German multinational financial services company Allianz is entering the Austrian MVNO market with the launch of its Allianz SIM product, and to that end has selected mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) Ventocom as its launch partner; the newcomer is piggybacking on the network belonging to T-Mobile Austria. Two subscriptions will be available at launch: ‘Allianz SIM Phone’, which costs EUR14.90 (USD16.89) per month and offers 2,000 minutes of calls, 2,000 texts and 3GB data; and ‘Allianz SIM Tab’, which offers 3GB of data (at speeds of up to 21Mbps) for EUR9.90 per month. In addition, befitting the company’s background, Allianz SIM is also providing customers with free insurance for their smartphones and tablets.
Clitheroe, UK-based start-up Anywhere SIM expects to launch its new MVNO service this month, it revealed via a website announcement. The virtual operator confirms that it has agreed wholesale deals with O2 UK, Vodafone UK and EE in a bid to eliminate areas lacking coverage, or so-called ‘not-spots’. At launch, it will offer three tariffs: domestic package ‘Anywhere Home’, which will charge GBP0.05 (USD0.08) per minute for calls, GBP0.05 per SMS and GBP0.05 per 1MB of data, and allow customers to make calls on its home network, but receive calls on any available network; ‘Anywhere UK’, which will allow users to make and receive calls on any available network, at a cost of GBP0.10 per minute, GBP0.05 per SMS and GBP0.10 per MB of data; and ‘Anywhere EU’, which allows users to make and receive calls on any available network in the UK and European Union (EU), charging GBP0.12 per minute, GBP0.05 per SMS and GBP0.10 per MB of data. It has been suggested that Anywhere SIM has managed to set up the multi-operator agreement by pairing with an as-yet unnamed business based outside the UK, which already has roaming agreements with the country’s networks.
France’s supermarket-backed virtual operator Carrefour Mobile is set to shut down next month, the company has confirmed via its website. Pre-paid top-ups will be available until 20 September, but credited will be rendered inactive as of 19 October. All pre-paid users will be switched to the Orange Mobicarte service free of charge. Meanwhile, all post-paid customers will be migrated to fellow Orange MVNO Sosh, with the transfer taking place between 15 October and 15 November.
Russian fixed line operator Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS) has revealed that its MVNO subscriber base has exceeded 70,000 during its first year of activity. According to ComNews.ru, around 80% of subscribers were connected within the last three months, following a promotional campaign. The operator, which piggybacks on the mobile network of its owner, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), expects its customer base to reach 100,000 by year-end.
Malaysian MVNO Telin Malaysia has completed its previously announced switch between host networks, IndoTelko reports. The virtual operator, which launched over the Maxis network in August 2013, has switched to a wholesale contract with U Mobile. As previously reported by MVNO Monday, the company claimed 21,000 subscribers at the time of the switch.
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