Telecommunications group Vodacom grew its data revenue by 27.5% year-on-year to R5.52-billion for the three months ended December 31, while overall revenue increased by 8.7% year-on-year to R21.74-billion.

“Customer demand for high-speed mobile data is growing across our footprint, supporting a 27.5% increase in group data revenue. Active data customers increased 14.5% to 30.3-million, as we increased sales of more affordable data devices in the quarter,” commented Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub.

Vodacom had invested R9.5-billion on its network in the nine months to December 31, stating that this had helped it expand network coverage and increase data speeds.

Data revenue for the South African business rose 27.3% to R4.49-billion, owing to sustained demand for data services, as well as customers upgrading to third- and fourth-generation devices.

“The improved affordability of both devices and data bundles supported a 46.6% increase in data traffic. Active data customers increased 14% to 19.1-million. Active smart devices on the network increased 28.2% to 13.5-million and the average amount of data used a month increased 22% on such devices,” Vodacom added.

It also pointed out that data revenue comprised 35.3% of service revenue, compared with 29.7% in the third quarter of the prior financial year.

Data revenue generated by the international operations increased by 28.4% year-on-year on the back of a 15.2% increase in active data customers to 11.2-million.

Meanwhile, overall active customers rose 6.8% to 65.2-million during the third quarter of the year, while active customers in South Africa rose 8.7% year-on-year to 34.1-million and active customers in the international business increased 4.9% to 31.1-million.

Joosub warned, however, that revenue growth could taper slightly in the three months to March, owing to a stronger prior year comparative and a weaker outlook for the consumer in South Africa.