,536 as at the end of June 2010, representing an increase of 8.7 % over the corresponding figure in 2009. Most subscriptions, at 81.2%, continued to be prepaid.

The mobile phone penetration rate reached 106.4%, up from 97.9% as at the end of June 2009. Approximately 132.3 million mobile calls were made, constituting 177 million minutes recorded in the first half of 2010, a significant increase over the corresponding period in 2009, which amounted to 121.5 million .

With regard to the Internet sector, fixed broadband penetration continued to grow, reaching 28.4% of the total population by the end of Q2 2010. In absolute terms, the number of fixed broadband subscriptions increased by 10,863 over a 12-month period, to reach 117,537 by the end of June 2010.

On the other hand, the number of dial-up subscriptions declined by 1,091 and stood at 169 by the end of the reporting period. The vast majority of broadband subscriptions, at 87.3% by the end of Q2 2010, enjoyed a connection speed of 4Mbps or higher but less than 10Mbps. A further 10.6% enjoyed a connection speed equal to or exceeding 10Mbps. Around 41% of all broadband subscriptions formed part of a bundle.

The number of Pay TV subscriptions reached 143,186 by the end of June, representing an increase of 7.8% over the corresponding figure in 2009. Subscriptions on the digital platform accounted for 86.3% of all Pay TV subscriptions. Those on the analogue Pay TV platform accounted for the remaining 13.7%.

Furthermore, around 35 percent of all digital Pay TV subscriptions as at the end of June 2010 were bundled with some other electronic communications product or service.

The MCA said that at the end of June, fixed line telephone subscriptions totalled 246,139, a marginal increase of 0.4% over the corresponding period in 2009. 76.5% of all fixed subscriptions were postpaid subscriptions, of which, 14.5% formed part of a bundle.

The increase in fixed line subscriptions was however not sufficient to ensure stronger traffic levels in this area as volumes declined both in terms of calls (decline of 2.5%) and call minutes, (decline of 0.8%). The number of fixed line portings in the first half of 2010 totalled 2,094.

POSTAL SECTOR

The postal sector also witnessed slight growth in mail volumes as gains in some areas outweighed losses reported elsewhere. Total mail volumes handled in the first half of 2010 totalled 21.5 million items, up from 21.3 million in the first half of 2009. This improvement is attributable to more letter post items and parcel mail items handled during the period, outweighing declines in bulk mail items and registered mail items.

The report is available from the MCA website at: http://www.mca.org.mt/newsroom/openarticle.asp?id=924