Fjordkraft Launches MVNO Via Telenor With Discounts for Power Clients

Norwegian electricity provider Fjordkraft has begun offering mobile communication services on Telenor’s network. Fjordkraft, which is owned by network companies BKK and Skagerak as well as by the power producer Statkraft, has approximately 1 million residential electricity customers. They will be able to get mobile services at discounted rates.

Each Fjordkraft Mobil subscription includes unlimited voice calls, SMS and MMS. The data allotments can also be used when roaming in the EU and EAA. The pricing is as follows: A subscription with 1 GB of mobile internet costs NOK 199.00 (US $23.28) per month, or NOK 119.00 (US $13.92) to power customers. The 3 GB subscription costs NOK 279.00 (US $32.63) per month, or NOK 199.00 to power customers. The 5 GB service costs NOK 339.00 (US $39.65), or NOK 279.00 to power customers. The 10 GB is priced at NOK 439.00 (US $51.35), or NOK 339.00 for power customers. The 20 GB service costs NOK 539.00 (US $63.04), or NOK 439.00 to power customers. Unused mobile internet allowances can be rolled over, and there is no contractual commitment.

For companies whose core business is outside the mobile telecom sphere to offer mobile services can be a very sound strategy to bring in revenue. In addition to free-standing MVNOs and MVNOs offered by MNOs, we have seen numerous examples of virtual operators started by retail and other entities. In such cases, it is important to have a pre-existing client base that would be receptive to an offering of mobile services (at the right price, of course), in this case from Norway we see a synergy that makes sense.

Fjordkraft has a large number of customers for home electricity, and considering that—for better or worse—many customers conceive of mobile services as an essential utility akin to electricity, we can certainly envision many of Fjordkraft’s customers being amenable to signing up for mobile packages from a company that they already depend on daily and trust.

The offerings are well-designed, in our view, in that they include unlimited voice and texts as well as a tiered slate of data offerings to cater to the varying needs of Norwegian consumers. We have written recently about the increasing demand for flexibility with regard to plan features among consumers across a wide variety of markets. The pricing of the packages is relatively low to begin with, and the significant discounts across the board makes them even more appealing to Fjordkraft’s electricity clients. From the company’s standpoint, it also holds out the possibility of attracting new electricity clients who are eager to avail themselves of discounted MVNO connectivity.

Tarifica is the global leader in monitoring and analyzing telecom pricing. Covering hundreds of operators in every region of the globe, Tarifica’s databases of mobile and fixed line data and voice tariffs are among the largest and most in-depth in the world. Tarifica is also a leading publisher of benchmark and other pricing reports, and its analysts are recognized authorities in the telecom industry, relied upon by operators and businesses worldwide for pricing insight and guidance.

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