The Covid-19 pandemic caused a strong growth in over-the-top (OTT) services in Portugal, especially voice or video calls, video streaming on demand, attendance of online courses, as well as the purchase of online products. This is one of the conclusions to be drawn from a report released by the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (Anacom).

“In 2021, 80% of internet users made voice or video calls over the internet, 10 percentage points (pp) more than in 2020 and 27 pp more than in 2019. Portugal exceeded the EU27 average (+7 pp) moving to the 9th position in the ranking of the use of this type of services. If the total number of individuals is considered, and not just internet users, the penetration of these services would be 66%, exceeding the European average (+1 p.p.), and moving from 23rd to 14th position in the EU27 ranking. In 2019, Portugal occupied the last place in this ranking”, said Anacom.

According to the document, instant messaging was used by 91% of internet users. “The level of use of this type of application in Portugal was 12 p.p. above the EU27 average, occupying 6th position in the respective ranking. If we consider the total number of individuals, and not just internet users, the penetration of this service in Portugal would be 75%. From this perspective, Portugal was 5 p.p. above the European average, positioning itself in 12th place in the EU27 ranking”, says the regulator.

Anacom also concludes that in 2020 around 34% of internet users subscribed to video streaming services on demand, 20 p.p. more than in 2018 – Portugal is in 15th position in the EU27 ranking. “If we consider the total number of individuals, and not just internet users, the penetration of these services in Portugal would be 26% in 2020 (+16 pp than in 2018), with Portugal moving to 16th position in the EU27 ranking”.