The number of broadband subscribers in Ireland surpassed 1.2 million during the fourth quarter of 2008, according to new figures published today by the communications regulator ComReg.
Broadband subscriptions rose by 6.7 per cent compared to the third quarter and were up 35.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2007.
Mobile broadband subscriptions continue to show strong signs of growth, rising by 15 per cent in the fourth quarter and by 142 per cent over the year.
If mobile broadband (HSDPA) subscriptions are excluded, the number of broadband subscribers in Ireland grew 17.5 per cent in the year to the end of December.
Broadband per capita penetration reached 27.1 per cent during the quarter. DSL subscriptions alone account for 45.9 per cent of all internet subscriptions.
Total internet subscriptions increased to 1.4 million during the final quarter of 2008, a 3.7 per cent increase on the previous quarter and an 18.5 per cent rise versus the same three-month period in 2007.
During the fourth quarter, the number of dial-up internet subscribers fell by 27.3 per cent over the year to just 237,475.
Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan said this afternoon that the latest figures were encouraging. "“We constantly hear about the lack of broadband but today’s figures show yet again the great strides we are making in broadband in Ireland," he said.
According to ComReg's latest figures, the mobile phone penetration rate in Ireland reached 121 per cent during the fourth quarter. In total, there were over 5.3 million mobile phone subscriptions at the end of the quarter.
The number of text messages sent reached over 2.8 billion during the three month period, up from 2.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007.
Vodafone remains the most popular mobile provider with a 41.1 per cent share of the market, followed by O2 with a 37.9 per cent share, Meteor with 18.2 per cent share and 3 Ireland with just 2.8 per cent of total subscribers.
Approximately 1,487,000 people have switched mobile provide since the launch of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in June 2003, according to ComReg.
The total number of pay TV households in Ireland is 1.094 million and Pay-TV households now represent 75 per cent of all homes with a television.
At the end of December 2008, there were 879,891 digital TV subscriptions, up 7.3 per cent during the quarter.
Just over 60 per cent of all TV households in Ireland now receive their service via a digital television signal, based on either digital cable or satellite.
Overall electronic communications market revenues decreased during the quarter by 0.7 per cent to less than €1.1 billion.
