Subscriptions in the fixed broadband segment were up by 5.8% to 191,833 by end of 2018, as take-up of fast broadband surged by 76% year-on-year, reaching 63,799, as compared to the preceding year.

This performance has led to a reported 4.4% increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) to €117.92 in the second half of 2018, as compared to €112.99 reported in the same period a year earlier.

Subscriber numbers for mobile telephone services grew by a slight 1.8% in year-on-year to 615,843 by the end of 2018. This figure is a telltale sign of a highly-saturated market, considering the estimated 460,000 population of Malta. Calculating with these figures, it puts mobile subscriptions at roughly 133% of the population.

In contrast, at the end of 2017, unique mobile subscriber numbers in Europe reached 465 million, equivalent to 85% of the population, according to figures by GSMA, which body represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators with over 350 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem

In Malta, the number of mobile voice traffic minutes were up by 37.9% year-on-year to 619.1 million in the second half of 2018 (excluding roaming minutes).

Prepaid plans still dominated the segment by taking up 62.5% of all subscriptions, nevertheless losing some ground by 0.7%, while the postpaid sector was up by 6.6% year-on-year.

As demand for connectivity on the go is quickly growing, mobile data usage has been going up. Some 74% of all mobile telephone subscriptions accessed mobile data services, up by 1 percentage point year-on-year. Users consumed 3.2 million GBs of data in the second half of 2018, up by 0.8 million GBs (+30%) when compared to mobile data consumption recorded in the same period a year earlier.

Due to expanding mobile data usage, the revenue stream of local operators went up resulting in an ARPU of €92.40 in the second half of 2018, as compared to €88.86 in the second half of 2017.

Fixed telephone services losing popularity

Despite a year-on-year growth of 6.3% to 255,437 in subscription numbers in H2 2018 — which was chiefly fuelled by the service being offered in bundle packages — customer behaviour reveals that fixed telephone services play a less significant role in the end user’s life as voice minutes fell by 5.7%. National voice traffic volumes came to 203.8 million minutes, while internationally 8.4 million fixed-to-international (FTI) voice call minutes were recorded.

Nevertheless, television is an attraction force for the eyes of subscribers. “The pay-TV sector saw a 6.2% jump in subscriptions year-on-year, with a total of 165,289 subscriptions recorded at the end of the current reporting period. Bundling is also getting increasingly prevalent in this segment, with 72.2% of all pay-tv subscriptions being bundled with other services at the end of the year, which is up by 6.3 percentage points over a 12-month period,” the MCA report says.

“The increased take-up of premium content reinvigorated not only the subscriber base of the pay-TV segment but also the revenue streams of local operators. In fact, the ARPU for this sector was up by 2.2% from €44.27 at the end of 2017 to €45.23 at the end of 2018,” the MCA report adds.

As trends indicate increased online activities, mail volumes in the postal sector — albeit marginally — were down as compared to previous years. Single piece and bulk letter mail segments accounted for the registered drop, according to MCA figures. Although gains were noted for registered mail items and parcel mail segments, gains in the latter did not outweigh losses in the former seeing that total mail volume was down 0.2 million mail items or by 1.3%, MCA figures add.

As buying products have become increasingly quick and easy through our handheld smart devices, buyers are ever more likely to purchase goods from abroad. Therefore, the Malta Communication Authority (MCA) recently reminded of possible extra charges to be paid at the border when goods arrive outside the European Union.

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The digital world influences nearly 60% of all retail sales globally. Ecommerce is expected to soon account for 15% of all specialty retail sales in North America, while the vertical has cut a 23% pie of all retail in China. As fuelled by a 55% increase in mobile sales, ecommerce in North America grew by 16% in 2018 to over $500 billion, according to 10 Ecommerce Trends 2019 published by Absolunet, an international ecommerce agency and integrator.

Malta also appears to follow worldwide trends. More than half of digital buyers in Malta prefer to use ecommerce marketplaces to conduct their initial research, with 42% of them turning to search engines as a secondary option, according to 2017 figures published by the MCA. The number of consumers purchasing online around two to three times a month increased to 33% in 2017 from 20% in 2014. While buyers would cherry-pick items from local online shops, ordering from abroad has stayed strong, the MCA finds.

With the popularity of ordering online from outside the European Union growing, the authority has warned that end-users in Malta might need to pay extra charges when purchasing goods from abroad. Additional charges that may apply include processing fees associated with customs, health or border inspections clearance, the MCA adds.

Postal items including medicines and health products may be inspected by the Port Health Office (PHO), while imported live animals and products of animal origin may be inspected by the Border Inspection Post (BIP), the MCA reminds.

On the occasion of such an inspection, the postal operator delivers the postal item to the relevant office, and MaltaPost applies an administrative fee of €5. For the same handling DHL Malta applies a fee of €35.40, the MCA adds. This administrative fee covers the cost of processing the item and obtaining the necessary clearances, the MCA says.

Goods from non-EU countries

Charges applied by postal operators or couriers to their customers to handle clearance of goods received from non-EU countries vary considerably from one operator to another, as different charging mechanisms are applied, which may also vary depending on the cost of the goods being delivered.

According to the couriers’ websites, UPS can have a minimum charge of €16 and DHL Malta might apply a minimum charge of €12. Postal service company MaltaPost Plc applies the following mechanisms, as published by the MCA:

• €4 for packages having items with a total value between €22.01 and €49.99
• €5 for packages having items with a total value between €50 and €99.99
• €6 for packages having items with a total value between €100 and €149.99
• €8 for packages having items with a total value between €150 and €299.99
• €10 for packages having items with a total value between €300 and €419.99
• €15 for packages having items with a total value between €420 and €799.99 €18 for packages having items with a total value worth more than €800

“Customs clearance administrative fees (in the form of processing fees, advancement fee for payment of duty and VAT on behalf of the recipient, or similar fees described differently) are not subject to regulatory control by MCA. However, measures are being taken by the authority to ensure that customers are sufficiently informed of such charges beforehand, and not at the point of collection of the ordered goods,” the MCA report says.

As such, buyers are highly advised to liaise with a seller operating from outside the European Union whether it is possible to indicate beforehand which local postal operator or courier will deliver the item. As an additional precaution, customers can place an enquiry with the local postal operator or courier about any processing charges that may be applicable for clearing the goods through customs.

Any enquiries regarding applicable Value Added Tax (VAT), Customs Duty Tax and Excise Duty Tax should be referred to the Department of Customs, the MCA adds.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Any charge this article carries is based on information valid at the time of the publication.

The post MCA reminds online buyers about possible extra charges first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Subscribers of telephone, internet and television services filed a total of 132 complaints during the last six months of 2018. The authority investigated 95% of the complaints and resolved them in 20 working days, according to the report.

Some 62% of the complaints received were related to technical faults, with a total of 45 cases reported. The MCA monitored these complaints to ensure that the service providers took the necessary actions to repair the defects as soon as possible, the press release says.

A total of 19 complaints (22%) were related to incorrect billing. The authority directly intervened and requested the service providers to take necessary corrective actions in nine of these cases, the report says.

The MCA received a total of 18 complaints related to postal services, with the undelivered or delayed delivery of mail being the biggest issue.

The authority also carries out impromptu compliance monitoring — such as trial purchases in shops or calls to customer care centres — of the three main service providers; Go, Melita and Vodafone. The average waiting time for a call to be answered by a call centre agent improved by 11 seconds in the last six months of 2018, as compared to the preceding six months. Service providers responded 95% of the calls within five minutes.

The post Comm services complaints hike 13% in H2 2018 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

The total number of mobile subscriptions have been on a gradual rise in the past four years, MCA figures reveal. At the end of 2014, the figure reached 546,229 and rose to 557,583 in 2015 and 585,470 in 2016.

While the number of prepaid schemes for mobile connectivity appeared to steadily fluctuate between approximately 380,000 and 401,000 in the past four years, post-paid plans were on a gradual rise from 166,150 at the end of 2014 to 224,346 at the end of 2018.

Although mobile subscriptions outpaced fixed telephone services, still the figure for landline was on a steady rise. At the end of 2014 fixed telephone subscription were 230,361 and climbed up to 255,437 by the end of 2018.

Television subscriptions on total — including analogue, digital and IPTV services — also grew gradually from 147,880 at the end of 2014 to 165,289 at the end of 2018.

However, in another report earlier the MCA said that both fixed telephone and television subscriptions recently had been on the rise due to bundle packages, when landline internet connectivity comes with a fixed phone line and television package.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) boosted from €56.21 from the end of 2017 to €59.09 by the end of 2018 for fixed broadband. For mobile phones, ARPU jumped from €43.24 to €45.44 in the same period. Despite a visible downfall around the middle of 2018, ARPU for television went from €44.27 from the end of 2017 to €45.23 at the end of 2018. Fixed telephone line ARPU, however, was on a decline for the past four years, dropping from €33.41 at the end of 2017 to €32.60 at the end of 2018.

The MCA published the figures in its updated series of Data Report Sheet (DRS) publications with a report. The purpose of MCA’s publication is to inform the general public about the main trends and development in Malta related to electronic communications and postal services.

Further figures and visual representation of data is published in the MCA’s slideshow, available for public view at the authority’s website.

The post Mobile subscriptions in Malta rise steadily by end-2018 first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.

Starting as of 15 May 2019, “any retail price, excluding value-added tax (VAT), charged to consumers for regulated intra-EU communications shall not exceed €0.19 per minute for calls and €0.06 per SMS message,” the MCA reports. The new rules on retail price caps for intra-EU communications — fixed and mobile calls and SMS — are introduced by the amended EU Regulation 2015/2120.

The regulation does not restrict operators to apply per second billing. However, as the price caps are expressed per minute, it is considered that charging intervals cannot exceed 60 seconds, according to the MCA press statement.

The regulation applies to all EU member states including the outermost regions, which are part of the EU single market. For calls originating in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein the regulation would be applicable as soon as the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement incorporates the terms.

Providers in addition to the regulated tariff may offer alternative charges covering non-EEA — i.e. third countries including intra-EU communications where the prices of intra-EU connections may exceed the caps, according to the MCA.

Ensuring consistent application of the regulation, BEREC published guidelines, laying down criteria for National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) to take into account. The instructions include general provisions, as well as specific rules where BEREC defines procedure and parameters to assess the sustainability of these provisions. The regulation covers only consumption based intra-EU communications services offered to consumers.

See the official video by BEREC below, explaining what the changes mean in practice.

The post EU comm charges to receive cap, BEREC posts guidelines first appeared on The Malta Business Weekly.