Macau telecoms regulator, the Direccao dos Servicos de Regulacao de Telecomunicacoes (DSRT), has reported that the country’s mobile user base edged up to 1.556 million by 30 September 2013, with less than 5,000 subscribers still using 2G services. Pre-paid 3G users account for the bulk of the connections (967,768), with a further 584,497 being post-paid 3G users. In terms of 2G customers, the DSRT reports a total of 4,574 post-paid accounts, and just 155 pre-paid users. Elsewhere, broadband subscribers reached 149,080, while dial-up customers dwindled to just 514. Meanwhile, fixed line customers in Macau dropped slightly to 158,504 by end-September, of which 102,425 were residential accounts.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, on 4 June 2015 all local 2G mobile services in Macau will be switched off, and only 3G (and future 4G) services will be provided to Macanese users, under a strategy agreed between the government, regulator and operators. In 2008 the state set a date – originally July 2012 – for local GSM services to cease, with only 2G roaming services for tourists to remain on offer from then onwards. However, the deadline has since been moved back several times.