The Portuguese broadband industry is witnessing continuous growth as the number of mobile broadband users reached about 171 Million by the end of Q1 2008, says ANACOM.
Portugal’s regulatory body for electronic communications and postal services, Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM) revealed that by the end of Q1 2008, the number of mobile users with access to mobile Internet facility reached about 171 Million, while that with access to fixed Internet touched nearly 158 Million, out of which around 152 Million used broadband connections, as reported in the news by ITU.
According to ANACOM, in Q1 2008, the number of Portuguese mobile broadband users increased by about 20% and reached around 793,000, an increase of nearly 152% over Q1 2007, while the number of fixed Internet access users dropped by about 2.5% as compared to last quarter of 2007 and nearly 1.3% over Q1 2007.
The fall in the number of ADSL users, resulting from the termination of contracts by Portugal Telecom (PT) with respect to prepaid plan customers, is considered as the major cause for a decline in the number of fixed Internet users. However, a rise can be witnessed in total number of broadband users as a large number of people are adopting mobile broadband services in the country. Many young Portuguese mobile users are using mobile broadband services to easily access Internet through mobiles or laptops while on a move.
Moreover, due to the introduction of various new mobile broadband technologies like 3G services, WiMAX technology, etc., the number of mobile broadband users is increasing in the country. Also, the rapidly increasing corporate sector and industrialization in Portugal is leading to growth in the broadband industry of the country. A large number of students are also accessing Internet for their studies as the level of education is growing in Portugal, resulting in a rise in Portuguese broadband sector.
A Research Analyst at RNCOS said, “The strong business infrastructure with various developments being undertaken in Portugal is leading to growth in the Internet sector of the country. However, a continuous decline in the number of fixed Internet access subscribers shows that many Portuguese are adopting new and latest technologies. Thus, there are ample growth opportunities for broadband service providers in the Portuguese broadband industry.”
Related Market Research Reports:
Middle East Broadband Forecast to 2010
Russian Broadband Market Forecast (2005-2012)
Global IT Security Market Forecast to 2012
