September was the second successive month in which Hot Mobile led in numbers of subscribers joining it. Golan Telecom, which led for many months, recorded a substantial decline in subscriber recruitment. This does not seem to be because of the company's announcement that it is for sale, but rather because of moves by the company causing subscribers to leave.
The Jewish holiday season has had some effect on the figures in the mobile telephony market, but the trends remain the same. Golan Telecom, which led from the beginning of the year, lost altitude in August and September, with Hot Mobile taking over thanks to its "couples" campaign and to its roll-out of 4G which attracts customers who upgrade their surfing package.
Golan Telecom also had a campaign in mid-month of NIS 10 for a second line, which looks as though it was aimed at improving poor figures in the early part of the month. Golan had not recorded such low figures for people switching to it since it began activity. The low numbers were apparently due to the fact that the company stopped honoring foreign credit cards, because of instances of fraud. This drove many of its customers to pre-paid plans of its competitors.
Among the veteran companies, the picture remains much the same. Cellcom recruited more subscribers, but also lost more. Cellcom and Pelephone both recorded lower net loss of subscribers than Partner because they managed to recruit more, but the general picture is one of decline, which means that these companies will continue to post declines in revenue and profits.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 1, 2015
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