Paging: notable decrease in subscriber traffic / Trunking: slight decrease in number of subscribers


/ Updated on 24.01.2008

At the end of the fourth quarter of 1999 the paging service registered a decrease of 100,000 subscribers in base clients, corresponding to a drop of 45%. As a result of this trend there was a significant decrease in the total number of calls, the average number of calls per subscriber and in the impulses generated by these services. The expansion of the volume of mobile telephone clients and the ever-increasing use of the written message services by mobile telephone users are the reasons for the occurrence of this situation.

Paging operators had a total of 120,000 subscribers to this service at the end of last year. In comparison with the previous year these figures represent a 55% decrease, which is equal to the loss of 144,000 subscribers.

There was also a very marked decrease in paging service traffic, both in terms of the number of calls and the number of impulses. The decrease in the number of impulses between the third and fourth quarters of 1999 is situated at 32%. This percentage reflects the fact that these services generated 4.2 million impulses between October and December. In comparison with the figures recorded for the previous year these represent a decrease of 71%. The number of impulses generated throughout the whole of 1999 was around 30 million.

Approximately 520 thousand calls were registered for paging services during the last quarter of 1999 - 25% less than the previous quarter. The number of calls made throughout 1999 was around 3.3 million, resulting in a 72% decrease when compared with the figures verified for the previous year.

It should be emphasised that the average number of calls during this quarter was four per subscriber, whilst the same period last year provided an average of 7 per subscriber.

Paging Service

 
Evolution of the number of subscribers (thousands)

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

4.2

17.9

31.2

58.6

88.2

134.7

177.3

302.8

264.3

 
Continuation. Evolution of the number of subscribers (thousands)

1st Quarter 1999

2nd Quarter 1999

3rd Quarter 1999

4th Quarter 1999

253.8

249.8

219.7

120.2

  
Evolution of growth rates

91/90

92/91

93/92

94/93

95/94

96/95

97/96

98/97

321%

75%

88%

51%

53%

32%

71%

-13%

 
Continuation. Evolution of growth rates

1st Quarter
1999

2nd Quarter
1999

3rd Quarter
1999

4th Quarter
1999

99/98

annual
99/90

-4%

-2%

-12%

-45%

-55%

45%

 
Traffic generated

 

1997 

1st Quarter
1998

2nd Quarter
1998

3rd Quarter
1998

4th Quarter
1998

Impulses Invoiced

145,294

34,289

29,637

21,487

15,092

Calls Made

22,828

4,274

3,359

2,460

1,747

 
Continuation. Traffic generated

 

 Total
1998

1st Quarter
1999

2nd Quarter
1999

3rd Quarter
1999

4th Quarter
1999

 Total
1999

Impulses Invoiced

100,505

10,118

8,393

6,168

4,205

28,884

Calls Made

11,839

1,204

927

689

520

3,340

 
Evolution of growth rates

 

1st Quarter
1998

2nd Quarter
1998

3rd Quarter
1998

4th Quarter
1998

98/97

Impulses Invoiced

-24%

-14%

-28%

-30%

-31%

Calls Made

-34%

-21%

-27%

-29%

-48%

 
Continuation. Evolution of growth rates

 

1st Quarter
1999

2nd Quarter
1999

3rd Quarter
1999

4th Quarter
1999

99/98

Impulses Invoiced

-33%

-17%

-27%

-32%

-71%

Calls Made

-31%

-23%

-26%

-25%

-72%

 
Trunking Service

In the fourth quarter of this year the Mobile Service with Shared Resources (trunking) registered a decrease of 2% in subscribers in comparison with the previous quarter and which corresponds to a loss of approximately 300 subscribers. In annual terms, the figures for this year show a decrease of around 6% when compared to last year, which in absolute terms means a loss of around 1,000 subscribers. 

Evolution of the number of subscribers (thousands)

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1st Quarter
1999

2nd Quarter
1999

3rd Quarter
1999
 

4th Quarter
1999
 

1.3

4.5

7.8

12.0

14.8

14.8

14.1

14.1

13.8

 
Evolution of growth rates

95/94

96/95

97/96

98/97

1st Quarter
1999

2nd Quarter
1999

3rd Quarter
1999

4th Quarter
1999

99/98

Average Annual
Variation 99/94

242% 75% 53%

23%

0.3%

-4.9%

0.4%

-2%

 -6%

60%


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