OREANDA-NEWS. April 20, 2011. It was said at the press conference y, when the Report on activity and the developments of the electronic communications markets in 2010 was presented. According to the head of the Agency’s Economic Regulation and Analysis Department Vladimir Vozian, the total volume of sales in 2010 in four electronic communications markets – mobile, telephony, data transfer and Internet asses, broadcasting and retransmission of audio-visual programs – amounted to 6.14 billion leis, having increased 9.1% in comparison with the previous year.

The reduction in the growth rates in 2011 is due to the 23-24% decrease in incomes received from rendering services of completion of the national traffic in the fixed and mobile networks and due to the 5-6% decrease in sales in the fixed telephony market.

However, these slumps, according to the Agency’s forecasts, will be compensated by the increase in sales of mobile communication services by 10%, and of the data transfer and Internet access services by 20-22%. Vladimir Vozian informed that the mobile telephony and the wide-band access to Internet were the most dynamical, having grown by 14% and 25%, respectively, for a year.

According to data, provided to suppliers, the total number of electronic communications services users increased in 2010 by 11% and totaled 4.82 million, with 65.6% of them – consumers of mobile communication services, 24% - fixed telephone communication, 5.6% - Internet access and 4.8% - multi-channel television services. Vladimir Vozian said the Agency expects continuation of the dynamical growth of the wide-band Internet access and mobile telephony markets.

The number of mobile telephony users will grow 10-12% and will exceed 3.5 million, the level of penetration of these services – to 98%. The number of wide-band mobile access services users will increase 35-40% and will total 165 thousand, and the number of clients of wide-band services in fixed points – by 30-35% and will reach 350 thousand. According to the Agency’s expectations, the number of fixed telephony subscribers in 2011 will increase by 1.5-2% and will total 1.18 million.