Reasons for choosing the Internet access service provider
Average internet access price observed
Reasons for choosing the Internet access service provider
The reasons that lead the respondents to choose their Internet access service provider differ for each means of access.
For mobile phone Internet users, the main reason for choosing the operator was the fact that they were already their mobile voice customers (67.0%), followed by the fact that this provider was the one that best satisfied their needs (8.9%). For USB modem Internet access users, the main reason indicated for choosing the operator was "No special reason" (20.0%), closely followed by the price factor (18.2%). In the case of fixed access, the main reason was the subscription to a service package (almost half of the replies - 42.2%), followed by the price factor (28.9%).
Breaking down the reasons for choosing the Internet access service provider by 'C' and 'NC' municipalities, for users that access the Internet using a USB modem, in the 'NC' municipalities, the second commonest reply for choosing that service's operator was the network coverage (19.1%), while in 'C' municipalities this reply came fourth (12.7%), after price (18.1%) and better satisfaction of needs (15.4%). This result supposes that 3G (UMTS) network coverage is more highly valued in 'NC' municipalities than in 'C' municipalities, perhaps because 3G coverage differences between them are more obvious.
It should be mentioned that according to IDATE (2011), although the 3G mobile broadband coverage of the population is 98%, in terms of the territory coverage it is about 67% (in the case of 3G+ mobile broadband, there is an 85% coverage of the population versus a 66% coverage of the territory.)
Subscribed download speed
The proportion of individuals who were able to answer about the speed subscribed with the service provider was very low, regardless of the type of access - only 19.0% of fixed Internet access users, 31.9% of USB modem users, and 3.9% of mobile phone users knew the answer to the question about the speed subscribed with the service provider. These results suggest that USB modem users are more attentive than the others about the offers they purchased.
Only the results of the speeds contracted by USB modem and fixed access users are presented, since after obtaining the sampling errors associated with each of the three samples the sample size of mobile phone accesses was not considered acceptable. The sample size on the speed of fixed access was considered reliable, and the sample size for the USB modem accesses was considered acceptable 1.
Regarding the respondents who knew the answer to the question about the subscribed speed associated with their access, in the case of USB modem mobile accesses there was a higher rate of responses from men than from women, and from respondents aged 15 to 29 than from the other age groups. Regarding fixed access, there was a higher rate of responses from men than from women, from individuals in the 24 to 44 age group than in the other age groups, from those with secondary education than those with other education levels, from those living alone than those who live with others, and from those who live in Greater Lisbon, Greater Porto and in the Centre Coastal regions versus those who live in other regions of the country.
As mentioned in ICP-ANACOM (2011a), in 2010, the maximum subscribed speed of a USB modem mobile broadband retail offering was 43.2 Mbps, compared to 1 GB in the case of fixed access offers. The speeds most usually provided in the USB modem offerings were 1 Mbps, 4 Mbps and 7.2 Mbps, while in fixed access offerings they were 10 Mbps, 20 Mbps, 30 Mbps and 100 Mbps.
Based on the results of the survey, for the respondents who knew the answer to this question the contracted download speed most mentioned (mode) by users with USB modem access was 4 Mbps, also corresponding to the median 2, while the average was 8.2 Mbps.
Among users with fixed access, the mode of the contracted download speed was 12 Mbps, the median was 20 Mbps, and the average was 25.4 Mbps. However, it is important to note that since the respondents with fibre accesses were overestimated in the sample 3 and also have a higher response rate than the other respondents with fixed access 4, it is supposed that the statistics now mentioned, related to the fixed access, are overestimates. To minimize this issue, subscribed downstream speeds were analyzed by type of technology associated with the fixed access, which were compared with the contracted speeds reported by service providers in the information they provide every year to ICP-ANACOM (2010 data).
The average subscribed speed mentioned by respondents is, as would be expected considering the technical characteristics of the accesses, higher for users with fibre accesses (41.2 Mbps). Cable accesses follow, with the average subscribed speed mentioned by respondents being 21.2 Mbps, and then comes ADSL access, with an average speed of 14.3 Mbps. These results are close to the values indicated by the service providers.
Average internet access price observed
When asked about who pays for the Internet access, most respondents said they pay the cost of the access in full, regardless of the means of Internet access. The proportion of Internet accesses that is paid, in full or partially, by the employer is higher for respondents with USB modem (11.1%), followed by mobile phone usage (9.1%). Fixed accesses, fully or partially paid by the employer, correspond to a share of 3.1% - see Table 7.
|
Distribution of respondents by agent paying the |
Fixed |
USB modem |
Mobile phone |
|
Fully paid by self or relative |
96.8% |
88.7% |
91.0% |
|
Partially paid by employer |
0.9% |
2.0% |
1.2% |
|
Fully paid by employer |
2.2% |
9.1% |
7.9% |
|
NA/NR |
0.1% |
0.2% |
0.0% |
|
N |
(2 377) |
(1 368) |
(1 068) |
Estimate: (#) Non-reliable estimate; (*) Reliable estimate; (unmarked) Reliable estimate.
Source: ICP-ANACOM, based on the results of the Survey on the means of access to the Internet.
Internet access is mainly paid on a monthly basis - 96.4% in the case of fixed access, 69.6% in the case of USB modem, and 53.5% in the case of mobile phone access. For mobile accesses, pre-payment for a number of hours is also an option (13.0% in the case of USB modem, and 16.3% in the case of mobile phone access), followed by pre-payment for the amount of traffic consumed (3.2% and 10.8%, respectively, for USB modem Internet users and mobile phone users).
At this stage it is important to mention that the retail broadband offerings available on the market and associated with each means of access - fixed, by USB modem, and by mobile phone - are different, and therefore it is not possible to make direct comparisons between the average prices observed to be associated with each means of Internet access. However, the prices observed based on the current survey are presented by way of example.
When asked about the price paid every month, on average, for the Internet access, or in the case of fixed Internet, for the offering that includes the Internet access, 77.2% of respondents with USB modem accesses knew the cost, 49.5% of respondents with mobile phone accesses knew it, and 68.4% of respondents with fixed Internet access knew it.
The price most mentioned (mode) observed by USB modem access users was €15 and for mobile phone access it was €5 - see Table 8. However, when breaking down the results according to how the USB modem was acquired, i.e. if it was through an Information Society promotion measure or not, in the first case the observed mode is €15, and otherwise it is €30.
In the case of fixed Internet access, when it was acquired as part of a services package, the observed price most mentioned was €50, compared to €20 when this service was purchased separately. This result is explained by the fact that the price paid in a service package also corresponds to the other services.
On average, the observed prices mentioned by users were €21.7 for a USB modem (about €15.7 when acquired through a programme for promoting Information Society), and €14.6 for mobile phone Internet accesses. For fixed access, the average price observed was €47.1 when it was included in a package, and €23.0 when purchased on its own.
|
The observed price paid by the Internet access (in Euros), by means of access |
Fixed (isolated) |
Fixed (package) |
USB modem |
Mobile phone |
|
Average |
€23.0 |
€47.1 |
€21.7 |
€14.6 |
|
Median |
€20.0 |
€45.0 |
€21.0 |
€10.0 |
|
Mode |
€20.0 |
€50.0 |
€15.0 |
€5.0 |
|
N |
(163) |
(1 463) |
(863) |
(529) |
* Average - represents the average value from the replies given by respondents.
** Median - having ordered the respondents replies, the median represents the central value in that range/.
*** Mode - is the value most frequently mentioned in the replies given by respondents.
Estimate: (#) Non-reliable estimate; (*) Reliable estimate; (unmarked) Reliable estimate.
Source: ICP-ANACOM, based on the results of the Survey on the means of access to the Internet.
In the case of USB modem users, the average monthly price observed is higher for respondents who also have mobile phone Internet, regardless of whether they use fixed access or not, suggesting that here mobility is more valued than for the other respondents.
Breaking down the analysis by 'C' and 'NC' municipalities suggests that on average the average monthly price observed for USB modem mobile Internet access is about 16% higher in the 'C' municipalities (€22.7), compared to the 'NC' municipalities (€19.6). This situation may be explained by: a) the higher subscription to Government programmes aimed at promoting broadband in 'NC' municipalities, and b) a possible subscription to higher speeds in 'C' municipalities than in 'NC' municipalities.
It should be mentioned that according to ICP-ANACOM (2011a), in 2010 the price of the USB modem Internet access retail offers stood at between €12.6 5 and €49.9 6 and, in the case of mobile phone access, between €0.91 7 and €15 8. The price of the fixed Internet access could vary between €10 9 and €254 10.
According to OECD data for September 2010, the price of fixed broadband offerings per Mbps was in the range €0.25 (1 GB offerings) to €40.31. Although the minimum price in Portugal is one of the lowest compared with the minimum prices in the remaining EU27 countries, the maximum price per Mbps paid for fixed Internet in Portugal was one of the highest of the EU 27.
1 Estimates were defined by their sampling error. Thus, when the sampling error is below 10%, the estimate is considered to be reliable; when the sampling error is between 10% and 25%, it is considered an acceptable estimate, and when the sampling error is above 25%, the estimate is considered not reliable.
2 After ordering the respondents’ replies, the median represents the central value in the distribution table.
3 The sample includes a proportion of fibre access users among all fixed access users (20.0%) that is higher than the proportion obtained based on the service providers' data (about 8.1%, in the second quarter of 2011). The data regarding the service providers is available at Quarterly reports by servicehttps://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=277884.
4 The rate of replies to the question about the subscribed download speed associated with fixed access was 25.8% for fibre accesses, 20.1% for ADSL accesses, and 17.0% for cable accesses.
5 Post-paid monthly fee anywhere, 1 Mbps subscribed speed and traffic up to 300 MB.
6 Post-paid monthly fee anywhere, 43.2 Mbps subscribed speed and unlimited traffic.
7 Occasional usage for one day.
8 Post-paid monthly fee anywhere, 7.2 Mbps subscribed speed and traffic up to 600 MB.
9 Value that corresponds to the monthly average in the first year of service subscription.
10 Monthly fee per fibre optic Internet access, included in a services package with fixed telephone service, subscription television, and fixed and mobile Internet (USB modem), with a speed of 300 Mbps or more and unlimited traffic.
