Vodafone sees 30 per cent rise in UK mobile data

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Vodafone has reported a 30 per cent increase in UK revenue from data services in its latest financial quarter.

The network operator attributed the rise to "increased penetration of mobile PC connectivity and mobile internet services".

But a drop in voice revenue meant that the company's UK arm saw a small year-on-year drop in overall sales, down 0.7 per cent to £1.2bn.

Globally, Vodafone grew revenue in the three months to 31 December by 14 per cent to £10.47bn, with a total mobile customer base of 289 million people, up 9.5 million across the quarter.

"In the context of the current economic environment, we have continued to implement our strategy, with an emphasis on customer value, mobile data, enterprise and fixed broadband," said Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao.

"This has driven increased usage, 25 per cent organic growth in data revenue and over 280,000 fixed broadband additions in Europe."