Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/997322
NEWS 6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 24 JUNE 2018 TIA RELJIC DESPITE the popularity of mo- bile phones and other modes of communication, almost all households in Malta have a fixed telephony connection, a survey by the Malta Commu- nications Authority (MCA) has found. A survey of 824 randomly selected respondents found a total of 99.8% retained a fixed telephony subscription at home. Bundling of the service – having fixed telephone as part of a bundled plan that includes other services – was also very popular, with 76% of respondents saying they subscribed to a post-paid plan on a bundle. In fact, the most popular feature sought when seeking to purchase a fixed telephony connection is 52%, with good customer care service in sec- ond place at 48%. Surpris- ingly, only 30% said that they opt for plans that are of most value. Bundles are so popular that 39% of respondents who said that they have more than one fixed telephony connection, do so in order to benefit from yet another bundle offer. And fixed telephony prob- ably won't be going away anytime soon, as the vast majority of respondents said they were satisfied or highly satisfied with their service. In 2017, 48% said they were highly satisfied and another 42% said they were satisfied – with only 1% saying they were dissatisfied and anoth- er 1% saying they were least satisfied, while 8% said they were indifferent. But it is unclear whether fixed telephony would be so popular without the option of bundling services, as only 22% of respondents said that they make use of a stand- alone post-paid plan, and 2% use a prepaid plan. Some might be sticking to their fixed telephones due to a reluctance to change: even the small amount of people dissatisfied with their ser- vice said they were unlikely to switch providers, as al- most half said they would not make the switch. Again, bun- dling played a part in this too, as 29% of those dissatisfied with their service said they would not switch providers since the service forms part of a bundle which they ben- efit from. Bundling also meant that a large number of respondents were not able to identify the cost of their fixed telephony service. Curiously, 78% of all respondents were not able to specify how much they spend on their fixed telephone ser- vice per month. Many of these – 64% – could not iden- tify their expenditure due to the fact that they could not separate the individual ser- vice from the rest of the bun- dle. Bundling, plans, and offers also opened the door to al- lowances and unlimited calls, which resulted in a large number of users who are completely unaware of the cost of calls per minute. The survey noted an increase in a lack of knowledge on per- minute call costs between 2015 and 2017, as only 25% of respondents were aware of the costs in the previous year. Bundling may, indeed, be what keeps fixed telephones in households, as 80% of re- spondents said that their fixed telephone was substi- tutable with their mobile, though only 46% said that ap- plications such as WhatsApp, Skype, or Messengers were a suitable substitute to their fixed home phone. Fixed telephones still relevant… but only thanks to bundling JAMES DEBONO IN an indication that the Mal- tese do not change their com- munication habits abroad, only 3% of Maltese people switch off their mobile when visiting an- other EU country and the ma- jority do not restrict their mobile phone settings. A Eurobarometer survey re- veals that respondents in Bul- garia and Germany (17%) and Austria (16%) are the most likely to switch off their mobile com- pared to only 2% in Cyprus, 3% in Malta and 4% in Estonia. In 17 European countries, switching off data roaming was the most common action taken while abroad, with respondents in the United Kingdom (41%), Ireland (40%) and Finland (36%) doing so. At the other end of the scale, 10% in Cyprus, 11% in Hungary and 14% in Greece and Malta did the same. 60% of Maltese travelling to the EU did not restrict their mobile use while abroad while 19% ac- tivated a special data roaming plan. The survey shows that since roaming charges were abolished on June 15 last year, respond- ents are increasingly likely to use their phone as they would do at home. The Maltese are also among the most communicative while abroad in another European country. 32% of Maltese continue to make the same amount of voice calls as in Malta and 37% con- tinue to make the same use of mobile internet at same rate as in Malta. 50% of Maltese said they had travelled to another EU country in the past year. 83% said they are aware that since June 15, 2017, they pay the same for mo- bile calls as in Malta. Never switch off: only 3% don't use mobile abroad Why people get landlines Bundled plans 52% Good customer care 48% Value for money 30% Nationwide availability 4% Other 6% Satisfaction with landlines Least satisfied 1% Dissatisfied 1% Indifferent 8% Satisfied 42% Highly satisfied 48% Bundles - packages that include mobile, internet and TV services - are so popular that 39% of respondents who said that they have more than one fixed telephony connection, do so in order to benefit from yet another bundle offer.