A total of 4.5 million main telephone accesses were reported in Portugal at the end of third quarter 2011, 0.4 percent above the previous quarter. Compared to the same quarter of 2010, a year-on-year rise of 1.6 percent is reported. VoIP/VoB accesses, which include accesses using optical fibre (FTTH/FTTB), and accesses based on GSM/UMTS increased during the period being reported. Accesses using other technologies accounted for 32.7 percent of main telephone accesses, increasing 1.2 percentage points over the previous quarter and 4.8 percentage points over 3rd quarter 2010.
Meanwhile, the number of public payphones continued to decline, falling to 29 thousand, 2.9 percent fewer than in the previous quarter and down 8.2 percent year-on-year.
The penetration rate reported with regard to main telephone accesses this quarter reached 42.5 accesses per 100 inhabitants, while penetration has been increasing.
The companies of Grupo Portugal Telecom (Grupo PT) operating in these markets continue to have the majority of accesses, with a share of 59.1 percent, albeit declining - falling 0.4 percentage points from the previous quarter and 1.6 percentage points from the 3rd quarter 2010.
In the third quarter, the number of fixed telephone service customers (FTS) using direct access was reported at around 3.6 million, increasing 0.5 percent over the previous quarter and by 2 percent over 3rd quarter 2010.
This increase was driven in significant part by bundled offers that include the fixed telephone service, subscription television and/or Internet and by the offers of alternative providers based on cable TV networks.
During the period being reported, the penetration rate of residential customers with direct access amounted to 55.6 per 100 dwellings considering private dwellings, an increase of 1.1 percentage points over the previous period.
Meanwhile, indirect access using pre-selection fell by 5.3 percent in terms of number of customers, to about 93 thousand customers. Compared to 3rd quarter 2011, a decline is reported of 23.1 percent.
Nomadic VoIP customers are also declining, reported at around 93 000 active customers, 4.4 percent fewer than in the previous quarter.
Grupo PT's share of direct access customers fell 0.3 by percentage points over the previous quarter and 1.4 points year-on-year to 53.1 percent. This reduction in the share of direct access customers results primarily from new offers of alternative providers based on access technologies other than the traditional Fixed Telephone Service, especially bundled offers.
In the third quarter, around 1.9 billion minutes and 542 million calls were originated on the fixed network, a quarterly decline of 3.2 and 2.7 percent, respectively.
In the period being reported, an average of 31 fixed-fixed calls were made per main access, with 7 fixed-mobile calls and 2 international calls.
Over the same period, Grupo PT's share of fixed telephone service voice traffic fell to 57 percent, 1.3 percentage points lower than in the previous quarter.
In the quarter, the residential fixed telephone service customer has been profiled and three distinct groups identified:
- Homes that have a diverse range of services in addition to the FTS. This group is notable for the diversity of services received in conjunction with the FTS. Additionally, the use of bundled services tends to be more expressive in this group. These households are essentially characterized by being resident in Greater Lisbon and belonging to an upper-middle class. The respondent from these households tends to be aged between 25 and 44 years, have a higher level of education and, in professional terms, comprise middle or senior management and specialist staff.
- Homes that have a reduced set of services. In these homes the fixed telephone service tends to be used exclusively or in combination with the subscription TV service. The incidence of the mobile phone service is less pronounced in this group, as is the presence of bundled services. These households tend to be found in the Northern Interior, be among lower social classes and be smaller; they are also more likely to include elderly members. In individual terms, there is a predominance of respondents aged 55 or years of over, respondents with low levels of education and either retired or unemployed.
- Homes that use the FTS with less intensity. It is in this group that non-use of the FTS is most evident and where the mobile service is used by almost all respondents. This group has a higher relative weight in the region of the North Coast, among middle social classes and in larger households where there is greater likelihood of children being present. Respondents tend to be younger and students; there is also a predominance of individuals with intermediate levels of education and "skilled" and "unskilled" staff, as well as "Services/Retail/Administrative Employees".
Consult the statistical report:
- Fixed Telephone Service - 3rd quarter 2011 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1111633
