T-Mobile Poland Introduces Two Prepaid Offers With Zero-Rating Ahead of World Cup

Starting on 6 June, T-Mobile Poland will offer two new options for its prepaid cards. With the coming FIFA World Cup in Russia, the operator will allow its prepaid customers to use its popular service Supernet Video, which provides content from many popular streaming services, without it counting against their data allowances.
 
Users can choose a starter set for PLN 5.00 (US $1.36) for five days with unlimited calls to all networks, SMS, MMS, Supernet Video DVD and 1 GB of data; or a starter for PLN 30.00 (US $2.73) for 30 days with unlimited calls to all networks, SMS, MMS, Supernet Video DVD and 10 GB of data. Each option is valid for one year.
 
With the new offers, users will be able to watch the World Cup via live streaming no TVP Sport, which is included in Supernet Video. In addition, the zero-rating offer includes TVP Stream, Netflix, Showmax, Player, Chilli Cinema, VOD.pl, YouTube and VEVO.
 
While prepaid offerings have traditionally been positioned as having modest features due to budget concerns, they have been gaining on postpaid in terms of the richness of the offerings, as consumers at all levels become more demanding. The youth market, in particular, is interested in prepaid service, due to their limited financial resources and their desire not to be tied down to long-term contracts.
 
Including extensive entertainment content, especially video content, in prepaid packages is by now a proven way to attract the youth demographic. We can safely assume that T-Mobile Poland had this cohort in mind when designing these offerings.
 
The zero-rating of Supernet ahead of the World Cup is sure to give a boost to subscriber acquisition. And even though the short-term, prepaid nature of the offerings makes it possible for users to drop the service after the World Cup is over, we suspect that many will continue with it, not only because of the low price of the voice, text and data overall, but because of the zero-rating of other entertainment streaming services. Over time, the operator no doubt hopes that a good number of these users can be upsold to more expensive plans, including postpaid ones.

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.  

To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com 

Ooredoo Qatar Demonstrates Khalifa Stadium Network

Ooredoo Qatar stated that at the final match of the Emir Cup football tournament on 19 May, it demonstrated its new mobile network at Khalifa Stadium to 45,000 spectators. The 4G/LTE advanced centralized RAN mobile technologies that were used in this match are up to 40 percent faster than the best current technologies, according to the operator. They are the basis of the technologies to be deployed by every arena during the FIFA World Cup 2022, which will be held in Qatar.

The specialized narrow-beam antennae delivered a higher capacity, enabling fans to stay connected and share their experiences. Ooredoo is actively working on its Smart Stadium offering, which controls security, connectivity, identity management, and access control, enabling teams to manage large-scale events with enhanced predictive models, business intelligence and live monitoring. With smart devices, spectators can order food for delivery, check the length of toilet queues at half-time breaks, access in-stadium broadcasts, and watch replays of game action.

We like not only the idea of a Smart Stadium system but also the fact that a mobile operator is creating and offering it. Sporting events are massive opportunities for revenue generation, given the large crowd sizes and the demand for data as fans share their experiences with friends directly and via social media. The sheer density of data demand within a limited space makes a sports stadium not only very attractive to an operator, but also very much in need of having a special, purpose-built connectivity solution.

For Ooredoo rather than a non-MNO technology developer to create such a solution is a good move and should be an inspiration to other operators. This way, not only does the operator stand to take a far higher proportion of data-traffic revenue than it would if users were on various networks, but the actual data volume will be higher due to more efficient network use. Of course, there also is the presumably sizable revenue to be earned from selling the Smart Stadium technology itself to venues.

Finally, we like this offering because it is so well-tailored to the particular needs of a sports stadium, including security, access control, and features that enhance customers’ experience in relevant ways while they are attending the game.  

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. To learn more about Tarifica, please visit www.tarifica.com