CellularOne lost some subscribers in 2006 but maintained strong profitability in an increasingly competitive wireless telecommunications market, chief operating officer Michael Leverock said yesterday.

The company maintained its position as market leader over mobile operator rivals Digicel and M3, and spent more than in the previous year on marketing.

“I am not at liberty to put a dollar-figure on our profit, but I can say it’s been constant at about 20-percent profitability for the past three years,” Mr. Leverock said yesterday.

CellularOne’s parent company Bermuda Digital Communications (BDC), is 44-percent-owned by US company Atlantic Tele-Network (ATN), which reported that its share of BDC profits dropped to $500,000 from $600,000 the year before.

“This decline was due to a decrease in revenue and increased marketing and handset expenses to maintain our share of a maturing market,” ATN said of its Bermuda interest.

“Wireless subscribers were down slightly from December 31, 2005, although we maintained our position as the largest of the three competitive cellular providers in Bermuda.”

Mr. Leverock said ATN’s share of the profits came partly through dividends and partly through payback of a financing arrangement.

The dividends portion had remained at the same level for 2006, while the payback part, which is based on revenues, had fallen, because CellularOne had spent more on marketing promotions, he said.

“We had a seventh anniversary promotion last year and we spent more on marketing and handset subsidisation,” Mr. Leverock explained.

He added there had been competitive pressures and that growth had been relatively flat in a market that was “very much saturated”.

As for 2007, Mr. Leverock said the company aimed to maintain its position as market leader through ensuring high levels of customer service.

“We have some tricks up our sleeve this year that we hope will more than maintain our current position,” Mr. Leverock said.