Vodafone has put in a good Q1, gaining 2.5 million customers net, and improving blended ARPU (average revenue per user) up in Italy and the UK, holding steady in Germany, but down slightly in Japan, compared with the previous quarter.

The world's biggest mobile network operator company says it is doing a little better than it had previously expected. It is now on track to deliver more than 10 per cent growth in "average proportionate customers" and also in revenues.

For the year to June 30 (the date its Q1 ends) data revenues were up to 15 per cent of what Vodafone calls "controlled service revenues". Subscribers at the end of June for Vodafone live!, the company's mass-market data service, stood at 1.75m, with approx. 580,000 in Germany, 420,000 in the UK and 300,000 in Italy. Sales of Vodafone Mobile Connect Cards are chugging along nicely, standing at over 80,000 at June 30 and more than 100,000 today.

In his valedictory results quote, retiring chief executive Sir Christopher Gent said the company was "encouraged with the progress of Vodafone live! where today we have more than 2 million customers and expect further adoption and usage from the forthcoming wider range of lower priced handsets". ®