Two UK cellular operators came panting in with their fourth quarter and 1996 vital statistics, and One 2 One Ltd announced that it had a total of 545,000 customers at December 31, and added 85,000 subscribers net in the final quarter of 1996. It had 375,000 customers at the end of 1995 and now claims that it has an 8% market share. It expanded its service area in the last quarter to reach Cardiff in South Wales, Norwich in eastern England and the northern regions of West Yorkshire and Tyneside, and expects to be available to 95% of Britain’s population by December. Orange Plc shares added 1.5 pence at 189.5 pence, still shy of its 205 pence flotation price, after it said subscriber numbers more than doubled in 1996 to over 785,000, while market share rose to 11.5% at the end of 1996 from 7% this time last year. The company added 125,000 net new subscribers in the fourth quarter, the highest quarterly connections it had ever achieved; over 1996, it reckons, it captured 29% of net market growth. It says its churn rate of 18.6% in 1996 remains significantly lower than the industry average, and that it has increased its coverage to 92% from 85% of the UK population.
