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Telecom
December 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 27
Moldova’s mobile voice telecom market shrinks in Jan-Sep
IntelliNews Pro
The volume of voice traffic decreased in Moldova in January-September by 0.6% y/y to 4.61bn min- utes, the number of users decreased by 2.2% ytd to 4.36mn (active SIMs at the end of September) and consequently the total revenues decreased by 5.8% y/y to MDL2.37bn (€110mn) in the first three quar- ters of the year, according to data reported by the National Agency for Regulation in Electronic Com- munications and Information Technology (ANRCETI).
As a result of the adverse market conditions, the average monthly revenues per user (ARPU) de- creased by 2.3% y/y to MDL72.9 (€3.6). Moldtele- com registered an ARPU of MDL85, followed by Or- ange Moldova (MDL77.2) and Moldcell (MDL63.6).
The volume of voice traffic reported by Orange Moldova and Moldtelecom increased by 0.7% y/y and 10.6% y/y respectively, while the volume re- ported by Moldcell decreased by 6% y/y.
The average monthly volume of minutes spoken by a user (MoU) during the reporting period in-
creased by 3.8% y/y and amounted to 271 min- utes, with an average call duration of 1.7 minutes.
ANRCETI informed that the decrease in the total number of mobile users was driven by the de- crease in the subscriber bases of Moldcell
and Orange Moldova. The former’s subscriber base shrank by 3.7% y/y (to 1.43mn at the end
of September) while the former lost 1.9% if its subscribers (2.55mn at end-September). The number of Moldtelecom subscribers increased by 1.9% to 382.4 thousand. As a result of this evolution, the penetration rate of mobile te- lephony services (SIM cards to 100 inhabitants) decreased by 2.7pp to 122.9%.
During the reporting period, the market shares of the three mobile service providers, based on earnings, did not undergo any substantial chang- es. At the end of September, Orange Moldova had a market share of 64.8%, Moldcell 29.8% and Moldtelecom 5.4%, ANRCETTI said.
Telekom Srbija says still in race for Telekom Albania, eyes new cable operators
Serbian majority state-owned telco Telekom Srbija is still in the race for Telekom Albania and plans to acquire more cable operators in its home mar- ket after the purchase of Kopernikus Technology, eKapija reported on November 26.
In October, Telekom Srija filed a bid for Telekom Albania, the second largest telco in the country, but the Albanian government has said that the Serbian company is not welcome due to possible political reactions.
However, according to Vladimir Lalic, Telekom Sr- bija’s chief marketing manager, the company has not been excluded from the tender so far.
"The tender is still running and I cannot tell you more about this process. But we are still in the race,” eKapija quoted him as saying.
Earlier in November, Telekom Srbija acquired cable operator Kopernikus Technology from Polish private equity firm Abris Capital Partners.