Golan Telecom, Hot Mobile still growing

Orange franchisee Partner has stemmed its churn rate thanks to aggressive marketing by unit 012 Smile.

3 February 13 18:42, Gad Perez

Competition in the mobile market is taking its toll on the carriers. According to the subscriber mobility system, two-thirds of Hot Mobile Ltd’s subscribers have abandoned the carriers, while Orange franchisee Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) has been able to slash its churn rate thanks to aggressive marketing by unit 012 Smile.According to the subscriber mobility system, Hot Mobile gained 32,000 new subscribers in January 2013, but lost 22,000 subscribers, for a net gain of 10,000 subscribers. Golan Telecom Ltd. gained 22,000 new subscribers and lost 7,000 subscribers, for a net gain of 15,000 subscribers.

It is hard to accurately estimate how many subscribers each carrier has, as they win both new customers and gain customers from other carriers who take their previous prefix with them. However, given that the market has not grown appreciably, the mobility data reasonably reflect market trends.

The mobility figures for Hot Mobile are misleading, since it unclear whether the churn rate refers to it or to unit Mirs Communications Ltd. Hot Mobile already has more than 500,000 subscribers, and at its current growth rate, it can request for reimbursement of part of the transfer fee deposited with the mobile center.

Among the mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), Alon Israel Oil Company’s YouPhone gained a net 6,700 new subscribers in January as the carrier’s strategy appears to begin to take hold. Since launching its NIS 39 monthly plan for members of Alon’s You customers club, the carrier has had robust growth. YouPhone gained 8,000 new subscribers in January and lost 1,300 subscribers.

Rami Levy Chain Stores Hashikma Marketing 2006 Ltd’s (TASE:RMLI) Rami Levy Communications gained 1,900 new subscribers in January and lost 2,700 subscribers, for a net loss of 800 subscribers.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news – www.globes-online.com – on February 3, 2013

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