In 2014, there were 5.2 million actual users of services that are typical of mobile broadband (video telephony, broadband data transmission, mobile TV, etc.) - an increase of 10.6% compared to the same period of 2013.
The growth in the use of these services is associated with increased Internet penetration based on mobile phone access and the widespread use of smartphones, with more than four million of Portugal's inhabitants using a smartphone (data from Marktest).
In addition to Internet access, the main uses of mobile broadband Internet include social networking, instant messaging through Facebook, WhatsApp or Imo; email and outgoing calls using VoIP.
13% of all users of mobile broadband services access the Internet using cards/modem.
There were 16.7 million SIM cards in Portugal, of which 13 million saw actual use in the last quarter of 2014. Excluding cards/modem and cards associated with Machine-to-Machine communications (M2M), there were 11.9 million cards. Considering cards actually used, the service's penetration rate was 124.9 per 100 inhabitants, rising to 160.5 if all cards are considered.
In the same period, the number of mobile subscribers with pre-paid plans fell to 57.2% of total subscribers, while holders of post-paid plans increased to 18.2% of the total. The increase in the number of subscribers with these tariff plans results from increased penetration of multiple-play tariffs (Including offers that bring together fixed and mobile communications).
In terms of market share, MEO remains the leading provider with 47.3% of active mobile cards, followed by Vodafone with 32.2%. With a share of 18.4%, NOS reported the largest increase in the customer base (+3.5 percentage points) and was the provider that contributed most to the increase in the number of active cards.
The volume of conversation minutes originating on mobile networks increased by 10.5% in 2014, largely due to growth in off-net traffic following the introduction of offers with inclusive minutes and with the elimination of differences between tariffs for on-net and off-net calls, particularly in bundled offers that comprise the mobile service.
This tariff change may also have reduced the strength of the so-called "network effect". In December 2014, when quizzed about the main reason for choosing their operator, about 19% of mobile phone users cited the fact that their contacts are connected to the same network, compared to around 30% in 2013 (Marktest data).
Users of the roaming international service outside Portugal represented 7.8% of total mobile stations with actual use (excluding cards/modem and M2M devices).
Roaming out traffic increased over 4th quarter 2014 (with the exception of text messages), including a notable increase in data traffic volume, which almost tripled. Roaming in traffic increased by 9.1%, with Internet data traffic increasing by 173%.
These increases may be associated with the reduction in roaming tariffs in the European Union and European Economic Area from 1 July 2014.
In 2014, revenues from services provided to customers totalled approximately 1.756 billion euros, representing a decline of 12.3 percent over the previous year. Average monthly revenue per subscriber was 11.1 euros, about 11.5% less than in the previous year.
Consult the statistical report:
- Mobile services - 4th quarter 2014 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1349836
