Telenor: two million mobile phone subscribers Telenor: two million mobile phone subscribers
Fornebu
4 minute read
In the first week of 2000, the number of Telenor Mobil subscribers broke the 2 million barrier. The company has therefore gained more than 500,000 new GSM subscribers in just one year. More than 60 per cent of the Norwegian population, or 75% of all Norwegians over the age of 12, now own a mobile phone.
As of 31 December 1999, Telenor Mobil had a total of 1,999,704 subscribers. The company was therefore close to passing the two million mark at the turn of the century. This milestone was passed just a few days into the new year. The number of GSM subscribers increased by 523,492 last year.
"We never imagined that growth would be quite so rapid when we made plans for 1999. By the autumn we realised that two million subscribers was a possibility, but this was way beyond our expectations," says Stig M. Herbern, Managing Director of Telenor Mobil.
Pre-paid subscriptions are still the most popular choice. At the end of 1999, the number of subscribers to RingKontant and Zalto.com totalled 781,415 - more than double the figure for the previous year. At the beginning of 1999, 20 per cent of Telenor Mobils subscriptions were pre-paid. By the end of the year, this figure had increased to almost 39 per cent.
"Telenor Mobil is very pleased with the fact that it attracted more than half a million new GSM subscribers in 1999. Most of these chose pre-paid subscriptions, but towards the end of the year, we saw a tendency towards more people choosing post-paid subscriptions. This will also gradually become more profitable as mobile phone use increases," says Herbern. He reveals that in the fourth quarter, Telenor Mobil attracted 123,765 new GSM subscribers, a decrease compared to the first three quarters of the year.
More than 60 per cent of the total Norwegian population, or 75 per cent of the population over the age of 12, now owns a mobile phone. "The high level of mobile phone ownership in Norway will naturally mean that the increase in customers will gradually tail off and the focus will switch to increasing use. New areas of application, such as access to the Internet via mobiles, mobile e-commerce and information services, will make a significant contribution to stimulating mobile phone use in the future," commented Herbern.
Mobile phone subscription
31.12.99
31.12.98
Change 98-99
31.09.99
GSM*
1,783,432
1,259,940
+523,492
1,659,667
NMT 900
95,624
167,167
-71,543
109,405
NMT 450
120,648
143,415
-22,767
126,617
Total
1,999,704
1,570,522
+429.182
1,895,689
*of which pre-paid
781,415
316,230
+465,185
677,769
"We never imagined that growth would be quite so rapid when we made plans for 1999. By the autumn we realised that two million subscribers was a possibility, but this was way beyond our expectations," says Stig M. Herbern, Managing Director of Telenor Mobil.
Pre-paid subscriptions are still the most popular choice. At the end of 1999, the number of subscribers to RingKontant and Zalto.com totalled 781,415 - more than double the figure for the previous year. At the beginning of 1999, 20 per cent of Telenor Mobils subscriptions were pre-paid. By the end of the year, this figure had increased to almost 39 per cent.
"Telenor Mobil is very pleased with the fact that it attracted more than half a million new GSM subscribers in 1999. Most of these chose pre-paid subscriptions, but towards the end of the year, we saw a tendency towards more people choosing post-paid subscriptions. This will also gradually become more profitable as mobile phone use increases," says Herbern. He reveals that in the fourth quarter, Telenor Mobil attracted 123,765 new GSM subscribers, a decrease compared to the first three quarters of the year.
More than 60 per cent of the total Norwegian population, or 75 per cent of the population over the age of 12, now owns a mobile phone. "The high level of mobile phone ownership in Norway will naturally mean that the increase in customers will gradually tail off and the focus will switch to increasing use. New areas of application, such as access to the Internet via mobiles, mobile e-commerce and information services, will make a significant contribution to stimulating mobile phone use in the future," commented Herbern.
Mobile phone subscription
31.12.99
31.12.98
Change 98-99
31.09.99
GSM*
1,783,432
1,259,940
+523,492
1,659,667
NMT 900
95,624
167,167
-71,543
109,405
NMT 450
120,648
143,415
-22,767
126,617
Total
1,999,704
1,570,522
+429.182
1,895,689
*of which pre-paid
781,415
316,230
+465,185
677,769