Disqus
According ZDnet.co.uk, O2UK added 3.5x as many new subs in 3Q08 as they did in the same period last year (3Q07, just in case you were wondering!!). O2UK has over 19mn subscribers, which is a monstrous amount – and easily makes it the largest in the country….
The ‘halo’ effect of the iPhone 3G (and probably still echoes of iPhone 2G too, due to brand awareness), and the Simplicity tariffs have contributed to this success. Being both an iPhone user and simplicity tariff holder myself, guess I’ve added to those stats 
Of course, the times-are-a-changing – the economy has now taken a major nose-dive – and it’s going to be interesting to see how O2UK (and of course the other OpCos) adapt to this. One factor which will be crucial will be that of “churn” – when a customer leaves the network. From the same recent data, O2 have been doing well in this respect, pushing churn down towards the 1% level.
Apparently, voice ARPU (average revenue per user) fell, but data ARPU is up – and importantly this isn’t exclusively SMS usage (which is classified as data) – it was actually usage of products such as mobile internet access.
Overall then, some nice data to see from O2 – unfortuately there’s always a bit of a lag, so once we have seen the data for 1Q and 2Q this year, that will really tell us the effect that economy is having on our leading UK Operator…. let’s hope they weather it well.
[Via: ZDnet.co.uk]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
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