Fixed-line telephone use with room to grow

The number of fixed-line telephone users in Portugal could grow according to a survey carried out for ANACOM by Marktest. In fact, of those questioned, 5.7% said they planned to have a fixed-line telephone within one year. The results of the survey, carried out in February, show that 60% of households in Portugal have a fixed telephone line, while of the rest, 61.2% said that they didn't because they used their mobile phone.

20% of those who have a fixed telephone use more than one operator. Of these, 31% use call-by-call selection and 49.2% use pre-selection to choose the operator.

Around 83% of the fixed-line users are clients of PT. The operator with the second largest number of clients is Tele 2 with 14.8% of users, followed by Cabovisão with 11.5%.

Of those questioned, 62.4% were aware of portability, a mechanism that makes it easier to change operator, while almost 80% considered the quality of the fixed-line service as good.

The main advantage of the mobile telephone over a fixed phone is mobility according to 76.4% of those surveyed, while 19% cited no charge for line rental.

85.4% had a mobile phone, of which 86% had one active card, 11.6% had two cards and 2.4% had more than two. 45.3% of mobile phone users said they preferred contracts while 42.8% preferred pre-paid. Over 20% of mobile clients said they had acquired their phone within the last six months and 17% more than six months ago but less than one year ago.

When users buy a new phone, in 85% of cases the handset already comes with a cards, but around half of users continue to use their existing cards. 16% of mobile phone clients have 3rd generation, of which 63.4% use their phone to send MMSs, 26.6% make video calls and 8.8% to access the internet through their PC.

19.3% of mobile phone clients have switched operator at least once. Of these, 34.6% did so mainly because most of the people they used their phone to speak to belonged to another operator, while for 33.3% it was because they were unhappy with the prices.

On the other hand, more than 66% of clients who have never switched operator say they are satisfied with the service they are getting, and 31.2% say that they haven't switched because most of the people they used their phone to speak to belonged to their current operator.

59.4% of mobile phone clients said they were aware of number portability and 78.9% said that they thought the quality of service was good.

The survey results are based on 2,020 direct and personal interviews with a sample of individuals over 15 years of age, resident in Portugal and the Autonomous regions of Madeira and The Azores, conducted 17 January - 22 February. The sample is considered reflective of and proportional to the general population, based on the data of latest population census: Census 2001.

Consult:

Electronic Communications Consumer Survey http://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=923437