Internet services market values EUR 472 mln in Romania, rural areas bring biggest growth

Revenues from supplying Internet services in Romania reached some EUR 472 million last year, up 4 percent on the previous year, and covering 13 percent of the local telecom market, according to data from the Romanian National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM). Romania had 4.23 million mobile broadband connections at the end of 2011, 39 percent more compared to 2010, and exceeding the number of fixed broadband Internet connections- 3.36 million. Six suppliers of mobile Internet services reported data in 2011. Out of the mobile Internet connections, 3.1 million were on mobile phones, and 1.1 million through modems and cards used to connect laptops to the Internet. Internet penetration rate reached 17.1 percent per 100 inhabitants – or 41.6 percent per 100 households. More individuals signed up for fixed and mobile Internet, and more activity was seen in rural areas. There are 680,000 Internet connections in rural areas, 14 percent up in the second part of 2011, compared to 2010. The increase in connections for urban areas was of 2 percent, to 2.5 million. The average traffic of a user of mobile Internet in Romania reached some 220 MB, according to Catalin Marinescu, the head of ANCOM. Regarding speed, half of the fixed broadband connections have speeds of at least 30 Mbps. editor@romania-insider.com