16.7 million active mobile stations reported in March

ANACOM has reported that there were around 16.7 million active mobile stations associated with post-paid, pre-paid and combined/hybrid tariff plans in Portugal as at the end of the first quarter of 2012. This represents a decline of 0.4% compared to the previous quarter, but an increase of 1.7% compared to the first quarter of 2011 - the lowest rate of year-on-year growth reported in the last decade.

About 13.2 million active mobile stations registered actual use in the last month of the quarter - a drop of 1.9% compared to the first quarter of 2011. Active mobile stations make up 79% of total mobile stations, a decline of 0.9 percentage points over the previous quarter. Meanwhile, there were around 3.5 million active mobile stations which saw no actual use in March 2012.

If cards/modems used for mobile broadband Internet access are excluded, the number of active mobile stations/user devices registering actual use was around 12.1 million, about 1.6% fewer than in the previous quarter.

Over the same period, pre-paid plans accounted for 71.5% of mobile stations.

As at the end of March, penetration of the mobile service was reported at 157.3 per 100 inhabitants. If only mobile stations with actual use are considered, the penetration rate in Portugal falls to 124.2

The total number of users eligible to use broadband services was reported at 11.1 million.

The number of active users who actually used services with 3rd generation characteristics (i.e. video-telephony, broadband data transmission, mobile TV, etc...) declined by 3.6% compared to the previous quarter comprising around 4 million users.

Users who are eligible to use broadband services (UMTS/HSPA) represent 66.4% of active mobile stations, while active users constitute 30.3% of total mobile stations with actual use.

Of the total number of users of broadband services registering actual traffic in the last month of the reported period, about 26.8% were users of mobile broadband Internet access services with cards/modem.

In the period being reported, around 5.3 billion minutes of conversation were originated on mobile networks, 2.1% less than in the previous quarter; resulting in the most part from the decline reported in on-net and off-net traffic, (-1.7% and -3.9%, respectively). With the exception of mobile-fixed calls, all types of calls saw significant declines.

The average duration of calls originated on the mobile network (excluding cards/modem) this quarter was reported at 148 second per call, 1 second less than in the first quarter of 2011.

2.1 billion calls were made during the quarter, 2.7% less than in the previous quarter, while 6.8 billion text messages were sent, 5% more than in first quarter 2011.

Mobile service users sent 37.7 million MMS during the quarter, 4.2% more than in the previous quarter, with each MMS user sending around 7 MMS per month.

Meanwhile, 529 thousand video-calls were made, 7.1% less than in the previous quarter.

Consult the statistical report:

Mobile Services - 1st quarter 2012 http://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1129570