Hutchison Telecom, the largest mobile operator in Hong Kong, is the latest to be hit by a fall in mobile subscribers since April, according to industry sources.
The mobile-phone subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa experienced a consecutive six-month net loss in 'port-out' subscribers due to lack of aggressive pricing, they said.
The erosion of Hutchison's 1.7 million subscriber base coincided with statistics released by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (Ofta) which showed the first decline in total mobile subscribers in Hong Kong.
At 5.64 million, total subscribers in October fell 12,252 from the high of 5.65 million in September. Mobile penetration is about 84 per cent of the population.
According to two industry sources, Hutchison Telecom has lost between 15,000 and 20,000 subscribers a month from August to November in port-out subscribers - those switching from Hutchison's Orange to other operators.
Although the trend of switching out from Hutchison had slowed, they said the loss in subscribers could be as high as 100,000 in the past six months.