Telecompaper

The German mobile services market reached EUR 4.8 billion in revenues in the second quarter, down 3.3 percent compared to the same period last year and only showing a small seasonal increase of 0.6 percent from Q1. The increase in non-voice revenues of EUR 119 million in the last 12 months was not able to compensate for the continued pressure on voice service revenues from cuts to mobile termination fees and fierce competition, according to Telecompaper's latest report. The combined market share of Vodafone and T-Mobile dropped for the first time ever below 70 percent of service revenues in Q2, due mainly to Vodafone's weaker performance and successful efforts from E-Plus to win market share. E-Plus was again the one to show the strongest annual growth in the prepaid segment, helping to increase its share of service revenues by 0.6 percent point. In terms of mobile subscribers, the German market added around 0.2 million or 0.2 percent more customers in the three months to June. The main reason for the slower quarterly growth was the continued drop in Vodafone's prepaid base. Compared to the same period last year, the market added around 3.8 million subscribers, for a total 107.2 million at the end of June 2009. Market penetration rose to 130.7 percent, from 125.9 percent a year earlier. Telecompaper estimates 2009 service revenues for the German market will come in slightly lower than in 2008, forecasting a decline of around 2-3 percent.