Amp’d nears 200,000 subscribers, doubles customer base during first quarter

Amp’d Mobile Inc. says it is close to reaching the 200,000 subscriber mark after a strong first quarter, numbers that indicate the mobile virtual network operator is rapidly gaining customers. Amp’d reported in January that it ended 2006 with more than 100,000 customers, and it appears to have nearly doubled its customer base during the three months of the first quarter.
“Our first quarter results are extremely encouraging, and though we’ve still got a ways to go, each of us believes 100 percent in Amp’d and what we’re trying to achieve,” said Peter Adderton, CEO and founder of Amp’d.
The MVNO reported that:
-It had 87,000 new activations in the first quarter of 2007, and 84 percent of its user base is postpaid. Amp’d reported more than 70,000 new customers in the fourth quarter of 2006, and that 89 percent of its base was postpaid at that point.
-The company’s average revenue per user remains around $100, far above the typical ARPU reported by the national carriers.
-Amp’d subscribers doubled the company’s fourth-quarter 2006 downloads of about 2 million videos, songs and games, putting the first quarter downloads at more than 4 million. “In addition, Amp’d Mobile subscribers are downloading more over-the-air music downloads than ringtones, making Amp’d the only North American wireless operator to achieve this,” the MVNO claimed.
-The company’s original content makes up only 5 percent of its content offering, but 30 percent of the overall downloads.
-Amp’d successfully launched international initiatives in Japan and Canada that reach almost 30 million mobile users. In Japan, the MVNO has a portal service with carrier KDDI Corp. for offering content. In Canada, the MVNO has partnered with Telus Corp., which will sell Amp’d service; the MVNO also has facilities in Canada where it is producing original content.