Vodafone customer base dips

A report from Vodafone's parent company shows the New Zealand telco lost 26,000 customers in the last quarter, drawing speculation new rival 2degrees is having an impact.

The loss represents just over 1% of Vodafone's customer base, which now stands at 2.458 million.

The proportion of Vodafone customers on traditionally lower-paying pre-paid plans has dropped to 67.6%.

Market newcomer 2degrees announced earlier this year its customer base had reached 580,000, or 11% of the overall market.

The company posted a hefty loss last month, but said this was due to the aggressive marketing strategy necessary to make headway against heavyweights Vodafone and Telecom.