The Malta Communications Authority (MCA) is hereby publishing the latest available data on the telecommunications and postal sectors in Malta for the first quarter (Q1) of 2015.

A Data Report Sheet (DRS) listing a number of indicators for the aforementioned sectors is also available with this publication. Data in the DRS is presented on a quarterly basis, covering the period Q1 2011 to Q1 2015.

Telecommunications: Q1 2015

Fixed telephony

The number of fixed telephony subscriptions totaled 230,962 by the end of March 2015, up by 0.2 per cent when compared to March 2014.  During this period, the number of post-paid subscriptions was up by 12,904 whilst the number of pre-paid subscriptions was down by 12,355.

Fixed line originating traffic was down in Q1 2015 when compared to the same period a year earlier. The number of fixed line voice calls was down by 7.4 per cent and the number of fixed line voice call minutes was down by 8.8 per cent.

On a per user level, the average number of fixed line voice calls fell from 180 in Q1 2014 to 166 in Q1 2015. At the same time, the average number of fixed line voice call minutes was also down, from 654 to 597.

Mobile telephony

The number of mobile telephony subscriptions reached 554,468 by the end of March 2015, up by 3.7 per cent when compared to the end of March 2014.  During this period, the number of post-paid subscriptions was up by 12,374 and the number of pre-paid subscriptions was up by 7,350.

Mobile originating traffic was stronger in Q1 2015 when compared to the same period a year earlier. The number of mobile voice calls was up by 2.8 per cent and the number of mobile voice call minutes was up by 8.1 per cent.

The number of SMSs sent was down by 10.6 per cent in Q1 2015 when compared to the same period a year earlier. On a per user level, the average number of mobile voice calls increased from 220 in Q1 2014 to 224 in Q1 2015 and the number of mobile voice call minutes increased from 308 to 330. At the same time, the average number of SMSs was down to 208 from 235.

Fixed broadband

The number of fixed broadband subscriptions was up by 5.6 per cent (or 19,724) in the period under review, from 144,585 at the end of March 2014 to 152,659 at the end of March 2015.

The number of internet subscriptions with download speeds lower than 30Mbps was down by 14.5 per cent, from 78,175 at the end of Q1 2014 to 66,826 at the end of Q1 2015. This decline was outweighed by a 29.5 per cent increase in the number of internet subscriptions with download speeds ranging from 30Mbps to less than 100Mbps and a 10.5 per cent increase in the number of internet subscriptions with download speeds of 100Mbps or more. In absolute terms, the number of subscriptions in the former category was up by 19,314 and the number of subscriptions in the latter category was up by 109.

Pay TV

The number of pay TV subscriptions at the end of Q1 2015 was down by 0.6 per cent (or by 824) when compared to the same period a year earlier.

The number of analogue pay TV subscriptions was down by 7.2 per cent, from 7,186 at the end of March 2014 to 6,670 at the end of March 2015. The number of digital cable TV and digital terrestrial TV subscriptions was also down, by 2.2 per cent in the former case and by 8.7 per cent in the latter case. 

In contrast, the number of IPTV subscriptions at the end of March 2015 was up by 91.3 per cent (or by 6,631) when compared to the end of March 2014.

Post: Q1 2015

Overall, postal traffic volumes in Q1 2015 were down by 3.9 per cent when compared to the same period a year earlier.

The number of standard letter mail items delivered in Q1 2015 was only marginally down when compared to the same period in 2014. At the same time, the number of bulk mail items was down by 6.7 per cent (or by 410,463).

Positive changes were recorded in the case of registered mail and parcel mail items, with the number of deliveries in the former case increasing 5.5 per cent (or by 15,193) in Q1 2015 when compared to Q1 2014 and by 14.3 per cent (or by 13,935) in the latter case.