Internet and e-commerce industry in Malta

 Malta, a full member of the EU,  it’s one of the smallest countries throughout the world, with territory of 300 km², This densely populated archipelago state, including islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands, has just a little more than 400,000 residents. Malta is famous worldwide for its world heritage sites, most prominently for the Megalithic Temples which are the oldest free-standing structures in Europe. Gaining independence from the UK in 1964 and becoming a Republic in 1974, the country remained membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Currently Malta is a member of the United Nations and a member of the European Union and the eurozone. Malta is also party to the Schengen Agreement . 

Turning to Malta’s ICT infrastructure, it’s important to mention that the country has a small telecom and broadband market which has been slow to adopt competition.

Commercial broadband Internet connection came to Malta in 2000 through ADSL and cable Internet. Importantly, Internet is accessible from all areas of the island. Broadband connectivity has become very widespread on the island, with many households opting for a broadband connection.

Melita Plc. is the only Internet Service Provider offering cable Internet. Melita - Internet (previously branded as OnVol) is a division of the cable and digital television provider, Melita Plc. Melita also provides standard ADSL connections for businesses.

ADSL bandwidth is mainly received via the Seabone Network and operated by DataStream and Vodafone Malta Ltd. The bandwidth is then sold to the variety of existing ISPs which are selling it to their subscribers. Meantime, at the end of 2005, DataStream merged with the ISP Maltanet, giving Maltanet a competitive advantage over other national ISPs. Both DataStream and Maltanet are subsidiaries of GO Plc, the national telephone company.

Concerning the Wimax Internet technology, it was launched in 2007 by Vodafone, that increased considerably the competition among ISPs in Malta.

National Internet top-level domain, or ccTLD, for Malta is .mt or com.mt .Two year registration agreement for .mt and .com.mt ccTLD is very expensive, $450, representing one of the highest domain registration service’s prices in the world. For reference, ccTLD registration agreement in UK costs $35, in Spain $89 is charged, while $220 charged in Netherlands. (http://www.rwgusa.com)

Meanwhile, businesses can also be registered under one of the second level domains, such as: 

• com.mt: commercial entities 
• org.mt: non-profit entities 
• net.mt: Internet-related network service providers 
• edu.mt: educational institutions 
• gov.mt: Malta government entity 

As for the Internet penetration growth, it made up over 400% for the period of 2000 - 2009. However, Malta's broadband penetration is just below the EU average Thus, by March, 2009 the amount of subscribers had reached 200,200, or almost 50% of the Malta’s population. That may be compared to just 10% penetration level seen in 2000, according to internetworldstrats.com. Nevertheless, Malta has a low internet usage, in sharp contrast to its above-average ICT skills and services. So, it’s obvious ICT progress in such a small island country shows rapid growth along with other developed countries in Europe and in the rest of the world. 

Malta’s nation ranked first among the EU’s countries in terms of the highest proportion of broadband-connected schools, according to Economist Intelligence Unit. Thereby, about 75% of teachers used a PC in class in 2006, ranking 13th on the European scale. Maltese rate of ICT skills, though they boast the fifth highest level of employees with ICT user skills of 20%. And the ratio of ICT specialists in Malta is also ahead of European average.

Concerning the goals Maltese apply to the web, the most popular are sending emails (over 31%) and looking for information about goods and services (almost 26%). Less attractive for Malta’s residents, but still popular, are internet banking, reading online newspapers/magazines and playing/downloading games and music, around 16% each. Listening to the web radio/watching web TV and Internet telephoning or videoconferencing are the least popular with 9% and 4% share, respectively. 

Let’s now take a look of e-commerce sector. Take up of government online services has yet to match the excellent supply of online services. In spite of its miniature size Malta has Europe's largest share of e-government services for citizens, at 83%, above the UK and more than twice the EU average. However, these services are applied to by only 16% of the residents.

Maltese basic public services available online for Maltese citizens are at 92%, that is the second best ranking in Europe compared with the European average of 51%, according to www.lowtax.net. The rapidity of the increase in these services was also noted by the EC, which observed that in 2004, only 33% of Maltese public services to citizens were available online. 

In September 2007, the Prime Minister of Malta, revealed the masterplan for SmartCity Malta, a new self-sustained industry township for knowledge-based companies to be developed by Tecom, owners of Dubai-based SmartCity, in partnership with the Government of Malta. SmartCity Malta, located in Ricasoli, in the southern area of Malta’s Grand Harbour, seeks to build a knowledge-based industry cluster, primarily serving the ICT and media sectors. This complex was created to form the core business infrastructure for SmartCity Malta's knowledge-industry community. SmartCity Malta is to provide services such as a crèche, health centre, library and outdoor sports facilities such as tennis courts, playgrounds and informal green spaces.

SmartCity Malta supposed attract an investment of at least US$300 million, making this project the largest foreign investment initiative in the ICT sector in Malta. The project will provide a substantial boost to Malta’s construction, hospitality, maritime, services and retail sectors. 

The most active e-commerce sector in Malta has been betting and gaming; about 20 betting and gaming e-commerce operations exist in total on the island.

A consortium of Malta’s leading e-business organizations, eBusinessMalta.com, was created in December 2007 to support companies establishing a business presence in the jurisdiction. The company targets to visit various other eBusiness related events, including shows, conventions and fairs in London, Hannover, Chicago, Miami, and also Macau in Asia.

Among the other e-commerce solutions available for businesses in Malta are: 

• CSB Group, eManagement Ltd. – serve companies with respect to their Set-up and Incorporation; Regulatory and Licensing Consultancy; Directorship and Management Services, Accounting and Secretarial Services; Back-Office and Support Services, and Fiduciary and Trustee Services
• BMIT Limited – offers hosting facilities for Internet based businesses, and has grown as a leading online gaming service provider in Europe
• IGlobal Payments (iGP) Ltd - provides real time card payment transaction services over the internet whilst also assisting in bank account solutions
• VacancyCentre.com - offers recruitment services to various local and international businesses, and also assists in residency and work permit applications and relocation to Malta
• Zammit & Associates - Advocates - enhances lie in the areas of financial services, e-commerce, intellectual property, contract law, gaming law, ship registration and employment law.

In spite of the fact, Malta is one of the smallest countries, moreover, an archipelago state that makes Internet connectivity difficult, it manages to keep up with the other ICT and e-commerce developed countries. And of course, the majority of all the ICT novelties as soon as appear in EU come to Malta as well. In September 2008, the European Commission confirmed Malta’s high ICT ranking, recognising it as "well advanced in information society, with many benchmarking indicators significantly above the EU average."