Vodafone loses 35,000 NZ customers in 2Q

Vodafone loses 35,000 NZ customers in 2Q

By Paul McBeth

Nov. 11 (BusinessDesk) – Vodafone New Zealand Ltd., the country’s biggest mobile phone operator, lost 35,000 customers in the second quarter.

The phone company has 2.44 million people on its network, according to the first-half report of its British parent, down from 2.48 million in the previous quarter. Most of those customers were on pre-paid connections, with the percentage of pay-as-you go clients falling to 68.7% from 69.5%. Over the same period, Telecom Corp., Vodafone’s main rival, shed 19,000 customers.

New entrant Two Degrees Mobile Ltd. has probably been the major beneficiary, with the Commerce Commission’s latest benchmarking report on the state of the industry finding the third network increased competition and offers “significantly lower pricing” than its bigger rivals.

Over the three months through September, 37,200 people ported their mobile phone numbers, where they take the number to a different carrier, according to Telecommunications Carriers Forum data. The Commerce Commission today said in a draft decision that it plans to extend its ruling on portability for another six years.

Shares in Telecom fell 0.9% to $2.16 in trading today.

(BusinessDesk)

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