Fixed telephony market maintains downward trend in sales, number of subscribers

Chisinau, 12 September /MOLDPRES/- The market for fixed telephony services keeps the downward trend for the third consecutive year, the sales figure decreased by 20.8% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year, and the number of subscribers decreased by 1.5%, according to data of the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology (ANRCETI), made public today.

The ANRCETI press service states that in January-June 2018, fixed telephony operators obtained revenues of 285 million lei from sales of services, and the number of subscribers dropped to 1 million 126.4 thousand.

According to ANRCETI, in 2009-2014, sales were in a continuous decline, amid an insignificant decrease in the number of subscribers. In the first half of 2015 there was an insignificant increase of 1.0 percent, but in January-June 2016 there was a decrease of 8.1 percent and in the first half of 2017 the sales of fixed telephony services decreased by 22.9 per cent.

According to data by 23 active fixed telephony providers, the decrease in the total number of subscribers was caused by the decrease of Moldtelecom's subscriber base by 1.3%, while the number of subscribers of the other 22 alternative providers dropped by more than 3.7 per cent.

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor M. Jantovan)