Australia's second largest telco, Optus, says its rollout of 4G services (high-speed data services for mobile phones) is proceeding well but it won't yet reveal its subscriber numbers.
Optus on Wednesday reported that its first-half profit had fallen 7.2 per cent as revenue dropped, partly because of price competition in the mobile market.
Optus made a net profit of $319 million in the six months to September 30, down from $344 million in the prior corresponding period.
Operating revenue in the six months of $4.48 billion was down 3.7 per cent from $4.65 billion in the same period the previous year.
Optus boss Kevin Russell said Optus had already launched 4G services in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Newcastle.
Optus would launch 4G services in Adelaide and Canberra in the first quarter of next year.
"In terms of customer numbers, we haven't disclosed any customer numbers, and we wouldn't in this call," Mr Russell told reporters during a briefing on Wednesday.
Mr Russell also would not reveal the number of 4G-compatible devices sold but said the number was very similar to the number of customers.
Mr Russell said the launch of 4G services had been driven by the release of the iPhone 5.
"Overall, the rollout is on track, our customer experience has been incredibly positive - there's been very strong feedback in terms of quality of speed and you will see continued expansion of the network," he said.
Mr Russell said the initial launch had exceeded expectations, and the quality of performance was ahead of Optus's expectations.
Optus said on Wednesday that mobile industry growth rates had slowed as a result of price competition and a mandated reduction in mobile termination rates.
Lower equipment sales, the reduction in the mobile termination rate and the introduction of service credits with handset repayment plans had contributed to the fall in revenue.
Optus customer numbers rose to 9.54 million as of September 30, but average revenue per user (ARPU) fell because of discounts on bundled plans.
Mr Russell said the Australian mobile market had entered a phase in which mobile service revenues were declining because the effect of price competition was no longer compensated by customer growth.
"We are refocusing our business in this new market reality," Mr Russell said.
He said Optus would prioritise profitable growth over the chase for customer numbers and focus more on improving the customer experience.
Optus would re-assess the subsidisation of handsets and tablets, including prioritising handset subsidies away from new customers to more profitable existing customers.
Optus would also invest in more Optus owned and operated retail sites and increase its online focus.
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