Vodafone Spain Provides Ono Mobile Customers With 4G SIM Cards

Spanish mobile operator Vodafone has announced that it will provide 4G SIM cards at no cost to customers who migrated from Movistar’s network to Vodafone’s in order to access the operator’s 4G network. These customers—approximately 1.6 million—were added to Vodafone’s subscriber base when the operator purchased Spain’s private-equity-owned cable company Ono in March 2014. The new SIM card will enable these users to access Vodafone’s LTE and LTE-A services, which offer laboratory-tested download speeds of up to 150 Mbps and 300 Mbps, respectively. This SIM offering coincides with the launch of Vodafone’s converged offerings under the Vodafone One brand.

Spain, which continues to have a weak economy, has one of the most competitive telecom markets in Europe. The country is served by four MNOs and a growing number of MVNOs. According to recent reports, in late 2014 Orange surpassed Vodafone as the country’s second-largest operator by number of subscribers. While each of the country’s operators offers 4G services, they all need to continuously create offers that will help them retain current customers as well as attract new ones. With this in mind, in addition to securing 1.6 million subscribers who were using Ono’s MVNO services, Vodafone’s purchase of the cable operator enables it to offer subscribers triple-play and quad-play packages. As we have written previously, both fixed and mobile operators are investing in ways to offer converged packages as a new revenue source, since those from traditional services, especially voice, continue to fall. Converged offers—which we believe are more attractive if they include 4G service—invariably result in increased data demands from subscribers, and as it launches these offers Vodafone is smart to provide its newly obtained subscribers with 4G SIM cards as a way to drive data revenue.

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 or to speak with the research team: Click here.

Movistar, Vodafone Spain Lose 80,000 Customers in January

Spanish MNOs Movistar and Vodafone Spain shed 46,500 and 33,000 mobile customers, respectively, in January, mostly to Jazztel and low-cost MVNOs, according to the monthly survey reported on the website ADSL Zone. Orange Spain, which is in the process of acquiring Jazztel, shed a net total of 16,000 customers in the first month of the year, although its low-cost brand Simyo offset that figure with a net gain of 16,400 customers. Jazztel attracted 37,000 more mobile customers with the success of its fixed-mobile convergent packages. Ono, which was acquired by Vodafone in July, gained 15,000 mobile customers, but Spain’s fourth-largest mobile operator, Yoigo, continued to shed customers, losing some 9,000 ported numbers. Vodafone’s new low-cost MVNO brand, Lowi, also had a positive first month, having attracted around 10,000 customers since its launch on 18 December 2014.

Spain’s mobile market is notorious for its high churn rate, driven in large part by the country’s dire economic straits. While many markets in both the developed and developing worlds have too many MVNOs and are poised for a contraction, in Spain it appears that the MVNO sector is enjoying robust health and posing a growing challenge to the MNOs. In the case of MVNOs wholly owned by MNOs, such as Ono, Simyo and Lowi the former threaten to cannibalize the latter. As Orange prepares to acquire Jazztel, that phenomenon is likely to be repeated. In Spain, low cost and flexibility rule, so MVNOs are carrying the day. For MNOs, the best strategy seems to be not to beat them but to join them.

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 or to speak with the research team: http://www.tarifica.com/contactus.aspx

134,000 Spanish Customers Changed Operators in April

Spain's four leading operators—Movistar, Vodafone Spain, Orange Spain and Yoigo—lost 82,000, 34,000, 1,600 and 14,000 mobile customers, respectively, in April. Most of these went over to MVNOs such as Ono and Jazztel, according to an industry survey. Yoigo in particular was hard hit, losing nearly twice as many customers in April as it did in March.

   Customer dissatisfaction with MNOs continues to grow in Spain, a country whose mobile market has been particularly afflicted by churn in recent years. The MVNOs are posing an increasingly strong challenge to the traditional mobile operators, attracting customers with competitively priced packages that offer convergent fixed-line broadband and mobile services. 

The above item appeared in a recent issue of Tarifica's "The Story of The Week", a weekly report that analyzes two noteworthy developments in the telecoms industry from around the world. For past issues or to learn more about The Story of The Week :  http://www.tarifica.com/storyoftheweek.aspx