As at the end of December subscriptions to all forms of communication technology, with the exception of fixed telephony, registered an increase. Mobile telephone subscriptions advanced by 17.1 per cent.

Internet, analogue and digital TV subscriptions During the last quarter of 2011, no active narrowband (dial-up) internet subscriptions were recorded, indicating that this type of internet technology is becoming obsolete.

On the other hand, broadband subscriptions grew by 6.5 per cent, reaching 129,558. The absolute majority of broadband subscribers had a connection speed of at least 2 Mbps, while those with a connection speed exceeding 10 Mbps more than doubled when compared to 2010. The internet subscription index as at the end of December stood at 139.2, up by 6.5 per cent over quarter 4 of 2010.

Television subscriptions totalled 155,774, an increase of 8.4 per cent over 2010. This may be attributed to an increase of 11.3 per cent in digital subscriptions, which nowadays dominate the market. In sharp contrast, a drop of 21.5 per cent was registered in the number of analogue subscriptions. Digital subscriptions accounted for 93.5 per cent of total television subscriptions for the quarter under review.

In absolute terms the number of fixed telephone subscriptions totalled 232,504, a decrease of 6.4 per cent over quarter 4 of 2010. During the reference period, total fixed originating minutes to national and international networks dropped by 6.2 and 21.1 per cent respectively.

In contrast, mobile telephone subscriptions stood at 521,739, up by 17.1 per cent when compared to the previous year. Increases were recorded in both post-paid and pre-paid schemes. The mobile penetration rate per 100 persons in the population amounted to 124.2 per cent, implying that a considerable number of individuals have more than one mobile account. Increases were recorded in local originating mobile traffic, both towards fixed and mobile telephone networks. An increase was registered in inbound and outbound roaming activities, while SMSs sent while roaming edged downwards

Total postal traffic for the reference quarter amounted to over 12.8 million items, up by 4.7 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2010. Total parcels and other items were recorded at 25,659, a decrease of 3.5 per cent when compared to the previous year.

Items received and dispatched by couriers totalled 156,857 – an increase of 5.2 per cent when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2010.

These figures come from the National Statistics Office.

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