PosteMobile takes an Unconventional Approach to Pricing

Italian MVNO PosteMobile has announced the launch of two new plans in its “Creami” (“Create Me”) range of flexible, low-cost tariffs. The Creami Relax 20 plan comes with unlimited credits for use on calls and SMS, plus 10 GB of mobile data at speeds of up to 300 Mbps at a price of €8.00 (US $9.49) a month for three renewals, descending to €7.00 (US $8.31) a month until the sixth renewal and €6.00 (US $7.12) a month from the seventh renewal onwards. After one year, the data bundle is doubled to 20 GB a month at no extra charge. 

Alternatively, users can subscribe to the Creami Relax 20 Special plan with 20 GB of data right away at a cost of €36.00 (US $42.73) over six months and €6.00 a month from the seventh renewal onwards. Both plans are now available until 31 October.

PosteMobile is an MVNO launched in 2007 by the Italian postal service, running on the Wind network. Its Creami Relax 20 plans are noteworthy for employing a decreasing rather than increasing plan structure.

Many plans and promotions offer low prices up front to attract customers and then raise them later, once the customers have become well established. In this offering, the initial rate is higher and goes down over time. That is because this, like most MVNO plans, is prepaid and without contract commitment. Lack of commitment leads to instability in the subscriber-operator relationship and the possibility of non-renewal, dormant accounts and churn. Therefore, PosteMobile is evidently thinking in terms of building some longevity into the subscriber relationship by promising that the longer the subscriber stays and renews the tariff, the lower the rate will be.

In Creami Relax 20, only do the monthly prices for calls, SMS and data go down at three-month intervals, culminating in a price 25 percent lower than the original after six months, but the data allotment is doubled after one year with no increase in price. Creami Relax 20 Special takes a slightly different approach, requiring more commitment up front in exchange for immediate access to the lowest monthly price and the double data. The Creami Relax 20 seems to be better tailored for its purpose, since avoidance of contracts or longer-term commitments is a common priority among subscribers to MVNOs and other budget brands.

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Italy's PosteMobile Extends Creami Next Plans with up to 50 GB a Month

Italian MVNO PosteMobile has extended the availability of its Creami Next plans, part of its Creami (“Create Me”) range of flexible plans. Creami Next 1 comes with unlimited credits for use on calls and SMS, plus 10 GB of 4G/LTE mobile data for €10.00 (US $11.25) per month. Creami Next 2 offers the same but with 30 GB of data a month for three months at a total cost of €30.00 (US $33.75), and Creami Next 3 offers 50 GB a month on a six-month contract, at a total cost of €50.00 (US $56.25).

The offer is now available until 4 May with new SIM cards costing €15.00 (US $16.85) with €5.00 (US $5.62) credit included.

Flexibility is one of the key demands among today’s mobile consumers in a broad swath of markets, and operators—especially MVNOs and other budget-oriented providers—have been coming up with various creative ways to meet that demand. Italian post-office-based MVNO PosteMobile, which runs on the Wind network, has been doing so with its Creami suite of plans, which originally came with a certain number of units that could be interchanged between calls, SMS and mobile data, one unit being valid for either one voice minute, one SMS or 1 MB.

This latest iteration of Creami, the Next suite, seems to move away from the core concept; given that it has unlimited minutes and SMS, there are no units to convert between features. The flexibility inheres in the pricing of the data in relation to time period, which becomes a way for the operator to encourage users to enter into contracts.

The plan pricing is equivalent to €1.00 (US $1.12) per MB if the user is month-to-month with no contract but only €0.30 (US $0.34) per MB if the user accepts a three-month commitment and €0.167 (US $0.188) if the user commits for six months. So while this is indeed flexible, it is not exactly what users have in mind when they think of creating their own plan. It is likely to feel more like a subtle form of coercion to enter a contract, the longer the better. This incentivization may play well with consumers as a general rule, but since it is being presented in the context of a flex-choice type of plan, it may not be as well received as it otherwise would. Then again, the fact that the plans feature unlimited voice and SMS may well mitigate or eliminate any such objections. 

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 If you have any questions about this article, feel free to contact our Editor-in-chief John Dorfman at jdorfman@tarifica.com

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