Consumers continue to make more calls every year, with 250 million mobile-originating minutes registered in 2008 resulting in an increase of 12 per cent over 2007, industry statistics show.
The amount of text messages sent during this period - 117 million - was the lowest since 2006, possibly the result of more advantageous calling offers, the Malta Communications Authority said, referring to recent National Statistics Office data.
Both SMSs and MMSs recorded a drop in 2008, compared to 2007, with 7.6 million fewer SMSs (a 1.5-per-cent decrease) and a drop of 202,000 MMSs (a 36 per cent decrease). The figure also includes MMSs over internet portals, indicating they have declined in popularity, the authority said.
The statistics show that electronic communications services continued to grow in the last quarter of 2008 and the MCA said "very significant" developments were registered on every front of the mobile telephony market, with the resultant positive impact on consumers and their level of consumption.
The number of mobile subscribers at the end of 2008 amounted to about 386,000, an increase of four per cent over 2007, resulting in a mobile penetration rate of 94 per cent, it said.
Last September's emergence of two mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) resulted in a wider choice for consumers. But in terms of statistics for this quarter, it had minimal impact, which was to be expected, according to the authority, considering they had just started providing services on a commercial basis.
The number of users who switched operators in 2008 reached about 35,000, a staggering 58 per cent increase over 2007, with 43 per cent of all changeovers registered in the fourth quarter.
"This level of switching of subscribers between operators is one of the important indicators of the level of competition in the market," the MCA said.
Fixed telephony continues to withstand the strong, downward trends in most EU countries, with the number of fixed-line subscribers remaining stable last year.
As in previous years, fixed telephony remained the most used form of communication, with a total of 645 million fixed-originating minutes registered in 2008, including international calls.
The 11 per cent increase over 2007 was mostly due to a growth in fixed-to-fixed calls while fixed-to-mobile calls continued to report an upward trend, with an increase of 20 per cent over the previous year. The effects of EU roaming regulations, introduced in June 2007 to allow affordable and transparent cross-border communication, started to be seen locally, with outbound and inbound roaming minutes increasing by 22 per cent and 25 per cent respectively over 2007.
Most minutes were clocked in the summer months, the statistics show.
Broadband subscribers amoun-ted to 100,915 at the end of 2008, with the penetration rate increasing from 20.5 per cent in July 2008 to 23.9 per cent in January, surpassing the EU average penetration rate of 21.7 per cent as at July 2008.
TV broadcasting also continued to exhibit an upward trend, with an increase of seven per cent in subscriptions last year, reaching 127,000 subscribers.
Digital subscriptions marked 63 per cent of the total, up from 47 per cent in 2007, auguring well for Malta's target to shift TV broadcasting systems to digital by December 2010, the MCA said.
Postal volumes continued to decline - by seven per cent, or 3.7 million items - but the number of inbound and outbound parcels increased by 31 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The MCA said this could be attributed to an increase in electronic commerce take-up by consumers, particularly during the last Christmas season.