The mobile tariff market changes every month and the operators are trying to be imaginative in their quest to entice new subscribers as well as how they can keep their current customers happy. Below are only some of the changes we have come across during our February update of T-Cellular Online (TCO)
In the Italian market for example, operator WIND has decided to increase its minutes and SMS allowances on three of its successful "Tutto Incluso in un'unica offerta" price plans. Silver-free SMS and minutes increased from 600 per month to 800. Gold-free SMS and minutes increased from 1200 per month to 1500. Platinum- free SMS and minutes increased from 2000 per month to 2500
Its "Tutto Incluso in un'unica offerta" Silver, Gold and Platinum offer now 200, 300 and 500 more minutes and text per month respectively, comparing with the previous month.
It is important highlight also that those offers included unlimited calls to a chosen on-net number and unlimited internet traffic on the mobile phone.
On the other hand, VIMPELCOM, Russia has replaced its existing offers and introduced the new range of Apple Fresh price plans.
Meanwhile, T-MOBILE UK imposed a fair use policy (FUP) for data browsing of up to 500Mb per month, (was 1GB) to all its voice plans. The same FUP applies also to all voice tariffs with no data included as part of the allowance but ?1.02 maximum is charged per day of use. Moreover, this operator has also modified charges for its PAYG offers as follow:
Calls to fixed lines and other mobiles in the UK decreased 20% from last month, while on-net calls, SMS and MMS increased slightly.
THREE, UK has reduced its offers for the IPhone 4 16GB, Now this handset is offered only with ?The One Plan ?35 or ?45?. However for the iPhone 4 32GB the Texter offers remain available but with the exclusion of the 5000 minutes to the same network. the iPhone 3GS is offered now with none upfront cost with the Texter GBP30 or The One Plan GBP35, last month offered at GBP49 and GBP19 respectively.
As of February Vodafone UK decided to reduce its monthly contracts to their original pre-VAT increase levels (VAT in the UK increased to 20% in January 2011).
For Vodafone, the VAT increase in January was percentage based, affecting mainly customers who pay higher monthly rates. For example, on a GBP10 per month contract before the increase, the bill increased by only 21 pence to GBP10.21. However, on a GBP70 per month contract, bills went up to GBP71.50.
However, these increases have now been reverted and customers are been offered GBP10, GBP70, or whatever the original rounded monthly fee was before the 20% VAT increase.
Vodafone is absorbing the additional VAT cost by making a slight change to their call charging system. The cost of out of bundle calls increased slightly and all calls are now charged at a minimum call length of 1 minute.
The tariffs mentioned above have been entered into our T-Cellular Online Service (TCO), where the full range of tariffs is available with all tariff details.
Teligen monitors price developments of this sort in its monthly updates of T-Cellular Online http://sa-link.cc/2x