At the end of 1st quarter 2016, the penetration rate of fixed telephone lines in Portugal rose to 45.5 accesses per 100 inhabitants, the highest since 2006. In total, there were 4.72 million fixed telephone lines, increasing by 0.8% from the previous quarter.
The growth was due to an increase in the number of lines supported over optical fibre and cable TV networks with over 88,700 accesses, especially as part of bundled offers. It is noted that 8 out of 10 households subscribe to the fixed telephone service as part of a bundles of services.
In terms of provider shares, MEO was responsible for 49% of fixed telephone accesses (- 1.1 percentage points versus the previous quarter) falling below 50% for the first time. Grupo NOS was the 2nd largest provider and increased its share by 0.7 points (33.5%); Vodafone, which increased its share by 0.6 points (13%), was the third largest provider, while Grupo APAX (Cabovisão/ONI) reported a share of 4.2% (-0.1 percentage points from the previous quarter).
Nevertheless, the number of voice minutes on the fixed telephone service continues to fall, declining by 0.9% compared to 4th quarter 2015 and by 12.9% in the 1st quarter of 2015.
Each main access consumed an average of 85 minutes per month in fixed-fixed calls (1 minute fewer than in the previous quarter), 9 minutes in fixed-mobile calls (in line with the previous quarter) and 7 minutes in international calls (1 minute fewer than in the previous quarter).
In terms of traffic, MEO had a share of 45% (falling 2.4 percentage points over the previous quarter), followed by NOS with 35.5% (rising 2.3 percentage points) and Vodafone with 12.8% (rising 0.3 percentage points). Grupo APAX (Cabovisão/ONI) reported a 4% share of traffic (falling 0.1 points).
There were about 21 thousand public pay-telephones reported in the period (1.8% fewer than in the previous quarter and 5.5% fewer versus 1Q15).
Total revenues from the fixed telephone service - standalone (16.6%) and bundles (83.4%) - rose to 494.2 million euros, increasing 10.2% from 1st quarter 2015.
Consult the statistical report:
- Fixed telephone service - 1st quarter 2016 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1389816
