The proportion who said they feel that the mobile networks provide good coverage in this year's survey was nearly 80 per cent of the respondents, compared to 75 per cent in the last survey, conducted in 2013. They felt they had the best coverage outdoors, and the worst was in the car.
Those who live in larger cities were happier with the coverage, but most people in rural areas also felt that their coverage was good. What primarily distinguished the city from the rural areas was the perception of how well it worked to use the internet on a mobile phone.
“It is great that more people are pleased with the mobile coverage – but further improvements are needed, not least a better mobile broadband in the countryside. PTS is currently working on the coverage requirements for the next frequency allocation, and this time we will add a requirement for coverage to be provided in areas where it is not possible to make a call or use the internet with sufficient capacity,” says Göran Marby, Director-General of PTS.
Mobile phone use is increasing
Nearly 90 per cent of Swedes have a smartphone. Most of them use their phone to make calls. But more and more people are starting to use the phone for other types of services. The proportion who use the internet on their phone is for example increasing steadily – 85 per cent have done so in the last six months, compared to 74 per cent in 2013. The use of services such as social media, e-mail, video streaming and music on mobile phones has also increased by at least 10 percentage points.
Out of those who have gone abroad in the last year, the majority have made calls on their mobile phone and sent text messages. More and more people use the internet via mobile and WiFi networks during their stay abroad.
Increasing numbers watch television online
Those who only watch television via online streaming services, such as Netflix and SVT Play, have increased from 4 per cent in 2013 to 10 per cent this year. A majority (55 per cent) watch both traditional television and streaming services.
Increased demand for high-speed broadband
This year's survey shows that a little over 94 per cent of the respondents use the internet at home. The increase is greatest among the older respondents: 71 per cent of 61–75-year-olds use the internet more or less on a daily basis.
More than 30 per cent state that they have fibre optic cable as their main internet connection, which makes it the most common alternative. The main reason for the increase in fibre use is to avoid limitations in data volumes or speed.
About the report
The PTS individual survey 2015 describes how the Swedes use landlines, mobile telephony and the internet. PTS has surveyed 4,000 people aged 16 to 75 years. The purpose of the survey is to give PTS a better understanding of how the consumers view telephony and internet services. The first survey was conducted in 2002.
Read the summary of the report here.
More statistics available on PTS' statistics portal.
For more information:
Andreas Wigren, ph: +46 73 644 5696
PTS press office, ph: +46 8 678 55 55