Business With an Innovative Music Payment Plan

Mobile operator Telia Norway said that customers with a business subscription can now use its Music Freedom service without burdening their employer with the cost, by paying the NOK 49.00 (US $5.10) monthly charge themselves using the Norwegian mobile payment app Vipps. The aim is to stop corporate subscriptions from being restrictive.

Music Freedom separates data used for streaming or downloading tracks from the allowance provided in the subscription. It works with Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, Beat and Audiomack, via mobile application or browser. Music Freedom includes use in the EU/EEA and Switzerland.

Vegar Heir, commercial director at Vipps, said Telia is an early adaptor of new payment methods and is one of the first mobile operators to offer its customers the option of recurring payments.

The increasing blurring of the boundaries between personal and business use of mobile devices poses some challenges for both mobile operators and mobile users. BYOD usage patterns encourage employees of companies who are on business plans to use their devices for ubiquitous personal purposes such as music streaming. Of course, this can create problems for the employers when it comes to dealing with the charges, getting reimbursement from employees and maintaining corporate morale.

Telia Norway is offering an app-driven solution to this problem by allowing a kind of split billing in which the employee pays the monthly charge directly, as an individual, for music streaming from Spotify, Apple Music or whichever service, despite the fact that the rest of the data consumed is paid for the company. This way, there is no conflict, and both employer and employees are financially whole. The partnership with Vipps, the mobile payment platform, enables the functionality of the payments possible in what appears to be a seamless manner.

Music Freedom, true to its name, should provide enough freedom to keep corporate subscribers happy, which in turn should increase loyalty and subscriber acquisition in future.

Tarifica is a global SaaS company and a market leader in the real-time collection, analysis and delivery of telecom plan and pricing data worldwide. Through a mix of AI, modeling and market expertise, Tarifica tracks hundreds of thousands of plan and pricing data points daily. No other company tracks more. Tarifica's mission is to continuously convert data into the dynamic intelligence that fuels opportunities for its clients, the world's leading operators, regulators and consultants. 

Learn more about Tarifica at www.tarifica.com.

Tele2 Russia Offers Free Apps for Customers Stuck Abroad

Mobile operator Tele2 Russia said that customers who are not able to return to Russia due to restrictions related to the Covid-19 pandemic will get free access to messaging services while abroad, through 30 April. The option will also be available for those prepaid customers with a zero balance for their devices.

The option will be available in Europe, Asia, Australia and the U.S. The messaging apps included in the deal will be WhatsApp, Viber and TamTam.

We have recently reviewed a number of initiatives that MNOs have taken to provide support to their subscribers during the coronavirus pandemic. This one from Tele2 Russia is noteworthy in that it not provides some relief for those affected by the situation but also involves a very valid self-preservation strategy for the operator.

As mobile customers find themselves in new and disadvantageous circumstances due to the disease itself and also to the economic impact of the restrictions on travel and movement, operators can be in danger of losing some of those customers, or at least losing some of the revenue from them, if those customers are no longer able to pay as much as before.

In this case, Tele2 Russia is addressing the issue of subscribers who are trapped outside their home country. Ordinarily, they would need to continue to pay international roaming charges or purchase special roaming packages for the duration. However, the operator, by zero-rating some popular messaging apps, is making it possible for these clients to stay in touch with family and associates in Russia while they must remain abroad for longer than anticipated.

Absent such a measure, Tele2 might find itself in the position of losing subscribers. Faced with long-term, higher-than-expected charges, they could possibly have no choice but to terminate service. And if contracts lapse, even if during a time of extraordinary pressures, they may not be renewed again when the crisis is over. So by throwing what is in essence a mobile lifeline to subscribers, the operator is making it possible for them to remain in its ecosystem, albeit through the medium of third-party OTT messaging apps. Then, when they can return home, they will be able to remain there, and happy to do so.

 Tarifica is a global SaaS company that is the market leader in the real-time collection, analysis and delivery of telecom plan and pricing data worldwide. Through a mix of AI, modeling and market expertise, Tarifica tracks hundreds of thousands of plan and pricing data points daily. No other company tracks more. Tarifica's mission is to continuously convert data into the dynamic intelligence that fuels opportunities for its clients, the world's leading operators, regulators and consultants. Learn more about Tarifica at www.tarifica.com.