O2 loses 18,000 clients in a year

O2 IRELAND’s customer base dipped by about 18,000 last year, although its post pay/billed customer numbers increased by nearly 7,000.

The company — which is ultimately owned by Spanish communications giant, Telefonica — tallied its total customer base at just more than 1.69 million as of the end of December, down from just more than 1.71 million at the end of the previous year.

According to O2 Ireland’s chief financial officer, Paul Whelan: “2010 was a very difficult year for the telecommunications industry, with the Irish economy still struggling to recover. Competition in the sector also increased significantly. In response to the low levels of consumer and business confidence throughout the year, we continued to offer better value for money across our products and services. So, while our customers used more of our services — with minutes of usage, text messages sent and data usage all increasing — they spent less.”

Mr Whelan added that the company will be looking more at additional business opportunities, following the recent launch of its first financial services product — the pre-pay O2 Money card.

“Looking to the year ahead, there are significant growth opportunities in data — as evidenced by the continued uptake of smartphones and mobile broadband,” he said.

“We also see opportunities in adjacent services. Our first financial services product marks the start of the convergence of the mobile phone and the wallet and firmly positions us at the forefront of this trend in Ireland.”

Monthly blended ARPU (average revenue per user), for 2010, amounted to €37 — down from €39.60 for 2009. O2’s post-pay customer base grew by 38,000 customers — a 5.4% increase — driven, mainly, by an increased uptake in mobile broadband and smartphones.