Executive summary
- In February 2020, telecommunications prices, as measured by the sub-index of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), did not change compared to the previous month.
- The year-on-year variation in prices was -4.34%. This fall in prices mainly reflects the entry into force on 15 May 2019 of new European rules that regulate the prices of intra-EU communications. Year-on-year variations in telecommunications prices have been lower than the growth in the CPI since November 2017.
- The average variation rate in telecommunications prices in the last 12 months was -3.40%, which was 3.72 percentage points (p.p.) lower than that of the CPI (0.32%), the largest negative deviation since April 2009.
- n February 2020, the average variation rate for telecommunications prices in Portugal was lower than that in the EU (-3.5 p.p.). The average variation rate of telecommunications prices in Portugal in the last 12 months was the 26th highest among the EU countries. The country with the highest price rise was Romania (+4.7%), while Italy experienced the greatest reduction (-6.2%). On average, telecommunications prices rose by 0.1% in the EU.
- Between the end of 2009 and February 2020, telecommunications prices in Portugal rose 7.7%, while falling 9.9% in the European Union. The difference narrowed with the entry into force on 15 May 2019 of the new European rules that regulate the prices of intra-EU communications.
