Vodafone customers used 28% more mobile data and 13% more fixed data in 2023 compared to 2022, the mobile service provider has said. The growth in usage outpaced growth of 4% in mobile customers and 3% in fixed customers,...
Vodafone customers used 28% more mobile data and 13% more fixed data in 2023 compared to 2022, the mobile service provider has said.
The growth in usage outpaced growth of 4% in mobile customers and 3% in fixed customers, bringing the Vodafone customer base up to 2.4m across all business and consumer products.
Demand for mobile data increased due to customers moving away from traditional television viewing in favour of streaming on demand, with Sunday emerging as the busiest day of the weak and 9pm becoming the peak hour.
Sundays were also the peak day for activity on the Vodafone broadband network while Fridays stood out for a distinctive surge from 2pm onward. Usage was heightened on Mondays and Fridays, the most popular days of the week for remote working.
Notably, the fixed network witnesses its peak at 10pm, seven-fold what is being used at 6pm.
Among television customers, the Rugby World Cup was the most-viewed event followed by the Scotland-Ireland and Ireland-France Six Nations matches and the Ireland-France UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier.
The All-Ireland final between Dublin and Kerry was the sixth-most viewed programme ahead of Ryan Tubridy's final Late Late Show in May.
Elsewhere, the number of voice calls made by Vodafone customers fell year-on-year from 4.05bn to 3.9bn.
During 2023, Vodafone completed a number of customer initiatives, reducing the average wait time for customers calling customer service to 30 seconds and resolving almost 40,000 queries with its 24/7 chat support service.
The company also introduced its Fair Pricing home broadband pricing structure, removing introductory offers to treat new and existing customers equally, and saying customers an average of €1,000 over four years.
Furthermore, customers have returned 20,000 devices for repurposing or recycling over the past year following the launch of the device trade-in service, and 17,000 people now use the Hi Digital support initiative for the over-65s.
Vodafone has added 500 locations to its network as part of a €500m commitment to invest in its network, with temporary coverage to increase capacity at events such as Electric Picnic, The National Ploughing Championships, Slane, Longitude, All Together Now and Bloom.
"In addition to substantial investment in our network, a key focus for us was on customer service enhancement and ensuring our customers’ needs are continually met," said Amanda Nelson, CEO of Vodafone Ireland.
Vodafone Ireland CEO Amanda Nelson.
"We were pleased to reward customer loyalty this year with our new Fair Pricing broadband structure, a first of its kind in Ireland, and our updated Red Family plan, as well as introducing cellular smartwatch connectivity to the Irish market in the form of OneNumber.
"We are so proud to be Ireland's business connectivity provider of choice and have worked well with our large business customers this year, pushing the boundaries of innovation through our ever-expanding digital services offer so they can stay one step ahead of the curve."
(Pic: ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)