At the end of the 3rd quarter of 2007 there were 12.9 million Mobile Telephone Service (MTS) subscribers in Portugal, a 4.4% increase compared to the previous quarter and an 8.5% increase compared to the same quarter of 2006.
The 10,116 million prepaid card subscribers represented 78.2% of all subscribers, increasing by 4.2% this quarter - equivalent to 412 thousand more subscribers during the quarter. Meanwhile there was continued growth in the number of subscription/post-paid plans, totalling 2,825 million, with an increase of 4.8% or around 130 thousand new subscribers. This growth may be attributed to subscription to UMTS based data services and to the launch of specific offers as part of the development of the Information Society (New Opportunities Initiative, e-opportunity initiatives, e-schools and e-teachers). In this case the majority of tariffs are post-paid.
As of the end of September, the penetration rate of this service had risen to 122.1 per 100 inhabitants. Interpretation of these figures should take into account that there are users who have more than one card for accessing the service. According to the ANACOM's Electronic Communications Consumer Survey, around 14.9% of users had 2 active cards, while 2.5% had 3 or more cards. Other factors to be taken into account are that there are SIM cards used exclusively for Internet access and data services, there are active cards used in machines, equipment and vehicles (mobile payment terminals, alarm equipment, security, telemetry and telematics, etc.) and that there are cards for corporate use.
During the period being reported, the number of calls made by mobile service subscribers amounted to over 1.83 billion, 5.7% more than in the previous quarter and 7.8% more than during the same period of the previous year.
Over the same period the number of calls received on the mobile network was over 1.82 billion calls, an increase of 4.6% in comparison to the previous quarter and of 7.2% in comparison to the same quarter of 2006. Overall the rate of increase in calls in annual terms was slightly lower than the rate at which subscriber numbers grew.
The number of conversation minutes originating on mobile networks during the period totalled 3.5 billion minutes, a rise of 8.5% over the previous quarter. The number of minutes terminated in mobile networks totalled around 3.64 billion minutes, a 7.5% rise over the previous quarter.
In annual terms the number of minutes routed on mobile networks grew at rates in excess of growth in subscriber numbers and growth in number of calls.
In the third quarter of 2007, terrestrial mobile service subscribers made, on average, 47 calls each month, of which 31 were made within the caller's own network.
The average time of conversation by subscriber has been increasing, reaching around 92 minutes per month (3 minutes more than in the previous quarter). Subscribers are speaking, on average, for 63 minutes with other subscribers of the same network, 18 minutes with subscribers of other mobile networks, 6 minutes with fixed network customers and 5 minutes to international destinations.
The third quarter also saw yet another considerable increase in the number of written messages sent, rising 11.2% increase over the previous quarter to 5.1 billion messages. This is a result of customers signing up to specific tariffs that have been emerging and which include a high number of free messages.
The average number of messages sent per subscriber reached 132 per month, an average of over 4 messages per day.
Consult:
- Postal services https://www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?categoryId=277884
