BT Takes Aim at Mobile Operators with BT Business Plan with Mobile for Small Businesses

On March BT launched BT Business Plan with Mobile. The service offers a single bill for all fixed and mobile communication and is open to businesses with an annual communications spend of GBP 5,000. The service offers an annual 5% discount on combed fixed and mobile calls, capped rates on fixed line calls and preferential rates on mobile-to-mobile and mobile-to-office calls.

Recommended Competitive Responses

► Orange should understand that this service is a response to Orange Landline. Orange UK must enhance its new fixed service with single billing for both fixed and mobile usage, and a more streamlined pricing structure.

► The competition now has a healthy understanding of the NeXT roadmap; Orange UK no longer can rely on the element of surprise.

► T-Mobile UK should consider bringing the German @home product to the UK for SOHOs.

► Vodafone UK is quietly selling a whole range of fixed services (from carrier pre-selection to DSL and ‘managed services’), but now needs to justify the ‘converged services’ tab on its business site.

► Orange should allow the small business market for converged mobile and fixed services to mature a little longer before bringing in its own UMA-based HomeZone dual-mode WLAN/GSM voice product to the UK.

Recommended End User/Customer Responses

► BT Business Plan with Mobile is probably the simplest and most streamlined bundled service for both mobile and fixed line calling currently available in the UK. Small businesses with around 10 employees should study the discounts, but note the lack of user profile change management self-provisioning available.

► BT Business Plan with Mobile customers should ask BT about tailored contracts for international roaming. End users should push for discounts on international roaming to one or two pre-specified EU markets.

► Small businesses should be aware that most Mobile VPNs available today offer some kind of fixed calling discount bolt-on option or feature. Although Mobile VPNs were originally designed as fixed-to-mobile substitution products, many offer a sophisticated range of value-added benefits across both mobile and fixed calling.

CeBIT 2006: T-Com Shows Off Its New T-One Dual Phone

On March 10th T-Com introduced its new T-One-branded dual-mode mobile telephony product. The device, which is expected to launch in Q2 2006, will function in the home over DSL (enabled by WiFi and a VoIP client) and outside via GSM.

Competitive Concerns

► T-One is in a trial mode only and it will not be available commercially until mid-2006. Gaining traction in the initial phase may be difficult, as customers may be locked into existing contracts for DSL, voice or mobile services with alternative carriers.

► The new dual phone will have only one Samsung handset choice.

► On a technical level, seamless handoff between WiFi and GSM will not be possible in the initial phases. Customers that start calls on the WiFi network must terminate them on that cloud. Similarly, calls that begin on the GSM network will also need to terminate there.

► The WiFi component of the service is restricted to the calls made from home across the T-Com DSL connection and from T-Com/T-Mobile hotspots. As such, the dual phone is a national product.

Orange UK Launches Shared Bucket for SMEs: Business Advance

On March 20th Orange UK published details for its new Orange Business Advance service, which offers a single pricing plan for mobile calling, international roaming, text and data, with a single monthly tariff that can be shared between multiple users.

Recommended Competitive Responses

► Vodafone UK needs to put out a statement about the new services (including ‘integrated,’ ‘converged’ and ‘managed service’ initiatives) quietly appearing on its business Web site pages. If the strategy is to turn its fixed-mobile substitution focus towards an integrated fixed-and-mobile approach, Vodafone UK should come out and say so.

► T-Mobile UK should revise its run-on rates with Business 1-Plan. These static additional charges fail to give larger businesses more favourable run-on rate terms.

► BT should point out that neither Orange Business Plus nor the new Business Advance service offers single billing for both fixed and mobile calling.

► O2 must lower the minimum-user number requirement for its Mobile Extension (Mobex) solution, which is currently at 80, to open this solution up to smaller businesses.

Recommended End User/Customer Responses

► Small businesses should look beyond calling discounts and take into account the value-added benefits on offer. Value-added extras, formerly reserved for all but the largest enterprises (such as free insurance, review processes and online self-provisioning tools), are now starting to trickle down to the small business.

3 Italy Offers VoIP for International Calls

On March 2nd 3 Italy launched a VoIP service for its 3G customer base enabling them to make low cost calls to 23 countries for only EUR 0.05 per hour. This service is complementary to 3’s collaboration with Skype and was developed in-house.

Recommended Competitive Responses

► Vodafone has two choices. First, it should collaborate with the likes of FastWeb to open its doors to VoIP services immediately (even if they are only Italy centric). Or, it could roll out its 3G ZuHause ‘at home’ offers that are available in Germany, in Italy immediately.

► Wind must pull its socks up in Italy. It has enforced that it is happy to cater to the needs of the consumer market and now must start acting on this.

► Wind’s fixed line proposition has failed. Instead of continuously flogging a dead horse, Wind needs to move on and focus on the areas that are successful, such as mobile and Internet.

► Telecom Italia and TIM are now one company, but as yet only offer a few combined services such as the Superphone or Tim Famiglia and Teleconomy offers. TIM needs to continue to build momentum in the postpaid space by targeting existing customers contracted to Telecom Italia services and tie them into the mobile service as well.

► HSDPA is being dubbed as the technology favoured by mobile operators to bury their VoIP fears and to offer the same simple low cost offers. However, operators such as Vodafone should be careful not to bank on HSDPA because if competitors are being aggressive in the VoIP space now, they need to react immediately.

Recommended End User/Customer Responses

► Any foreigner or expat living in Italy that makes international calls on a regular basis should take another look at 3 Italy. International No Limit offers an extremely impressive and affordable calling offer to consumers.

► Remember VoIP technology is free, but its quality can often be mishmash. Users that already enjoy fixed services shouldn’t give up their fixed line too quickly.

► Mobile users should start considering whether or not a fixed line is necessary. With a broadband connection and a mobile, they have all the communication that they need.