Malta Communications Authority chairman Joseph Tabone yesterday hailed 2006 as a landmark year, pointing out it was the first in which consumers have benefited from a choice in fixed line telephony and television networks.
And the Maltese appear to have an insatiable thirst for all types of communications. Mobile telephony continued to grow, by 7.1 per cent or 22,881 subscribers, and reached an 86 per cent penetration rate. The vast majority, 91.2 per cent, of mobile users preferred prepaid accounts over contract subscriptions.
The use of SMS, or short message service, grew by over seven per cent with levels reaching nearly half a billion, which translates into 89 SMSs per capita per month.
Fixed line local business fell by 58 million minutes, or 17 per cent over the year, showing an increasing preference for mobile telephony, while fixed line international minutes fell by some 36 per cent.
This was mainly as a result of the ever growing Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) offering, which accounted for the drop in fixed minutes by registering 57.5 million minutes, mainly driven by GO’s Ten21 VOIP offering.
As a result of a number of interconnection agreements reached between operators through Malta Commun-
ications Authority intervention, 2006 also saw a spate of innovative services coming on stream, such as bundled offers.
The rates for interconnection, a prerequisite of competition in the communications market as it allows users on one network to connect with users on other networks, have also dropped by some 30 per cent over the year.
Broadband internet penetration had hit the 16.6 per cent mark by the end of 2006, with DSL subscriptions accounting for 53.8 per cent and cable internet supplying 46.2 per cent of broadband subscribers.
In the related area of e-commerce, a recent survey found 27 per cent of Maltese shop online, 55 per cent of whom do so regularly. The MCA is to use the survey’s results as the basis of an e-commerce action plan being formulated.
Postal services, which are also regulated by the MCA, saw improvements in next-day deliveries, with over 92 per cent of mail being delivered within one day. Immense volumes are involved, with some 18 million domestic postal items being delivered over the last quarter of 2006 alone.
“The sectors the MCA regulates generate close to Lm120 million worth of economic activity or approximately five per cent of GDP,” Mr Tabone observed yesterday.
“Electronic communications, in particular, are one of the major underpinnings of today’s economic and social development, thus making this report an important national reference document.’
Cable and digital television subscribers increased their numbers by 10,000 over 2006 and numbered 112,676 by the end of the year.
While Melita Cable saw a decrease in subscribers, Multiplus registered gains, which, the MCA points out, does not necessarily mean Multiplus took subscribers from Melita Cable since the number of satellite television users is an intangible quantity with no statistics being available.
A major part of the MCA’s work revolves around the undertaking of market reviews.
There are 18 designated markets in Malta, all of which have to be analysed regularly. Following each market review, the EU Commission has to be notified on the state of play in each market as well as the remedies imposed in instances of significant market power. Such market reviews measure competition in a given sector. To date, the MCA has concluded 16 of these markets and two are still pending.
Such market reviews fall in line with the promotion of competition, which itself is the MCA’s primary objective. The concept is based on the fact that a competitive market, and one that is sustainable in the long term, maximises consumer welfare through improved value for money, innovation and choice.
“This was amply evidenced in 2006, when competition continued to drive down retail prices while at the same time further expanding product and service offerings,” Mr Tabone pointed out.
He adds, “Regulation has been responsible for the successful proliferation of mobile telephony and the host of innovative services which electronic communications brings to your home, school or place of work.”