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| Vodacom subscribers number 14m |
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| BY IAIN SCOTT, ITWEB FINANCE EDITOR |
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| [Johannesburg, 28 January 2005] -
Cellular network operator Vodacom recorded a total subscriber base of 14.4 million at the end of December, an increase of 7.1% since 30 September.Subscribers in SA numbered 12 million, an increase of 6.1%.The number of contract customers increased by 6.9% to 1.8 million, while the prepaid customer base swelled by 5.9% to 10.2 million.Average revenue per user (ARPU) in SA remained stable at R165 in the three months since September.JSE-listed Telkom, which owns 50% of Vodacom, says ARPU was negatively affected by the higher proportion of prepaid customers as well as higher churn.However, it adds that seasonal fluctuations in customer spending patterns over the holiday season and the lower proportion of inactive customers compensated for this.In Tanzania, the number of subscribers increased by 12.8% to 1.07 million, while ARPU slipped by 4.4% to R87. ARPU in Congo fell by 6.3% to R104 while the subscriber base was enlarged by 9.1% to 986 000.Vodacom Lesotho's subscriber base increased by 11.5% to 136 000. ARPU rose by 2.2% to R91. In Mozambique, the customer base was boosted by 32.9% to 218 000. ARPU fell by 6.3% to R63.Vodacom says the decline in ARPU in various African operations is due to rand strength and local currency weakness as well as increases in penetration in those markets.“We continued to experience highly competitive operating conditions in all of these markets,” it adds.The Telkom share closed at R105.71 on the JSE yesterday, up R3.21 or 3.1% from Wednesday's close. It was trading at R107.30 by midmorning today.
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