At the end of the second quarter 2017 (2Q2017), there were 4.79 million main telephone accesses in Portugal (increasing 0.2% from the previous quarter and by 1.2% versus the same quarter of 2016. The growth reported over the quarter (8.4 thousand accesses) was mainly due to an increase in VoIP/VoB accesses (+72 thousand accesses), which includes accesses supported over optical fibre and cable TV networks.
This increase in the number of accesses did not correspond to an increase in fixed telephone service (FTS) voice traffic, which has been declining since 2013. In 2Q2017, voice traffic fell by 5.4% over the previous quarter and by 14.1% compared to the same quarter of 2016, to 1.27 billion minutes from 336 million calls.
In terms of the penetration rate of main telephone accesses, there were 46.4 accesses per 100 inhabitants, the highest since these statistics were first compiled (4Q2006). However, according to Marktest's Barómetro de Telecomunicações (Telecommunications Barometer), in 2Q2017, about 26.9% of FTS customers did not use the service.
At the end of the quarter, MEO reported a share of 45.3% of total main accesses (-0.4 percentage points compared to 1Q2017). Grupo NOS was the second largest provider, with a share of 35.4% (+0.3 percentage points), and was the provider that grew the most in 2Q2017. Meanwhile, Vodafone reported a share of 15.2% (+0.3 percentage points).
The number of public pay-telephones was reported at around 20 thousand (-1% versus 1Q2017 and -5% compared to 2Q2016).
On average, 88 minutes were consumed per access each month: 69 minutes in fixed-to-fixed calls per main access (4 minutes fewer than in the previous quarter), 9 minutes in fixed-to-mobile calls (in line with the previous quarter) and 6 minutes in international calls (in line with the previous quarter).
Infographic about fixed telephone service
Consult the statistical report:
- Fixed telephone service - 2nd quarter 2017 https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=1418213
