Three UK – Mobile Broadband Data Use Per Customer Rises to 8.3GB

Mobile operator Three UK has today released their full year results for 2018, which amongst other things revealed that monthly Mobile Broadband (3G / 4G) data usage per customer grew by 22% during the year (vs 7% in the previous year) from 6.8GB to 8.3GB (GigaBytes) and population coverage is now 99% (up from 98.5%).

Overall Three UK continues to produce users with a higher level of data consumption than almost any other network, which is mostly down to their large affordable allowances and “all-you-can-eat” usage plans. Meanwhile 4G now accounts for 79% of total network traffic and that’s because 84% of their customer base are using it (we assume the rest use 3G etc.).

Elsewhere the operator’s total active network “connections” reached 11.3 million, which stems from an “active customer base” of 10,026,000 (down slightly from 10,070,000 last year). Meanwhile their gross Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is running at £18.23 (up from £18.07 last year) and total revenue for the year stood at £2,439m (up 1% from £2,425m).

Interestingly Three UK also talks about having “800,000 broadband customers,” which we assume is primarily a reference to their dedicated Mobile Broadband plans and possibly including some of their Relish Wireless ISP subscribers (soon to be called Three Broadband).

Dave Dyson, CEO of Three UK, said:

“UK consumers have an insatiable appetite for data and 5G is the key to delivering on that demand in a quality and cost-effective way. We acquired an extra 20MHz of 5G spectrum in the 2018 5G spectrum auction to secure a commanding lead on 5G spectrum assets and we are the only operator in the UK that can take advantage of the full potential of 5G.

4G traffic continues to grow and now accounts for 79% of total network traffic. We have therefore also worked hard to improve our 4G network experience through redeployment of spectrum used for 3G to 4G, and added carrier aggregation technology.

Overall, I am pleased with the progress that the business has made in 2018. Only made possible with the hard work and commitment of our staff and partners, and I thank them for their dedication and support. We are well set up for some transformational shifts in 2019 for our customers and our employees. It will be a year when our customers will start to see the real benefits of the next generation of 5G “mobile” technology, a technology that will not only replace 4G, but will also replace the need for wired broadband services.”

In-between rather boldly claiming to have become the UK’s “best-loved brand by our people and customers, meeting all our customers’ connectivity needs” and planning to “replace the need for wired broadband services” with 5G connectivity (it’s far too early to call that one but they certainly have a chance, in some areas), Three UK also noted that they have established an “industry-leading 5G position” with a total of 140MHz of 5G spectrum, including a 100MHz contiguous block.

The above remark about 5G spectrum is true, although it should be remembered that Ofcom has so far only auctioned off the 3.4GHz band for such services and a lot more is due to be auctioned this year and into 2020.