The last decade has been one in which we have seen a phenomenal pace of change in the telecommunications industry. The internet and the mobile phone have changed the way we live, and have had profound effects on all aspects of life, from politics and civil liberties to education and the economy. The way we live and interact has changed in a way few of us would have predicted, and the rate at which these technologies have been taken up is without precedent.

So much has happened in the last 10 years, that it would really take a book to tell it all. Online commerce, digital TV, the change in the way the music and film industries have been transformed, the change in market dynamics with the introduction of VOIP, the proliferation of the smartphone, social networks, the change in the concept of privacy... the list is endless.

In this short article we will focus on the development of mobile and internet services in Malta over the last 10 years.

Mobile phones have over the decade moved from being a business requirement for executives, to becoming a personal requirement for day-to-day communications. The boundaries of communicating only from within buildings is now a thing of the past, and over the last 10 years we have seen the number of mobile phone connections in most developed countries superseding that of fixed line connections.

In Malta we have had some very important developments in a market that is considered to be very competitive.

The decade started off with the launch of Go Mobile, a gamble taken by then Maltacom, to sell off its shares and options in Vodafone, and opt to have its own operator. A move that at the time many thought ambitious, but which during the course of the following years, proved to be a very good strategic and economic move, which saw tiny Go take on giant Vodafone and succeed in grabbing half the market. Go's fresh approach to the market, with a focus on lower income subscribers and the pre-paid market, and its low-cost SMS strategy were key to its success.

The next major development in mobile networks in Malta occurred in 2006 with the introduction of 3G by Vodafone and EDGE by Go. This was the first real entry into mobile data, and with it came the introduction of the first real mobile content services. The landscape continued to change with island-wide 3G coverage launched by Go in 2007. At this stage the take-up of mobile data services started to grow, and as the proliferation of notebooks increased, mobile internet became a main driver for this technology.

The end of the decade saw some very interesting developments with the third operator, Melita, launching its 3G service in February of 2009, and a number of virtual operators joining the fray in a market, everyone contends is too small to support more than two operators. Like in many other areas of business in Malta, the operators are still managing to survive, and possibly the best outcome of this "over competition" is reduced pricing for their customers.

Without doubt, the last 10 years have been the decade of the internet. Notwithstanding the bad start with the bursting of the "dot com bubble", the growth and generation of wealth that the online economy has brought about was surely not something anyone had anticipated. In Malta the introduction of broadband came with the start of the decade, with Go launching its DSL services through its subsidiary Datastream, and Melita launching its cable internet products.

The fact that both companies, started off at the same time, and that both had monopoly funded nationwide networks, made the Maltese market a unique one. It was the only market at the time, which offered real broadband competition, with subscribers able to chose and switch between services easily, and all over the island. The reality that this was a market different from any other, saw a failure in the regulation of this market, as models which were applicable to European markets very different from ours were applied without success to the local market.

The last years have seen the consolidation of the market, with Go and Melita remaining the only viable players in the market, packing their broadband services as one of a bundle of four, including mobile, fixed voice and TV. Although Vodafone made an investment in Wi-Max wireless broadband internet in the latter years of the decade, it is today widely accepted that this is a product which really never had a chance of success in the local market.

Over these last 10 years there have been many people who have contributed to the successful evolution of the telecoms industry in Malta.

A special mention needs to be made to ex-colleague and good friend Colin Camilleri, who passed away at such a young age. Colin contributed first at Maltanet, then at Melita before moving on to the Malta Communications Authority, where he was instrumental not only for his technical contribution to Malta, and at an EU level, but to also keeping channels open with all operators at times when matters got a bit heated.

A part of what we are enjoying in terms of telecoms development today is surely due to Colin's contribution and dedication to the industry.

This is an article in a series looking back at how technology changed our lives in the past decade, known as the Noughties.

Mr Fearne is managing director at ICT Solutions and chairman of the Information Technology Business Section at the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry.