African mobile phone operators Vodacom reports an increase in the number of subscribers by 19.5 percent to 41.3 million, however, its international mobile unit dropped by 8.1 percent for the first quarter to 30 June.

Telecompaper informs that the company’s total revenues grew 12.2 percent to ZAR 14.2 billion. Vodacom is majority owned by Vodafone and said revenue in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo continued to be affected by weak economic conditions, strong competition and higher excise duties.

The same publication points out that Vodacom expects customer growth to slow in the remaining quarters as customer registration is now required in its three largest markets.