Golan Telecom Ltd. again recruited the largest number of net new subscribers in September 2013 - 8,813 - and in the third quarter - 30,553.
MVNO Youphone was in second place in September, with 2,196 net new subscribers, and MVNO Alon Cellular was in second place for the third quarter, with 7,470 net new subscribers.
Hot Mobile Ltd. had a net loss of 663 subscribers in September, although it gained 5,239 net new subscribers in the third quarter. Market sources attribute the company's problem to service, but it is hard to see why the machine that won over half a million subscribers within 12 months of launch stopped functioning.
Although Golan Telecom subscriber recruitment is only slightly better than Hot Mobile's, Hot Mobile's churn rate is more than double Golan Telecom. Golan Telecom recruited a total of 15,153 new subscribers in September and 51,066 new subscribers in the third quarter, compared with 13,260 new subscribers recruited by Hot Mobile in September and 48,993 new subscribers in the third quarter. But Golan Telecom lost 6,340 subscribers in September, compared with 13,923 subscribers lost by Hot Mobile. In the third quarter, Golan Telecom lost 20,513 subscribers compared with 43,754 lost by Hot Telecom.
Among the veteran mobile carriers, new sales campaigns by Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) enabled it to slash its churn rate, and it lost a net 1,443 subscribers in September. However, it had the largest subscriber loss in the third quarter, at 21,215 subscribers.
Pelephone Communications Ltd. lost a net 4,672 subscribers in September and Orange franchisee Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) lost a net 3,737 subscribers. For the third quarter, however, the situation was reversed: Pelephone lost a net 8,389 subscribers compared with net 11,069 subscribers lost by Partner.
Among the MVNOs, Ramy Levy Cellular continues to shed subscribers, losing a net 566 subscribers in the September and 2,149 subscribers in the third quarter.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 1, 2013
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