Voice calls up 50% on Vodafone network as Irish find it is 'good to talk' amid lockdown
Vodafone Ireland has seen a surge in voice calls being made on its network since the introduction of living and working restrictions to counter the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
The mobile communications giant said the “dramatic shift” in online behaviour in Ireland had resulted in a “sudden and abrupt” change to its mobile and fixed network traffic trends.
It said voice traffic volumes are up 50% during the average working week, with voice volumes from older non-smartphones showing the highest levels of increase. The company said this indicates that the older generation is now relying more than ever on mobile connectivity to stay in touch.
Vodafone has also seen around a 50% increase in fixed data volumes – or people using its network via a desktop or fixed terminal, which is reflecting the switch to home working for many people.
The company also said that use of its network on a smartphone or mobile device has increased by around 30% throughout the average day.
Vodafone Ireland said it generated €838m in service revenue last year, with its overall mobile customer subscriber base increasing by over 2%.
“It was a strong year of solid, stable growth for Vodafone Ireland, which saw us increase our customer-base across mobile and fixed broadband,” said Vodafone Ireland CEO Anne O’Leary.
The Irish operation’s parent – the overall Vodafone group – has pulled its earnings guidance for this year, but it has kept its dividend relating to 2019 performance, bucking a corporate trend to cut or scrap payouts due to the coronavirus crisis.
On a group-wide basis, Vodafone met expectations with a 2.6% rise in annual core earnings, to just under €15bn.
The company said a drop in international travel due to the virus pandemic had hit its revenues from roaming calls and that it expected customer spending to suffer from the economic downturn caused by the health crisis.
However, it also said it was seeing a surge in data usage and improvements in retaining customers thanks to the speed and reliability of its networks.
Vodafone, which has 65 million mobile contract and 25 million broadband customers in Europe, said roaming in Europe fell by 65% to 75% in April as the pandemic curbed travel.
It said some of its small business customers had requested payment deferrals and some of its larger enterprise customers had sought to delay projects.
