Telecommunication services, price index, Q4 2008

National

Frequency: quarterly
The statistics are published within 6 weeks after the end of the quarter

The statistics is reported to Eurostat

Data at a micro level, information about the sample and population are stored temporary in the programme language SAS. Data are long-term stored as text files on UNIX.

The purpose of the index is to measure the price development of telecommunication services, and as a deflator by the National Accounts.

This statistics was published the first time in June 2008, with figures from the fourth quarter of 2005. The price index for the private market is earlier published monthly as part of the consumer price index with data from 1979.

The index is used to analyse and survey the development in prices and costs, and in the National accounts in Statistics Norway. Eurostat use the index to measure price development in European countries. Others with an interest in the market for telecommunication can also use it, for example institutions within research and development, and the media.

The index is used in National Accounts. Statistics Norway publishes an annual structural statistics and a quarterly turnover index for the telecommunication industry. The consumer price index for telecommunication services offered to private households is published every month.

The Statistics Act, Sections 2-1, 2-2 and 2-3.

Regulation (EC) No 1158/2005 of the European Parliament and the Council of July 6 2005 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1165/98 concerning short-term statistics

Index for the private market (consumer price index):
The population is all services offered to private households in Norway. The prices is measured monthly from a sample of establishments.

Index for the business market:
The population is all enterprises in Norway classified as 64.2 (Telecommunications), SIC2002. The statistical unit in the survey is enterprises.

The sample is based on information about the enterprises/establishments market shares collected from Norwegian Post and Telecommunication Authority. Prices and distribution of income on services in fixed phone and mobile phone offered to the business market are collected from enterprises in the sample through questionnaires. List prices on internet services and on services offered to the private market are collected through the enterprises/establishments homepages.

A sample of enterprises are drawn from the population based on information about the market share in fixed phone services, mobile phone services and internet services.

Electronic and paper questionnaires are used for the collection of data from services in fixed phone and mobile phone offered to the business market. Enterprises in the sample have a three week deadline to submit the questionnaire, and they are obliged to report information. List prices on internet services and on services offered to the private market are collected from the enterprises homepages every month.

The questionnaires are automatically downloaded into an application for control and revision. Every questionnaire is afterwards controlled and revised, both automatically and manually. If price changes seems unlikely large, the respondents are contacted.

Laspeyres price indices for the business market are estimated in an application and they are indicating price changes for services offered to client groups. Client groups in market of fixed telephone services and mobile phone services are defined by the enterprises in the sample. Weights on these services are based on revenue shares on each of the services. Weights on internet services are based on information from the Internet survey published by Statistics Norway, and on information from the enterprises. For the business market an aggregated index per client group are aggregated to an index per enterprise. Indices per enterprise is then aggregated to an index for fixed telephone services, mobile phone service and internet services. These sub-indices are weighted together to an index for the business market.

Price index for the private market is the consumer price index for telecommunication services and is published monthly. The index is converted to a quarterly index (2006=100), and will be adjusted if there are changes in the value added tax.

Price indices for the business market and the private market are weighted together to a total index for the industry.

It is impossible to identify sensitive information from the statistics. The use of collected data from respondents will be in accordance with the demands in the Statistics Act provisions. The information will be stored properly and kept confidential.

The time series started in the 4th quarter of 2005. There have been no changes in the calculation method.

The consumer price index for telecommunication services offered to private households has time series back to January 1979