Mobile phone company, Vodafone, has said that it expects 10 million people to have signed up to its Vodafone Live! 3G service by March 2006, despite the slow consumer uptake of the third generation technology (3G).
In a very upbeat KPI statement for quarter three to December 2004 released this morning, the Group announced an increase in Live! customers by 3.9 million and 170,000 3G connect mobile data card users. Both of which contributed to an increase in data revenues as a proportion of the total service revenues of nearly 1% over the year, to 16.7%.
The company’s 3G prediction confirms earlier estimations by industry intelligence group, Wireless World Forum, that subscribers of 3G mobile telephones are expected to nearly double this year, growing from 45 million in 2004 to 85 million in 2005 (see Global 3G Subscribers To Double to 85 Million In 2005).
The recent relaxation of the 3G licence regulations by Government media watchdog, Ofcom, is also expected to contribute to the increasing penetration of 3G phones (see Ofcom Loosens 3G Licence Regulations). The development and take up of 3G mobiles, enabling users to download data at a faster rate than before and offering better quality sound, picture and video, has not been as quick as expected. This has resulted in many operators being unable to comply with the regulations set out by the Government at the 3G licence auction in 2000.
Vodafone are optimistic about 2005, and predict strong penetration of 3G mobile phones in the coming year. The company has revealed that its global subscriber base has risen to 151.8 million in the three months to the end of December, with 5.4 million new customers joining.
However, the group has struggled in the Japanese market, with Vodafone warning that it would “struggle to meet modest revenue growth targets as a result of a delay in launching its 3G handsets in the country.”
Commenting on its Japanese unit, Arun Sarin, chief executive of Vodafone said: “Since our 3G handsets are late, we will not have the same sales volume, so our Japanese company has revised the target and now we’re saying we’re not going to be able to meet modest growth.”
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