The number of households with a fixed telephone subscription has declined by 19 percentage points since 2019, a Malta Communications Authority survey has found.

While 99 per cent of households surveyed four years ago said they had a fixed phone line, now 80 per cent said they do. 

There has also been a big drop in interest concerning fixed phone lines - while in 2019 less than 1 per cent of those without a subscription said they had no intention of acquiring one, now 18 per cent said they were not interested in one. 

The MCA said that in spite of the decline in fixed telephony service subscriptions, a substantial 76% of current subscribers showed no intention of discontinuing subscriptions, marking a significant increase from the 48% reported in 2019.

The decision to retain the service primarily hinges on its perceived utility.

Many respondents - 46 per cent - noted that the service is bundled with other services.

Fixed phone services are generally provided by telecoms firms as a bundle together with cable television and internet services. 

Expenditure and call rates

The survey findings suggest that most people are paying for a fixed telephone line without knowing it.

55 per cent of respondents were unaware that they had purchased a fixed telephony service when purchasing a communications bundle. 

60 per cent of respondents said they did not know much they spent every month on a fixed phone line. 

Most respondents subscribe to the entry-level plans, considering that their reported expenditure was in the ‘€0 - €9.99’ monthly outlay category.

The percentage of respondents under this category increased from 7% in 2019 to 20% in 2023. 33% of respondents stated they were unaware of the applicable fixed-to-mobile call rates.

Among the remaining two-thirds, opinions were evenly split, with 30% perceiving these rates as expensive, while 31% considered them reasonable.

Lower perceived satisfaction, limited propensity to switching 

Although 73% of respondents conveyed either high satisfaction or satisfaction with the quality of service provided by their service provider. This marks a decline of 10 percentage points compared to 2019. This may be due to 12% of respondents saying they do not use the service. 

Among those who were not contemplating a switch, 34% identified bundling as the primary reason for staying with their current provider. This was followed by the belief that all service providers offer the same services (for 24%) and the inconvenience associated with changing operators (for 23%).