* Q3 group revenue 18.3 bln rand
* Boosts active users to 51 mln
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's dominantmobile operator, Vodacom Group Ltd, reported a 1.7percent increase in third-quarter revenue on Wednesday as itboosted the number of active customers.
The South African unit of Britain's Vodafone Group Plc, is fighting to maintain its market share in its keySouth African market and is keen to increase operations on thecontinent to diversify income.
The carrier said group revenue for the three months toend-December came in at 18.3 billion rand ($2.07 billion) from18 billion rand the same period last year.
Active customers were up 12.2 percent to 51 million, thecompany said.
Vodacom is dwarfed on the continent by South African rivalMTN Group Ltd and India's Bharti Airtel Ltd.
Vodacom shares are down 2 percent so far this year, lagginga 4 percent rise in the JSE Top 40 index.
Vodafone (VOD)