Mobile telecom operators see 22% increase so far

The revenues of the three Polish mobile telecom operators in the first half of 2002 were over 22% higher than a year ago and totaled zl. 6.2 billion. The number of subscribers is growing even faster, with 11.7 million active users at the end of June, 43% higher than in the same period last year. The number of subscribers between January and end of June jumped by 17%, which presents an increase of 280,000 people a month. For comparison, the country's fixed-line operators saw an increase of only 3.5%, with 11.5 million active users at mid-2002. The initial data for July prove that the approximate cost of gaining a single customer - zl. 400 - is paying back dividends which shows that advertising and promotion expenditures are worthwhile. PTK Centertel (operator of the Idea network), which has a 43% market share among newly-acquired clients is developing the most rapidly. If there is no change in strategy among operators, Centertel stands a good chance of becoming the number two operator in Poland by exceeding the number of subscribers of Polkomtel (operator of the Plus network). The pole position of PTC (Era network operator) seems steadily strong at the moment. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 1, 4) P.W.