3 November 2020. The growth is unstoppable. Mobile data use is progressively increasing among Basque customers and has grown by 50% in the last 18 months. Euskaltel, the Basque Country's telecommunications company, has carried out a study among its more than 327,000 customers in the Basque Country, which reveals that mobile data use averages at 3.7GB per handset per month.
The data show two seasonal points that alter the trend. During lockdown, increased Wi-Fi use at home meant that data usage dropped. During the summer holidays however, the complete opposite happened. In August, usage increased to almost 5.5GB. Seasonal peaks result in high usage that can lead to data tariffs being wiped out by users during the holidays and this has pushed companies to make decisions that cater to changes in usage. Euskaltel has decided to meet this demand with offers of unlimited GB to match users' changing needs throughout the year. There are no significant differences throughout the territories and data for the Basque Country are similar across the region.
The following conclusions can be drawn from Euskaltel's study of consumer habits:
1. Importance of device. The study reflects the importance of the device that Basque customers use. These devices, in order, are fixed-line products, broadband, mobile phones and TV. Importantly, almost 9 out of every 10 Euskaltel customers have a broadband and mobile phone contract. Demand for fixed-line products has dropped by 4% in the last 18 months.
2. TV - demand is on the up. Of all services, TV has gained the most ground, with demand increasing by 5% in the last year and a half. By time slot, TV viewer numbers in the Basque Country are highest from 3pm to 4pm and from 9pm to 11pm.
Strong roots are part of Euskaltel's DNA, and the Basque company includes content from all local Basque TV stations in both the Basque language and Spanish. ETB1, ETB3, HAMAIKA TB, OIZMENDI TB, GOIERRI TB, 28 KANALA, ERLO TB and GOIENA TB are the Basque language channels and TELEVITORIA, UROLA TB, TELEDONOSTIA, BIZKAIA TV, TELE 7, TELEBILBAO, GLOBAL 7 and DOTB DURANGALDEA are the channels in Spanish.
3. Peak internet usage. In terms of internet usage by time slot, the same study reveals that volumes of download and upload traffic per hour on working days increase considerably between 9pm and 11pm. Usage is at its lowest from 4am to 7am.
Internet usage patterns at the weekend are similar to those seen Monday to Friday. That said, peak time is longer and lasts from 7pm to 11pm. The low point for traffic at weekends is also between 4am and 7am, although weekend internet usage is higher during this time slot than from Monday to Friday.
Euskaltel - Communication
comunicacion@euskaltel.com