DUBLIN, Ireland-Vodafone and consumer groups in Ireland are once again at odds over the price of calls following the publication of figures showing that average revenue per user (ARPU) in Ireland is significantly higher than the other European countries in which the company has a presence.
More than 1.7 million Irish Vodafone subscribers spent an average of 523 euros (US$512) in the 12 months to June 2002, which compares with 442 euros (US$433) in the United Kingdom and just 302 euros (US$296) in Germany. The company generated revenues of almost 900 million euros (US$882 million) in Ireland during that period.
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Vodafone has consistently stated that revenue per user is higher in Ireland because people spend more time on the phone, with the average mobile phone call about one minute longer than in other European markets. It also said text messaging and the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) are more popular.
This would suggest that phone charges are not excessively higher in Ireland than other European countries, but comparisons with figures from main rival O2 are potentially more damaging. The figure of 523 euros is remarkably similar to the 518 euros (US$507) per user that O2 reported recently for the same period, which gives credence to consumer claims that there is collusion on pricing and an absence of real competition. O2’s revenue generation per user in Ireland was also higher than for almost all its other European markets.