SMARTPHONES HAVE surged in popularity at mobile operator Vodafone Ireland, with more than 530,000 now in use on the network.

In an interim management statement, the network said higher data usage boosted its average revenue per user by 1.9 per cent in the quarter ended June 30th compared to the preceding three months. Vodafone has sought to drive data sales from smartphones including Apple’s iPhone and handsets running Google’s Android software to counter declining European service revenue. However, average revenue per user is still 6.3 per cent lower compared to the same period last year.

During the quarter, voice call and text message usage were both higher compared to a year earlier, with the latter rising by 15 per cent and calls increasing by 4.9 per cent year on year.

An average of 224 text messages were sent per customer, higher than the European average of 109. In total 1.49 million texts were sent by Vodafone Ireland customers in the quarter.

The company added a net 7,900 customers to its broadband business during the quarter, bringing the subscriber base to 366,600.

The wider Vodafone group reported slowing service revenue growth for the fiscal first quarter because of a decline in southern European markets and a cut in UK mobile-phone fees.

Service revenue, which includes voice, data, messaging and broadband services, rose 1.5 per cent when currency swings and acquisitions were excluded. – (Additional reporting Bloomberg)