O2 loses 2,500 customers to rivals
The company said that in the second quarter of the year, it gained 8,000 new bill pay customers but some 10,500 prepaid subscribers fled to the two other mobile networks, giving a net loss for the three months.
O2 said that compared to a year ago, its total subscriber base has risen by 10% to 1.53 million customers.
The company’s latest performance figures show that it continues to make more money from its Irish customers than those in Britain or Germany, the other countries in which O2 has networks.
The average annual bill for O2 bill pay customers at the end of June was €1,149, compared to an annual average of €1,053 at the end of June 2004.
The average annual revenue O2 made from pre-paid subscribers fell by 4 to €357 at the end June, reflecting price cuts by the company during the year. Prepaid subscribers make up the vast majority of O2’s customer base.
O2 customers in Ireland are paying some €19 more per month in Ireland than those in Germany, the figures show.
O2 claimed the difference in monthly costs is because Irish people use their mobile phones more often than in other European countries.
O2 Ireland’s chief financial officer Paul Whelan said the company was pleased with its performance in an increasingly competitive market. “We continued our momentum in acquiring post-pay customers through excellent customer propositions and by listening to and understanding the needs of our business customers,” he said.
Some 357 million text messages were sent in the quarter, up 12% year-on-year, equivalent to 78 texts being sent by every O2 customer a month.
Competition in the mobile market will hot up in the coming weeks. 3 is set to launch its network very soon, while the takeover of Meteor will also put pressure on market leaders Vodafone and O2.
