As at the end of 4th quarter 2012 (4Q12), the stock of main telephone accesses in Portugal was reported at 4.6 million accesses, which represents a decrease of 0.2 percent from the previous quarter (3Q12) and an increase of 0.3 percent compared to the same quarter of 2011 (4Q11), in line with the forecast range resulting from the estimated historical trend.
The penetration rate of main telephone accesses was reported at 43.2 accesses per 100 inhabitants, while the penetration rate of direct access residential customers was 56.2 per 100 conventional dwellings. The increase in the number of accesses results mainly from new uptake of bundled offers supported over high-speed networks (optical fibre/FTTH/B and cable TV). The category of accesses comprising these offers grew 3.3 percent compared to 3Q12 and by 21 percent compared to 4Q11.
Accesses using alternative networks to the traditional network represented 39.3 percent of main telephone accesses this quarter. The downward trend in the number of fixed telephone service (FTS) accesses was reversed in late 2008, due to new uptake of multiple-play offers.
The number of public pay-telephones maintained the past downward trend; in 4Q12, there were about 24 thousand public pay-telephones, a decrease of 2.7 percent from the previous quarter and a decrease of 11.3 percent from 4Q11.
At the end of the period, Grupo Portugal Telecom accounted for 57.2 percent of total main accesses, in line with the value reported in 3Q12. Grupo ZON Multimédia was the second largest provider, with a market share of 19.7 percent, reflecting an increase of 0.4 percentage points.
The evolution reported in the volume of FTS voice minutes and in the volume of calls is within the bounds of the forecast range resulting from the historical trend and estimated seasonal effects. In relation to previous quarter (3Q12), the volume of FTS voice minutes and the volume of calls increased by 8.5 and 2.6 percent, respectively. Compared to 4Q11, there was an increase of 2.5 percent in volume of minutes and a decrease of 3.3 percent in the volume of calls.
In 4Q12, each access used 129 minutes in terms of fixed-fixed calls, 13 minutes in fixed-mobile calls and 10 minutes in terms of international calls, on average per month. Average call duration increased by 12 seconds when compared to 4Q11, which may be linked to the availability of bundled offers that allow free calls to be made to the fixed network.
FTS revenues from stand-alone FTS offers and bundles of service that include this service were reported at about 1.9 billion euros, reflecting an increase of 27.4 percent over the same period of 2011. Separable FTS revenues represent 32.7 percent of total revenues, decreasing by about 5.6 percent compared to 4Q11.
According to Marktest's Barómetro Telecomunicações (Telecommunications Barometer), the average monthly charge payable for the fixed telephone service, where separable, was 15.40 euros, 1.3 percent less than in the previous quarter and down 4.2 per cent on the same quarter of 2012.
Consult the statistical report:
- Fixed Telephone Service - 4th quarter 2012 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1157182
