A 15-fold rise in ultra-fast internet subscriptions – of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) or higher – has been registered over the last two years, according to the latest figures.

The growing popularity of applications like Netflix, Skype and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) appears to be among the main drivers for faster broadband connections.

This combines with data-hungry gaming consoles like the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One X, as well as use of social media on mobile phones and tablets, to further boost demand for broadband connectivity.

What’s more, a lot of TV sets are nowadays internet enabled and are used for browsing and for watching videos on YouTube and the like.

According to the figures released by the Malta Communications Authority, in the first half of last year more than 24,200 internet subscribers enjoyed a download speed of a 100 Megabits per second or higher. This represents a three-fold increase over the same period in 2016.

The spike is even more pronounced when compared with the first six months of 2015. Back then, there were only 1,651 subscribers with top-end internet speeds, or one per cent of total broadband customers. Twelve months down the line, the share increased dramatically to 14 per cent.

The total number of subscribers to broadband (defined as 128k upwards) continued with its steady growth, rising from 158,869 in the first half of 2015 to 177,327 by the end of last June.

SMS is gradually losing the battle against other messaging services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp

The shift towards higher internet speed is also evident in the slower brackets: the number of subscribers with less than 10Mbps is in steep decline, at just 991 from 7,931 in 2015.

Despite a 9.3 per cent drop in the average price paid by subscribers for every Mbps, the service providers’ average revenue per user went up by 6.1 per cent. This means that despite the cheaper downloads, subscribers were willing to pay even more for the service.

Fixed broadband penetration has now reached 40 per cent of the population, according to the report.

Another picture that emerges from this report is that bundled packages, made up of internet, mobile phone, fixed-line and TV, are becoming more popular as they are more affordable than buying separate standalone subscriptions.

In another segment, the number of mobile phone users rose 22 per cent, from 294,493 in June 2016 to 358,317 last June.

Mobile voice call minutes reached 427 million, up by 8.2 per cent, even though the total number of calls declined by 12.5 per cent. This means that users made fewer but longer calls.

SMS is gradually losing the battle against other messaging services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, which are significantly cheaper to run for the consumer

A 3.4 per cent increase in fixed-line traditional telephony subscribers, to 239,582, appeared to buck the trend. The report attributes this rise to the fact that the service is now often sold as part of a bundle. In fact, both the number of calls as well as the average duration declined.

The data also focused on roaming activity, which is the term used for receiving and making calls on a mobile phone while abroad. In the first half of 2017, roaming charges continued to decline and this resulted in longer calls.

The MCA report also shows clearly that SMS is gradually losing the battle against other messaging services like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, which are significantly cheaper to run for the consumer. In the first half of last year the average number of SMSs sent by each user was 279, down from 414 in 2015.

In the pay TV sector, subscriptions for GO and Melita services registered an increase despite fierce competition from private IPTV suppliers, reaching 152,371 in all, a three per cent rise over June 2016. However, average revenue per user declined by 2.5 per cent.

In the postal sector, there was a marginal drop of 0.5 per cent in the mail volumes registered in the first half of last year, totalling 18.6 million. However, express mail increased by nine per cent.

Bulk mail accounted for 60.7 per cent of all activity while parcel mail to just 1.4 per cent.

Source: Communications Market Review (January-June 2017), MCA.

Graphics: Design Studio