Subscriptions to all forms of communication technology, except fixed telephony, registered increases during the first quarter of 2013 when compared to last year, according to the National Statistics Office.

Internet broadband subscriptions reached 141,117, increasing by 6.3 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

High speed internet connections, with speeds ranging above 10 Mbps, advanced to 112,247 and were in the majority. On the other hand internet subscriptions of between 2 Mbps and 10 Mbps dropped by 59 per cent, while slower connections (less than 144 kbps) have now become obsolete.

The internet subscription index as at the end of quarter 1 stood at 151.6, up by 6.3 percentage points when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2012.

Television subscriptions reached 148,592 during the reference quarter, up by 0.3 per cent over 2012. Digital subscriptions continued to dominate the market. Analogue subscriptions numbered 8,187, declining by 14.1 when compared to the corresponding quarter last year.

Fixed telephone subscriptions during the reference quarter reached 229,330, down by 0.8 per cent over 2012. Total fixed originating minutes to national and international networks also decreased by 6.1 per cent and 11.1 per cent respectively.

As at the end of March, mobile telephone subscriptions stood at 547,695, up by five per cent when compared to the previous year. An increase of 8.6 per cent was recorded in postpaid subscriptions while pre-paid subscriptions also rose by 4.1 per cent, when compared to 2012 levels.

The mobile penetration rate for the quarter under review stood at 130.4 per cent. 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 of 3.7 and 11.5 per cent respectively. Meanwhile the number of SMSs sent while roaming grew by 3.9 per cent.

Total postal traffic during the reference quarter advanced by five per cent, surpassing 10.8 million items. Items received and dispatched by couriers totalled 151,360, an increase of 10 per cent over the previous year.