The third edition of the «Consumers in Europe» analysis, published in partnership by Eurostat and the European Commission’s Directorate of Health and Consumer Protection, found that the number of mobile phone subscriptions – which include pre and post-paid tariff subscriptions – it increased almost 14 times between 1996 and 2005 in the community, from seven subscriptions per 100 inhabitants to 96 counted two years ago.
With regard to the most recent data, the figures show that in 2006 around 18 per cent of households in the European Union owned only mobile phones and had abandoned fixed communications. The proportion varied widely among member states since in Sweden, Malta, the Netherlands and Luxembourg the rate of households without a fixed line was below 10 percent and in countries such as Lithuania, Finland, the Czech Republic and Latvia this percentage varied between 40 and 48 percent.
The results also show that in 2005 thirteen member states had more than 100 signatures for every hundred inhabitants, including Luxembourg (158), Lithuania (127), Italy (122), Czech Republic (115) and Portugal (111). On the other hand, Romania (62), Poland (76), France (77) and Bulgaria (80) were the countries with the lowest subscription rates.
In contrast, the results of the analysis show that the number of fixed lines per 100 inhabitants increased slightly, from 43 lines in 1996 to 48 in 2005.
According to the figures, landlines have lost ground for mobile phones in 12 member states, have increased the penetration rate in 14 and maintained in a single country.
Finally, among the states with the highest number of fixed lines per 100 inhabitants in 2005, Germany (67), Denmark (61), France and Sweden (20), Slovakia (22), Lithuania (23) stood out. Czech Republic and Poland (31).
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