Filenews 22 March 2024
The data show that in 2023 there will be a decrease in total fixed telephony connections compared to 2022 by 27,464, while on the other hand Fiber Optic connections follow an upward trend.
Specifically, the Office of the Commissioner for Electronic Communications and Postal Regulation has issued Statistical Bulletins for the Electronic Communications market with data relating until December 2023 for fixed telephony and fixed broadband access and mobile telephony and mobile broadband access.
The data show that in 2023 there will be a decrease in total fixed telephony connections compared to 2022 by 27,464. Fiber Optic connections continue to follow an upward trend due to the transition of subscribers to fiber optic networks, which is now the main means of fixed telephony connection with a percentage of 65%.
The number of fixed broadband subscribers in 2023 showed a slight increase compared to 2022 (7,676, or 2.2%), while in 2023 there was a significant increase (+15.8%) in subscription rates with a speed rate of ≥100Mbps compared to 2022, mainly due to the expansion of providers' fiber optic networks and free upgrades to products with higher speeds due to competition. In addition, the small percentage of subscribers with speeds above 1Gbps is double compared to 2022 (2.8%). Average data volume per fixed line in Q4 2023 stood at 0.99TB, continuing its growth trajectory. The total data volume for 2023 shows an increase of 26.5% over 2022.
In mobile telephony according to the data of the 2nd half of 2023. The total number of mobile users showed an increase of 17.647 users compared to H1 2023. The number of contract subscriptions shows an increase of 1.8% compared to H2 2022. Contracts with unlimited data, voice and sms account for 53.77% of contract subscriptions. The proportion of the total number of mobile telephony users in relation to the population of the Republic of Cyprus in 2023 shows an increase of 4,4% compared to 2022 and amounts to 156,1%
Finally, in total mobile and fixed broadband data volumes, the total data volume in 2023 showed an increase of 371,028 TB compared to 2022, i.e. 32.8%. Furthermore, the total mobile and fixed broadband access data volume, for the first time in 2023 the percentage of fixed broadband access data is below 90%, at 87.38% in Q4. This decrease is mainly due to the increase in mobile contracts with unlimited data, a trend that is expected to continue in the future.
