At the end of the 3rd quarter 2012 (3Q2012) there were around 2.4 million customers with fixed Internet access, 40 thousand more than in the previous quarter, showing a growth rate of 1.7 percent. Compared with the same quarter in 2011 (3Q2011) the growth recorded was 6 percent.
Mobile services recorded 3.17 million users who actually used mobile broadband Internet, a 9.6 percent increase over the previous quarter. 1.04 million of total accesses used cards/modem.
In September, the penetration rate of the Internet access service at a fixed location was 22.1 per 100 inhabitants, 50.8 per 100 private households, and 34.8 per 100 conventional dwellings. The figure for mobile access with actual use was 29.8 per 100 inhabitants.
About 86 percent of customers of the fixed broadband Internet access service acquired it within a package of services. About 9 per cent were double-play customers (with television or fixed phone), and about 77 percent had a triple-play bundle (with television and fixed phone).
ADSL remains the principal fixed broadband Internet access technology, with 46 percent of total accesses, followed by cable modem, with 39.5 percent. Internet over optical fibre (FTTH/B) records 14.3 percent of total accesses, and is the type of access that has increased the most, by 9.9 percent in this quarter, and 67.5 percent over 3Q2011.
Regarding fixed broadband access shares, Portugal Telecom Group's (PT Group's) share stood at 51.1 percent, 0.5 percent more than in the previous quarter, and about 9.7 percent more than since the spin-off of PT Multimédia (November 2007).
Regarding mobile broadband customer shares, TMN's customer share is 40.7 percent, followed by Vodafone (38.4 percent) and Optimus (19.5 percent).
Analysis of broadband Internet access traffic reveals a growth of about 1.7 percent in 3Q2012, mainly explained by the trend in fixed broadband traffic, with a 1.6 percent increase, which amounts to about 96 percent of the total. Mobile Internet access traffic recorded an increase of 4.2 percent. Average traffic per broadband Internet access at a fixed location was 33.2 GB per month. Traffic generated per mobile broadband customer with actual use was 1.04 GB (2.87 GB per month in the case of cards/modem).
According to the Barómetro de Telecomunicações (Telecommunications Barometer) by Marktest, the average monthly charge for the stand-alone Internet access service in 3Q2012 was 21.3 euros in the case of fixed Internet and 15.5 euros in the case of mobile Internet access using cards/modem. The monthly charge for Internet access using a mobile phone was 11.9 euros during this period. The average monthly expenditure by households on bundled offers varied between 49.5 euros in the case of triple-play (fixed telephone service-FTS + Internet access service-IAS + subscription television service-STVS), and 26.5 euros in the case of double play (FTS+IAS). The average monthly charge for the STVS+IAS bundle was 43.6 euros.
In December 2011, according to a study by Point Topic for the European Commission (EC), the xDSL coverage in Portugal was the 8th highest of the 27 countries of the European Union (EU), with 99 percent, which is higher than the UE average of 92.3 percent. In national terms, cable network coverage ranked 5th for standard networks (75.9 percent), and 4th for EuroDOCSIS3.0 coverage (73.7 per cent). These figures are clearly above the EU average (41.8 percent and 36.6 percent, respectively). Regarding fibre to the premises (FTTP) networks, 41 percent of households were already cabled, while the EU average was 11.5 percent. About 74.5 percent of households in Portugal were prepared to receive services with connections of 30Mbps and higher, the average in the EU27 being round 49.9 percent.
According to the same study, the fixed broadband Internet access service penetration was 22 accesses per 100 inhabitants in July 2012, while the EU average was 27.8 per 100 inhabitants. Portugal was 22nd in this ranking of the 27 EU countries. In the case of mobile broadband using cards/modem, service penetration was 9.8 per 100 inhabitants, placing Portugal in 8th place in the EU27 ranking.
Consult the statistical report:
- Internet Access Service - 3rd quarter 2012 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1147034
