One2One subscribers top 10m

BRITAIN's fourth largest mobile phone operator, One2One, gained 500,000 new subscribers in the last three months of 2001, latest figures show. The data, which includes One2One's Virgin Mobile joint venture, mean subscriber numbers rose by 2.1m to 10.4m last year.

The quarterly growth rate matched numbers for the three months to 30 September. A spokesman described the performance as a boost as German owner Deutsche Telekom prepares to rebrand One2One under its T-Mobile name. 'This has positioned us well for 2002,' he added.

Deutsche Telekom said its subsidiaries worldwide had increased customer numbers by 40% - or 20m - to 67m in 2001. The figures, which were at the upper end of market expectations, also show T-Mobile Deutschland gained 500,000 subscribers during the period.

Details of revenue per user are not due for release until 5 March. That will carry added importance for analysts as pressure mounts on mobile phone companies to generate revenues in a saturated market. Rivals Vodafone, BT Cellnet owner MmO2 and Orange are not scheduled to announce their subscriber numbers until later this month.

Virgin Mobile said two weeks ago that it won 260,000 new customers in the final quarter of 2001, a 54% increase from the third quarter .Its expansion into Carphone Warehouse, The Link, Dixons, Phone People and Argos drove the company's growth at the end of last year.