13th Jun 2005 08:00
Vodafone Group Plc13 June 2005 13 June 2005 VODAFONE CHANGING DYNAMICS OF BUSINESS DATA PRICING Following the success of the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G datacard, Vodafonecontinues to revolutionise business mobility, with the announcement today of twosignificant changes in the pricing of mobile data: * The introduction of a new great value, roaming data tariff, which provides clarity and predictability for our customers travelling abroad, and * Vodafone is doubling the countries offering its flat rate, unlimited usage, domestic data tariff "The Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G datacard has truly enabled business mobility.Now, more than 300,000 business customers are benefiting from the invaluableflexibility of being able to work wherever they are," said Peter Bamford, ChiefMarketing Officer at Vodafone. "Vodafone has now made the service even better byadding great value data tariffs. Vodafone is unique - no other mobile operatorcan offer business customers the same seamless 3G experience or valueinternationally." New Roaming Tariff The Monthly Travel Tariff brings great value to our business customers andunderlines Vodafone's commitment to offer its customers simple and predictablepricing when using its roaming services. Specifically tailored to suit the needs of business travellers, the new roamingtariff gives customers predictable data costs by charging a flat rate of €75 permonth (£50 for Vodafone UK customers) to send or receive up to 100 MB of datawhen using the Vodafone Mobile Connect service on participating Vodafonenetworks**. Commenting on this industry leading initiative, Martin Gutberlet, Principal EMEAAnalyst at Gartner, said: "Currently, business travellers can incur data chargesof up to €15 per MB, depending on where they are. These kinds of charges aresimply not sustainable in the long term and could lead to companies puttinglimits on the amount of work done remotely. Reducing the price of data servicesaddresses the real needs of business users and is exactly the direction theindustry should go in order to drive up usage of 3G networks." With 3G data rates of up to 384kbps, the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G datacardenables Vodafone's business customers to access all their usual officeapplications like e-mail, calendar and internet. The reliability and ease of useof the Vodafone Mobile Connect 3G datacard, coupled with the Vodafone 3Gnational and international network coverage, means greater business productivityand enhanced responsiveness for businesses. The Vodafone Mobile Connect Monthly Travel Tariff will be made available toVodafone customers in Greece, Italy and Portugal in June, followed closely byGermany and the UK in July. The tariff will also be made available to Vodafonecustomers in Hungary, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden in due course. This is the second roaming pricing initiative to be launched in the last fewweeks and forms part of the Vodafone Travel Promise. Domestic Tariff Vodafone's domestic, flat rate data tariffs offer unlimited usage* for just€50-€99 per month. Business customers will now have the flexibility to workwhenever, and wherever, rather than worrying about data usage levels. Vodafonehas already successfully launched the new bundles in a number of its Europeanmarkets (Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden) and followingpositive customer feedback, is now rolling out the unlimited data pricing modelacross the rest of Europe. The new Vodafone Mobile Connect domestic data usagebundles is available from June in Greece, Ireland, Italy, and Spain followed bythe United Kingdom in July. To opt-in to either of the new tariffs, customers should contact their localoperator for more details. - ends - Notes to Editors * The Vodafone Mobile Connect domestic data tariff is subject to a fair usage policy, with a maximum limit of 1GB per month (excluding Vodafone Italy and Vodafone Germany, where a limit of 500 MB applies). ** Vodafone Mobile Connect Monthly Travel Tariff Availability and Roaming Footprint ------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- Vodafone Networks to launch Vodafone Mobile Connect Monthly Travel TariffVodafone Mobile Connect Monthly Roaming FootprintTravel Tariff------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------Vodafone Germany SFR, FranceVodafone Greece Vodafone AustraliaVodafone Hungary Vodafone GermanyVodafone Italy Vodafone GreeceVodafone Netherlands Vodafone HungaryVodafone Portugal Vodafone IrelandVodafone Spain Vodafone ItalyVodafone Sweden Vodafone K.K., JapanVodafone UK Vodafone Malta Vodafone Netherlands Vodafone New Zealand Vodafone Portugal Vodafone Spain Vodafone Sweden Vodafone UK In addition, local Vodafone Networks may choose to include additional networks within their footprint.------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- Additional information on Group data tariffs The two new data tariffs complement the existing domestic and roaming flat ratetariff for BlackBerry(R) from Vodafone customers starting from €60 a month,enabling customers to fully predict their monthly BlackBerry email costs. Thetariff has a maximum usage limit set by the local Vodafone operator (forexample, Vodafone UK has a fair usage limit of 6MB for domestic use and 3MB whenroaming). For further information: Vodafone GroupSimon Lewis, Group Corporate Affairs DirectorTel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 Investor RelationsCharles Butterworth, Darren Jones or Sarah MoriartyTel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 Media RelationsJon Earl or Janine YoungTel: +44 (0) 1635 673310 About Vodafone Vodafone is the world's largest mobile community with 154.8 millionproportionate customers, equity interests in 27 countries and Partner Networksin a further 14 countries. For further information about Vodafone, please visitthe Vodafone Group website: www.vodafone.com (c) Vodafone Group 2005. VODAFONE, the Vodafone logos and Vodafone MobileConnect are trade marks of the Vodafone Group. The RIM and BlackBerry family of related marks, images and symbols are theexclusive properties of and trademarks of Research in Motion Limited - used bypermission. 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