Alternative operators gain ground in fixed-line telephony

TIRANA, Aug. 6 – As the number of alternative operators offering fixed-line telephony services rises, their market share has also increased. In an analysis, the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority says that alternative fixed-line phone operators increased their share to 24 percent at the end of 2011, leaving giant Albtelecom which until the early 2000s was the only service provider with a 76 percent share.
Alternative operators saw their fixed-line phone subscribers rise by around 50 percent to 80,000 at the end of 2011. ABcom, Nisatel, Primo, and the newly launched AMC Fiks are the five biggest operators in the alternative operator market with some of them also offering broadband internet and TV
The number of fixed-line phone subscribers in 2011 rose by only 2.2 percent to 332,000.
While Albania’s mobile penetration rate stands at a record 185 percent, the situation with fixed-line telephony lags behind with an estimated 12 percent, considerably lower to the EU 27 average rate of 45 percent and regional countries.