Number of mobile users up by almost 25,000 last year

The number of mobile phone users in Cyprus rose by 24,855 in the second half of 2021 compared with the same period in 2020, the Cyprus News Agency reported, citing figures from the OCECPR – the office of the commissioner for electronic communications and postal regulation.

Contracts rose by 1.4 per cent compared to the first half of 2021, while the total number of mobile users as a percentage of the population in the second half of 2021 was up 2.8 per cent compared to the first half at 148.7 per cent of the population.

As regards market share, Cyta continues to hold more than 50 per cent of the market, but other providers are gaining ground.

In December 2021, Cyta accounted for 53.5 per cent of mobile phone contracts, compared to Epic’s 32.5 per cent, Primetel’s 9.3 per cent and Cablenet’s 4.7 per cent. This is the lowest figure for Cyta so far. In 2014, it held 69.1 per cent of this market.

In the pre-paid mobile phone market, Cyta was again ahead with 50 per cent, followed by Epic with 36.9 per cent, Primetel with 12.1 per cent and Cablenet with 1 per cent.

As regards market share overall, Cyta accounted for 52.3 per cent, Epic for 34 per cent, Primetel for 10.12 per cent and Cablenet for 3.5 per cent.

In the fixed line telephony market, the second half of 2021 saw a marginal increase of 0.6 per cent over the first half of the previous year. There was a continued upward trend in cable links, for which there is no monthly fees as well as fiber optic links as subscribers transition to optic fibers.

The main fixed line link is BBT, accounting for 36 per cent, followed by cable and fiber optics with 23.5 per cent and 22.6 per cent respectively.

Cyta held 55.4 per cent of the market share in fixed line telephony in the fourth quarter of 2021. Primetel held 11.9 per cent, Cablenet 24.7 per cent and Epic 8 per cent. Cyta’s share is falling, the Cyprus News Agency noted. Indicatively, in the first quarter of 2018 it stood at 70.4 per cent.

As regards fixed broadband access, there was an increase of 8,964 subscribers or 2.6 per cent in the second half of 2021 compared to the second half of 2020. The small rise in attributed to increased penetration among households which at 93.4 per cent is close to saturation.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, Cyta was the market leader in this category with 57.4 per cent. Primetel accounted for 12.2 per cent, Cablenet for 23.5 per cent and Epic for 6.8 per cent.

The second half of 2021 saw an increase of 4.8 per cent in the percentage of subscriptions with speeds over 100Mbps, due mainly to the expansion of optic fiber networks by providers. This trend is expected to continue. A fraction of subscribers (0.6 per cent) has speeds above 1Gbps.

The average volume of data per fixed line in the fourth quarter of 2021 was 744.1 GB. The total volume of data in 2021 is 24 per cent more than the 2020.