Revenue down for Grenada telecom providers in 2009
ST GEORGE’S, Grenada, CMC — The telecommunication sector recorded a decrease in revenue, investment and even employment during 2009, according to the annual report of the National Telecommunications and Regulatory Commission (NTRC).
The report tabled in the Parliament showed that revenue had contracted six per cent to an estimated EC$151 million (US$55.9 million) and “for the first time since the telecommunications sector was liberalised, operators reported a decline in the revenue even as the number of subscribers of mobile grew some 16per cent”.
The report noted that although Internet service revenue grew an impressive 76 per cent “this was not sufficient to offset the decline in revenue from fixed and mobile voice services which fell 12 per cent” adding that the “telecommunications sector was not spared the impact of the global economic decline”.
NTRC said that the telecommunications sector recorded an overall increase in market penetration and that mobile phone penetration continued to increase, moving from 99 per cent in 2008 to 105.2 per cent last year.
“Fixed line penetration did not share the same fate, as this market recorded a two per cent decline in market penetration as more customers opt for mobile services.
“The fixed Internet penetration increased some 2.5 percent from 2008,” said the report noting that investment in the telecommunications sector is estimated to have contracted by 10 per cent to EC$40 million (US$14.8 million) or two per cent of Gross Domestic product.
The report also noted that the number of persons directly employed in the sector decreased by 12 per cent.
However, the number of mobile subscribers for 2009 increased by more than 9,000 to an estimated 115,424 with the NTRC indicating that prepaid subscribers accounted for 92 per cent of the entire market.
It said that mobile originated local traffic increased 23 per cent and was recorded at more than 141 million minutes. Cellular phones subscribers sent almost 18 million text messages during the 2009, 20 per cent more than the previous year.
