MADRID, April 19 (Reuters) - A near-record number of peoplein Spain switched mobile phone operators in February, reflectingcontinued cut-throat competition as cash-strapped customers lookfor better deals, telecoms watchdog CMT said on Friday.
In a country where one in four of the workforce isunemployed, mobile operators have stepped up efforts to undercutcompetitors in recent months to protect their market shares in ashrinking market.
In February, 575,138 people switched operator, an 18 percentincrease on the same month the year before, and only slightlylower than the record 633,616 changes recorded in January,according to data from the telecoms regulator.
Former monopoly Telefonica lost 85,161 clients torivals, while 95,115 customers ditched no. 2 player Vodafone for other operators. Orange lost 5,757 clientsto other companies.
The winners were low-cost Yoigo, the smallestoperator with its own network, which gained 32,424 mobilecustomers from competitors. Virtual operators, which rentnetwork from established players, welcomed 153,609 new clientsfrom other providers.
Fixed line specialists like Jazztel and cableoperator ONO are making headway in an increasingly competitiveenvironment since the market shifted to convergent offers thatbundle services including internet, fixed line, mobile andtelevision.
Figures seen by Reuters showed that Jazztel and ONO led theway in poaching clients from other operators in the firstquarter of 2013.
Spain's mobile market is shrinking, both in terms of mobilelines and revenues as customers ditch their mobiles and try tosave money, while the broadband market continues to grow. Atotal of 250,024 mobile lines were shed in February, while thebroadband market added 52,681 connections.
Telefonica, which launched a convergent offer last October,added 12,088 lines, while alternative operators led gains with39,325 new connections in February.
Vodafone (VOD)