Trends in telecommunications prices - March 2017

Summary

• In March 2017, telecommunications prices in Portugal¹ increased by 0.11% versus the previous month (-0.4% in March 2016). This increase results from changes in two tariffs of mobile Internet via PC/tablet by one provider.
  
  In year-on-year terms, the increase in prices (2.34%) was the 9th highest among the sectors of the Portuguese economy.
  
  On average annual terms, prices increased by 2.22%, 1.40 percentage points over inflation (0.82%). The increase in prices was the 8th highest among the 43 products/services considered.
  
  Since January 2014, telecommunications prices1 have been increasing at average annual rates above the rate of change reported in CPI.
• On average annual terms, Portugal was the EU country with the sixth highest increase in prices in March 2017. On average, telecommunications prices¹ in the EU fell by 0.2%.
  
  Since March 2011, telecommunications prices¹ have increased more in Portugal than in the EU.

1. Trends in telecommunications prices¹ - March 2017

According to INE (Statistics Portugal)², in March 2017, telecommunications prices in Portugal increased by 0.11% percent over the previous month (-0.4% in March 2016)¹. This increase results from changes in two tariffs of mobile Internet via PC/tablet by one provider.

Versus March 2015, telecommunications prices¹ increased by 2.34%, while increasing by 2.22% on average over the last twelve months.

Source: INE (Statistics Portugal)
Unit: %

On a year-on-year basis, the increase in prices (2.34%) was the 9th highest among the sectors of the Portuguese economy. The difference between this increase and the change in CPI was reported at 0.97 percentage points.

On average terms, the annual increase in prices reported (2.22%) was the 8th highest among 43 products/service considered.

Since January 2014, telecommunications prices¹ have been increasing at average annual rates above the rate of change reported in CPI. In March 2017, the difference between the two rates was reported at 1.40 percentage points, the narrowest since May 2015.

Graph 1 - Monthly change in CPI and telecommunications prices¹

Source: INE (Statistics Portugal)
Unit: %

2. Trends in telecommunications prices¹ in the EU³ - March 2017

According to EUROSTAT⁴, in March 2017, the increase in prices in average annual terms reported in Portugal was 2.44 percentage points above the EU average³. On average annual terms, Portugal was the EU country with the sixth highest increase in prices. The countries with larges increases than in Portugal were Belgium, Finland, Slovenia, Latvia and Spain.

Compared to March 2016, the variation in telecommunications prices¹ in Portugal was the fourth highest among the EU^3,5.

Source: EUROSTAT
Unit: %, p.p
Note: Information unavailable for the United Kingdom, Malta, Ireland and the Netherlands; also not included in the ranking due to a lack of information available prior to December 2015.

Since March 2011, telecommunications prices¹ have risen more in Portugal than in the EU³ (in terms of average annual change).

Graph 2 - Average rate of change over previous twelve months - telecommunications prices: Portugal vs EU³

Source: EUROSTAT
Unit: %
Note: From the publication, by EUROSTAT, on 25 February 2016, of data for January 2016, the reference year of the HICP series was changed from 2005 to 2015. There may be differences in the series due to rounding effects. For further information see New HICP reference year 2015 = 100 http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/272892/272971/HICP+reference+year+2015%3D100/.

Notes

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¹ ''Telephone, telegraph and telefax services'' sub-index of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and of the Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices (HICP), which comprises voice, Internet and subscription TV (STV) services acquired on a stand-alone basis or as part of a bundle of services. Analysis of the prices presented in this report should be complemented by an examination of the characteristics of the offers; this information is available in the reports: "Electronic communications bundles", ''Fixed telephone service and nomadic VoIP'', ''Mobile services'', ''Internet access service'' and ''Subscription television service'', all available on ANACOM's website.
² See ''Consumer Price Index – March 2017'' (INE, 2017), available at CPI annual rate of change was 1.4% in March - March 2017 https://www.ine.pt/xportal/xmain?xpid=INE&xpgid=ine_destaques&DESTAQUESdest_boui=279537214&DESTAQUESmodo=2&xlang=en.
³ Information for the United Kingdom not available. Information available for Malta and the Netherlands from December 2015. Information available for Ireland from December 2016.
⁴ See HICP - monthly data (EUROSTAT, 2017), available at HICP (2015 = 100) - monthly data (index) http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=prc_hicp_midx&lang=en. Methodology described at HICP methodology http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/HICP_methodology.
⁵ The countries reporting higher year-on-year increases were Latvia, Slovenia and Belgium.