Summary
The competitive UK mobile (cellular) market shows signs that it can weather the current financial strains.
Orange (part of France Telecom group) has seen its revenues shrink 15% yet underlying margins are holding and customers, especially contract customers have increased in Q3.
Orange is also in the throws of merging with T-Mobile UK, to create the UK's largest mobile operator with reach from MVNO's, low revenue SIM only customers through contract to large enterprise customers.
Analysis
This year has seen penetration of mobile phones in the UK reach over 130%, by active accounts (ie SIMs) and a sharp increase in handset subisidies to counter the higher prices of smartphones.
It has also seen the EU implement yet more roaming CAPs, impacting Orange's roaming revenues, especially data charges.
Meanwhile it, along with its competitors, is embroiled in arguments over spectrum re-farming, allocation of new 'mobile broadband' spectrum [from digital TV switchover] and further whether mobile operators should be held to a Universal Service Commitment for broadband to underserved areas.
So its no surprise to see revenues slide, yet encouragingly customer numbers have risen and data revenues continue to take a greater share of the total.
Orange faces the challenge of executing its merger with T-Mobile in the UK and ensuring its brand remains separated inside the new group, no easy task but one that will be helped by increased high street presence.
Further Orange UK is fighting back and bringing some more big name handsets to its range, iPhone and the new Motorola Android handset joining this month.
Q4 is the best quarter so it will be interesting to see the revenue numbers when they are released in early Jan '10.
