Albanians open wallets for internet access, mobile phones

TIRANA, March 11 – The use of internet access grew in Albania last year, meaning 80,000 families now having broadband access to the internet at home, according to the latest data by the Electronics and Postal Communications Authority. There also 8,000 business subscribers.
Internet providers have also increased, reaching almost 90 companies. Competition has reduced the price of access, so the Albanians are increasingly signing up.
By the end of 2009, to total number of postpaid and prepaid subscribers with internet access, reached more than 700,000, which includes those with mobile internet access.
Internet access is not the only thing, people are spending money on. Albanians spent some 50 billion leks on their mobile phones 2009. The figure is less than last year, but the number of cell phone lines has increased overall, according to the authority.
The three cell phone companies combined have 4.1 million users, which is explained by the fact that many people own more than one SIM card. About 94 percent of them are users with prepaid packages and only 6 percent are users with contracts.
Albania mobile phone penetration levels are higher compared with to the average in European Union countries. According the latest data, during 2009 the number of users per 100 inhabitants amounted to 129 percent compared to 119 percent is the average of European Union countries. On the landline end, only 12 percent of Albania’s population is covered.