MADRID, May 21 (Reuters) - More than half a millionSpaniards switched mobile phone operator in March to takeadvantage of the cheap deals on offer from competitors, with themarket's main players Telefonica and Vodafone the biggest losers.
In the first three months of the year more than 1.8 millionconsumers moved to another mobile company, data from telecomsregulator CMT showed on Tuesday.
Orange, Yoigo and virtual networks, whichrent capacity from established players, have stolen a march onthe market leaders by appealing to consumers in search ofsavings as recession in Spain drags on and unemployment reaches27 percent. The data showed 581,860 customers switched providerin March, the second-highest number of record.
Incumbent Telefonica's market share fell to 35.6 percent inMarch from 38.6 percent a year before, while Vodafone's shrankto 25.7 percent from 28.6 percent. Virtual operators now accountfor over 10 percent of the market, compared to 7 percent a yearago.
Vodafone, the world's second biggest operator, has takentotal writedowns for Spain and Italy of 7.7 billion pounds($11.7 billion) this year owing to tough conditions in therecession-hit markets.
Fixed line specialists like Jazztel have also wonmarket share with conversion offers that include virtual mobileservices.
CMT said the total net number of mobile lines in the countryfell by 312,674 in March, with Vodafone shedding 297,870connections and Telefonica dropping 247,570 connections.
There was better news for Telefonica in broadband, where itattracted 11,490 new clients. Cable operators lost just over2,000 customers and other providers gained 33,890 new clients.
Vodafone (VOD)