Pre-pay mobile growth slows - operators breathe a sigh of relief

NEWS The rapid growth in pre-paid mobile phone uptake has started to level off, as operators increasingly try to move users over to long-term contracts. Orange and Vodafone separately claim they have managed to improve their 'Average Revenue per User' (ARPU) figures by incentivising people to sign-up to contracts rather than take pay-as-you go packages which are considerably less lucrative for operators. Orange's ARPU figures rose from £237 in Q2 to £249 in Q3. Meanwhile, Vodafone's figures rose from £67 to £69.