Oldest operator loses market share

During the first half of this year the subscriber base for landline phone operators has increased by 23%, compared to the end of 2011, and reached 64,700, whereas the subsriber base for the oldest operator, “Moldtelecom”, fell by 0.2%, and totaled at 1.1 million. As a result, the spread rate of landline phone service, for every 100 resident, increased by 0.28%, and summed at 33.42%, reports Info-Prim Neo, quoting a communique from the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Moldova (ANRCETI). The incomes from the services provided have fallen by 6.7%, totaling at 775.1 million lei. Albeit its incomes have fallen by 48.4 million lei, Moldtelecom still is the top provider, with sales, in this section, worth 754.4 million lei. Meanwhile, the total sales done by the 23 alternative operators have risen by 68.7%, summing at 20.7 million lei. The average revenue per user (ARPU) of Moldtelecom was 111.7 lei (down by 6.2%), and that of the alternative operators was 58.6 lei (up by 17.4%). The average value of this variable in the landline telephony sector has fallen by 6.5%, summing at 109.1 lei. As a result, at the end of the first half of 2012, the Moldtelecom market share, based on revenues, has fallen by 0.7%, down to 97.1%, and the alternative operators’ share has grown by the same amount, summing at 2.9%. ANRCETI specialists say the easy growth in parameters for alternative landline phone operators was generated by the increase in the number of operators from 18 to 23, and the extension of the subscriber base as a result of their connection to triple play services (Internet, TV and landline phone).