Last year, each user spent an average of 6,800 ALL on mobile communications services.

According to data from the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP), last year the average expenditure of Albanians for these services increased by about 4.2% compared to the previous year.

This value is based on the indicator of average revenue per user (ARPU) of mobile operators and is calculated as the ratio of revenue from retail services to the total number of active users.

AKEP estimates that, taking into consideration that more and more mobile services are being offered in packages with combined content (minutes, sms and internet), ARPU is the most significant indicator in the assessment of user income.

According to the comparative figures of AKEP, the ARPU in 2022 in Albania was about 57.18 euros/year, while the average annual ARPU of the European Union is about 173 euros/year, or, about three times higher in Albania.

However, the average expenditure of Albanians for mobile calls last year increased to 3.75 ALL per minute, an increase of 23% compared to the previous year. This value is based on the indicator of average revenue per minute (ARPM), which is calculated as the ratio of revenue from retail services to the amount of outgoing minutes and shows the income of the entrepreneur for one minute.

From the reports carried out during 2022, providers of mobile electronic communications services reported an increase in revenue by about 4% compared to 2021. In the increase in total market revenue, the main weight has been the increase in revenue generated by the provision of retail services which increased by about 10% compared to the previous period, while wholesale revenues have decreased by about 11% compared to 2021. AKEP estimates that last year, the mobile services market last year had a total volume of 25.4 billion lek or about 223 million euros.

Regarding the indicators of the annual net financial result, for the year 2022 the three entrepreneurs have reported a negative financial result, respectively Vodafone Albania with a loss of about 258 million ALL, One Telecommunications has reported a loss in the amount of 559 million ALL while Albtelecom for 2022 has reported negative financial result of about 12 billion ALL.

According to AKEP, the negative results significantly affect the possibility of operators to increase investments and improve technologies in order to increase the quality of service for end consumers.

The decrease in the number of mobile operators in the country has begun to affect the cost of communication packages. Mobile operators have increased the prices for basic prepaid communication packages by 100-200 lek in the last two years, but in the meantime have reduced the included communication units in them, as a way to encourage users to move to more affordable packages. up.

(Source: Monitor)