Virgin Mobile hung up on operations in Singapore last week after capturing only three percent of the market. However, the company still harbours plans for the region and is currently assessing opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.
Amy Shapiro, public relations manager for the Australian arm of Virgin Mobile, told ZDNet Australia the company is growing its business in Australia, and has no plans to withdraw from this market.
"We're focussing on listening to what our customers want," said Shapiro. "We're focussing on going green, changing plastic recharge cards for cardboard cards." The move towards being more environmentally friendly, which includes participating in the mobile phone industry recycling program, is in response to customer demand, according to Virgin Mobile.
A spokesperson for Virgin Mobile Singapore, Lauren Boulet, said the cellular operator has embarked on a phased downsizing exercise starting from the sales and marketing division.
Boulet said Virgin Mobile has been operating with 30 employees--down from 105 previously--in the last three months to ensure a smooth transition for its customers and business partners.
-Seventeen people from the contact centre will be released today and the remaining from IT and finance will stay until the end of this month," Boulet told CNETAsia in an interview.
The island's fourth mobile phone operator debuted last October with much fanfare, sinking about US$100 million into call centre solutions and retail outlets, among others. Virgin Mobile was equally owned by Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), the country's largest telco, and Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group.
Without disclosing specific figures, Boulet said a large proportion of its 30,000 customers have decided to migrate to SingTel.
CNET Asia's Winston Chai contributed to this report.
