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MADRID, July 16 (Reuters) - The number of mobile phonecustomers in Spain rose in May after ten months of declines in apainful recession that has resulted in high unemployment and hitoperators' bottom lines, data from the telecoms regulator showedon Tuesday.
The boost came from growing numbers of contract clients asthe pre-pay market continues to shrink, with low-cost virtualoperators - which rent network capacity from establishednetworks - leading the return to growth.
The mobile market grew by 31,326 connections overall in Mayfrom April, with 97,187 people signing up for new contracts,according to the regulator.
Virtual operators attracted 281,247 new clients, whileSpain's biggest mobile networks, Telefonica andVodafone lost connections.
Spain's government expects the recession-hit economy torecord growth in the second half of the year but consumerconfidence is likely to remain weak for some time during anyupturn as austerity cuts and a moribund job market discouragespending.
The total number of mobile connections in Spain stood at52.1 million in May, down 5 percent from a year before.
Virtual operators offer cheap deals that appeal tocash-strapped consumers facing a record unemployment rate of 27percent and many fixed-line specialists now bundle virtualmobile services at rock-bottom prices with internet andtelevision.
Their market share grew to 11.1 percent in May from 7.7percent a year earlier. Market leader Telefonica's slice of themarket dropped to 34.9 percent from 38 percent, while Vodafone'sshare shrank to 25.5 percent from 28.2 percent in May 2012.
Competition remained fierce in May, with close to 600,000Spaniards switching provider. Telefonica lost 199,048connections overall and Vodafone shed 57,617 lines.
