Ziggo, UPC merger forces out 50,000 customers

Ziggo and UPC lost around 50,000 customers in the first three months of this year. This was largely a result of the merger between the two companies, reported Ziggo at the presentation of the first quarter results on Friday. In that quarter, the companies did not yet merge but the merger announcement affected the number of customers, the telecommunications firm said. Earlier last year, the companies also lost around 25,000 customers who left in an expectation of the merger. Thus, in total the merger costed the two companies 75,000 customers. "The decrease is a result of continued competition coupled with lower sales volumes and a higher number of cancellations due to network harmonization," Ziggo wrote in its statement. The decrease in the volume of sales is mainly observed within Ziggo. Since April 13, the two companies operate in the Netherlands under the name Ziggo. More than 4.2 million have a TV subscription with the new merged company. Around 3.1 million use their internet provider services, and 2.1 million use the company's telephone subscription. Ziggo Mobile has now around 158,000 customers. That is a 30,000 increase within the last three months. "We look forward to challenging the leaders in the market, and we see ample growth opportunities in the mobile market," the company said.