TIM Italia Introduces Data Package for Students

Italian mobile operator TIM has begun offering the TIM College Pack, targeted at middle school and high school students. The package includes the Huawei Mediapad Link+ 10” tablet with 3G connectivity, 2 GB of mobile data, a 12-month-long language course (choice of English, French, Spanish or German), dictionaries of Italian and English, 20 preloaded educational e-books (Italian literature classics) three manuals for music, drawing and memory tricks from the website Scuolabook.it and a €150.00 (US $200.46) voucher for the purchase of digital textbooks from the same website. The tablet will also come preloaded with Oilproject, an e-learning platform that provides online video courses on various subjects. The operator is also offering the online security service TIMProtect free of charge for the first month. This offer is available until 30 September 2014.

 

The Italian government has been making efforts to integrate digital learning into schools. TIM’s parent company and fixed line incumbent Telecom Italia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research for measures to support the digital school plan. However, while these measures are being implemented, Italy still lags behind several EU countries in terms of the incorporation of digital learning. Therefore, a service that enables e-learning is likely to be well received.

TIM’s first offering targeted at students’ needs is well-structured. The cost of the plan is €20.00 (US $26.73) per month, except for Telecom Italia landline customers, who instead pay €10.00 (US $13.36) per month. The contract term is 30 months, and a once-off activation fee of €49.00 (US $65.48) applies. Therefore, the total cost to Telecom Italia customers is €349.00 (US $466.41), while for others it is €649.00 (US $867.33). The tablet is currently available for €269.90 (US $360.70) without a plan from the same operator. Furthermore, the content provided is from popular e-learning sources and is relevant for students. There is also sufficient time to activate the content (the last date is 30 June 2015). The fact that no excess usage fees apply to this plan (speed is throttled to 32 Kbps after the data allowance is reached) is another advantage for parents looking for cost control. Finally, the free trial of the TIMProtect service is a benefit that may be attractive to consumers. After the first month, it is being offered at the rate of €2.90 (US $3.87) per month for the duration of the contract. All in all, TIM’s College Pack seems to meet the needs of the target customer segment.

 The above item appeared in a recent issue of The Tarifica Alert, a weekly resource that analyzes noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. To access all of the latest articles and issues:  http://www.tarifica.com/TarificaAlert.aspx