Post-pay customers at mobile network O2 Ireland reached a record in the the first quarter of the year, with 10,068 net new customers signing up during the three-month period.
The company now has a post-pay customer base of 701,833 for the first time. However, prepay customers declined by 18,730 in the same quarter.
The network's total customer base at the end of March 2010 was 1.7 million.
Service revenue fell during the period to €196 million, from €207 million in the last quarter. However, data revenue continues to grow year on year, as non-SMS revenues continue to climb. This now accounts for 12.2 per cent of overall service revenues in the first quarter, compared to 10.3 per cent for the same period last year.
The number of text messages sent on the network is also growing, with 833 million SMS sent in the quarter. This is a rise of 11.1 per cent on the same period a year ago.
Monthly average blended ARPU for the quarter fell to €37.37, from €39.46 in Q4 and €39.34 for the same period last year.
The company said today it had further upgraded its mobile broadband service to offer higher speed internet access. The service, which has already been trialled in four urban areas, will be available later this summer beginning in Dublin, and followed by Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. Download speeds will reach up to 21Mbps.
