Survey of Individuals 2008 - Use of telephony and the Internet by Swedes - PTS-ER-2008:24

11/06/2009

Fixed telephony

• Nearly 9 out of 10 persons (88%) in the Swedish population stated that they had fixed telephony in their household, which was the same as in previous years. The percentage of people without fixed telephony usually consists of those living in households where the maximum age is 26; just over a quarter (27%) were of the opinion that they could manage without it.
• TeliaSonera was still the largest stakeholder, with a market share of 54%, but the company lost ground since 2007. Tele2, Com Hem and Bredbandsbolaget all experienced a slight increase in their market shares.
• The percentage of people who were generally satisfied with their fixed telephony operator generally remained unchanged over the years and was still at just under 3 out of 4 persons (72%).
• Just over 7 out of 10 persons (72%) also purchased other services from their fixed telephony operator. This was generally at the same level as in previous years. On the other hand, a growing percentage of people purchased broadband and television services, while the percentage who purchased mobile telephony and dial-up Internet services fell. This year, almost 1 in 10 persons (7%) purchased mobile broadband from their fixed telephony operator.

IP/broadband telephony

• The percentage of the Swedish population using IP/broadband telephony has increased. In 2008, 25% stated that they used IP/broadband telephony in their household. Usually, calls were made by means of an ordinary wall jack.
• Almost half (45%) of those who used IP/broadband telephony had experienced problems. Poor sound quality continued to be a common problem, but many were also unable to make calls and/or get a dialling tone.
• Around one-third of all Swedes would consider giving up their traditional fixed telephone and using IP/broadband telephony instead (of which 10% had already done so).

Mobile telephony

• Ninety-six per cent of the population had a mobile telephone, most of whom had it for private use (94%).
• Nearly half of all Swedes were still unwilling to only use a mobile telephone and do without a fixed telephone in their household. However, nearly 1 out of 10 persons (9%) only used a mobile telephone, and this was still most common among the youngest age groups.
• TeliaSonera was the largest stakeholder for mobile telephony (as well as fixed telephony) with a market share of 39%, followed by Tele2/Comviq (25%) and Telenor (16%). On the other hand, TeliaSonera lost ground over the year (four percentage points), while Tele2/Comviq strengthened its position (three percentage points).
• The percentage stating that they were satisfied with their mobile operator dropped from 74% to 71% between 2007 and 2008. Of the largest operators, TeliaSonera, Tele2/Comviq and 3 had the highest percentage of satisfied customers, whereas Telenor remained a little behind.
• The percentage who switched mobile operator in the past six months fell from 9% to 5% since the previous year. Once again, the main reason for the switch was the cost. Those who did not switch operator were in most cases simply satisfied with their present operator.
• In the past six months, two out of three mobile phone users used content services. As in previous years, it  was most common for people to send or receive images (MMS). A service that, relatively speaking, fewer people seemed to be using was the downloading of ring tones, logos, images and/or games.
• This pattern was increasingly prevalent among those who had already sent text messages. Seven per cent stated that they sent more than ten text messages per day and this was most common among teenagers (32%).
• Just over 1 out of 10 persons (14%) did not know whether they paid an opening charge for their mobile phone calls, or knew what this meant, and as many as 7 out of 10 people (71%) did not know their charging interval.

The Internet and access to broadband/mobile broadband

• Ninety per cent of Swedes between the ages of 16 and 75 used the Internet, which was an increase of three percentage points since 2007. Eighty-nine per cent of Swedes between the ages of 16 and 40 used the Internet virtually every day.
• Eighty-nine per cent had access to the Internet at home, which was also an increase from previous years (by five percentage points).
• TeliaSonera was the largest stakeholder, with a market share of 38%, followed by Com Hem and Bredbandsbolaget, with market shares of 14% each. There were no significant changes compared with previous years.
• The percentage of people who were generally satisfied with their Internet service provider generally fell for the largest stakeholders, with the exception of Bredbandsbolaget, where the situation remained unchanged.  Glocalnet represented the largest reduction (13 percentage points).
• As for mobile telephony, a smaller percentage switched Internet service provider compared with previous years. Six per cent stated that they switched to a new provider in the past six months, compared with 10% in 2007.
• The percentage of people in Sweden with broadband continued to rise this year. Nearly 3 out of 4 people (74%) had a broadband access line in their household, of whom 7% stated that mobile broadband was the form of connection they used most often.
• Around 50% experienced problems at some point during the past six months when using the Internet; this was nevertheless six percentage points lower than in the previous two years. Above all, fewer people experienced problems related to SPAM (unsolicited e-mail).
• Eighty-nine per cent had taken some kind of measure to protect the computer used most frequently in their household.
• Fifty-one per cent of those who used mobile broadband agreed with the statement that ‘it works well from home’. Only 24% agreed with the statement that they ‘receive the connection rate they paid for’.
• Twenty-four per cent of households that paid for their own Internet subscriptions would consider switching from wired/fixed broadband to only using mobile broadband at home, and 6% had already made this switch. The most common reason for not switching was lower transmission capacity.