One2One is mobile leader

One2One became the fastest growing of the UK's four mobile phone networks in the third quarter of the year, adding 108,000 net new subscribers to its customer base, a figure four times ahead of the same period in 1996. The news, a sign that growth is picking up in the mobile market, was ahead of the 98,000 net new subscribers revealed by Vodafone for the three month period between July and September.

Orange, the newest network, was close behind, expanding its subscriber base by 90,000, to just over a million customers. Cellnet, still the second biggest network, lagged behind its rivals with net growth of 68,000, though the increase was an improvement on the operator's recent performance.