Mobile operator O2 Ireland grew customer numbers to 1.6 million during the three months to the end of December, the company said yesterday.
The O2 group's subsidiary in the Republic said that it had recruited 32,000 customers during the three-month period, increasing its total to 1.6 million.
Of the 32,000 new customers, 25,000 were pre-paying (those who top up their credit) while the remainder were post-paying subscribers, who sign contracts and receive monthly bills.
The company said yesterday that the increase left customer numbers 6 per cent ahead of where they where a year earlier.
The three-month period included the build-up to Christmas. This is a busy time for mobile operators as mobile phones are a popular present, particularly with teenagers, who make up a high proportion of pre-paid customers.
The new subscribers will edge O2 closer to its bigger market rival, Vodafone, which has just over two million customers in the Republic. However, Vodafone is scheduled to release figures today and these are likely to show that it has also increased customer numbers in the Republic.
The O2 figures released yesterday will effectively be its last as an independent entity. Spanish player Telefonica sealed its takeover of the former BT subsidiary by acquiring over 75 per cent of its equity. This means that Telefonica will automatically acquire the remainder of the company.
Following this, O22 plc announced that the current chief executive of its arm in the Republic, Danuta Gray, would be joining a reconstituted board.
Peter Erskine has been appointed chairman and chief executive, while Sir David Arculus has stepped down as chairman. O2's figures showed that its customers in the Republic had higher bills than their counterparts in its other territories, Britain and Germany.
The average Irish O2 customer paid €572 in the 12 months to the end of December, compared with €395 in Britain and €338 in Germany.
This was higher when it came to post-paid customers. Their average bill for the year was €1,155, as against €360 for those who top up as they go.
The comparable charges in Germany were €514 for post-paid and €135 for pre-paid.
In the UK, they were €765 for bill-paying customers and €201 for pre-paid, which was the one exception to the rule that Irish customers paid more.
However, the figures indicate that the rate of increase in the average revenues that O2 earns from its Irish customers is slowing down.
The €572 bill was level with that paid by Irish people in the 12 months to the end of September, while it was a 1.4 per cent increase on the €564 paid by Irish people in the year to December 31st, 2004.
An O2 spokeswoman said that its per-minute charges for calls in the Republic were lower than those in the UK and Germany. She also said that pre-paid charges throughout the Republic were the sixth lowest of 19 European countries.
