3G helps Vodafone growth

January 30, 2005

Vodafone said it is very satisfied with 3G progress so far and is in line with the company's expectation. Chief executive Arun Sarin announced the company is on target of attracting 10 million customers to its 3G live! service by March 2006.

Vodafone had attracted 5.4 million subscribers globally in the last three months of 2004 which takes total subscribers to 151.8 million. Seventy-two percent of the new subsribers were on the Vodafone live! service which also includes 3G customers, but the company did not give separate figures for 3G.

"We expect the take up to be gradual rather than a big bang approach," said Sarin. Key performance indicators for 3G would be provided in March, when the group announces its full year results.

Sarin said the company had seen "positive early indications" following the launch of 3G.

"We're enjoying good sales, especially here in Europe, (but) these are early days."

Its German operation added 843,000 customers in the quarter, higher than the 800,000 figure analysts had expected. Elsewhere, the group added 641,000 customers in the UK, 359,000 in Italy and 457,000 in Spain. But in Japan, Vodafone added a mere 36,000 customers, caused by its late entry into the 3G market.

Average revenue per user (ARPU) fell in Germany, Japan and in the UK due to strong competition. The fall in UK's ARPU from £318 to £314 was also blamed on a charge revamp forced by the telecoms watchdog.

Analysts were encouraged by Vodafone's strong customer growth but are concerned about the direction of APRU.