M2 and Black and White, gear up to compete with Telecom, Vodafone and TelstraClear (New Zealand)The mobile users will now have a choice of five mobile operators as two new entrants are all set to make a mark. The Australian-listed telco M2 and locally owned start-up Black and White are geared up to join Telecom, Vodafone and TelstraClear in the $2.2 billion market.
M2 and Black and White will be supplying the connections through a MVNO agreement that M2 had struck with Vodafone last year. M2 will be providing back-end administration and billing for both services, but will compete separately.
TelstraClear has sold businesses connections to Telecom’s CDMA network since November, and last week extended its offering to subscribers.
According to M2 chief executive Vaughan Bowen says, the service should launch this month and with it’s target market being the small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
M2 will not act as a “price slasher”, but will be offering a “more personalised engagement” than Vodafone or Telecom. An unique and unusual feature of M2 is that subscribers can receive a “phone and fly” rebate of up to 15 cents in the dollar on their telco bills, that they can spend on travel products offered through a sister company.
Additionally, there can be tax benefits to this arrangement in Australia if the rebates are classed as a gift from a supplier, but the appeal is mainly “emotive”, says Mr Bowen.
Black and White founder and ex-Telecom staffer Johnathan Eele is also expecting to begin with the promotion of his service within weeks. The British migrant promises to bring a fresh attitude and more “transparency” to the industry.
The 10-person company will be selling phones online and may differentiate by offering post-paid connections with no minimum contract term.
Black and White will bring some new phones to the New Zealand market, including the “light and functional” Nokia 6220c handset.
“I am getting a lot of feedback that people are looking to change, but moving from Vodafone to Telecom and vica-versa just hasn’t seemed to have delivered a lot.”he says, even though there are many options in the country.
Both M2 and Black and White will use the “028″ prefix, but subscribers will be able to port their Vodafone or Telecom phone numbers to either telco.
