BASE increases mobile market share

Telecomworldwire, March 1, 2005

TELECOMWORLDWIRE-1 March 2005-BASE increases mobile market share(C)1994-2005 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

Belgian mobile phone operator BASE has said that its subscriber base rose by 31% during 2004, increasing its market share in Belgium from 15% to 17%.

The KPN subsidiary said that it had increased subscriber numbers from 1.25m to 1.64m last year, with sales rising from EUR337m in 2003 to EUR432m in 2004. The company also reported EBITDA of EUR119m, up from EUR51m in 2003. BASE is still the smallest mobile operator in Belgium, but is aggressively competing with its rivals - Belgacom's Proximus and France Telecom's Mobistar.

Belgacom reported on 25 February 2005 that Proximus' market share had slipped from 53% to 50% after losing 31,000 customers, reports Dow Jones.

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