The sales of fixed broadband Internet access services in the first quarter of 2015 rose by 13.1% compared with the corresponding period last year to 256 million lei. The number of subscribers increased by 7,300 to over 516,000. The data are contained in a report by the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology, quoted by IPN.

According to the Agency, of the 61 fixed Internet access service providers, Starnet Solutii and Moldtelecom reported the largest increases in sales. The sales of the first company grew by 28.6% to 62.5 million lei, while of the second – by 9.8% to 159.5 million lei.

Most of the new subscribers in the period chose high-speed Internet. 40.2% of these benefit from an Internet access speed of over 30 Mbps. 35.7% access the Internet at speeds ranging between 30 and 100 Mbps, while 4.5% - at speeds of over 100 Mbps.

Compared with the first quarter of 2014, the market share of Starnet Solutii rose by 2.8% to 23.1%, while that of Moldtelecom fell by 2.1% to 61.9%.