Tesco Mobile phone service launch

Pikasso

Just announced: Tesco to launch service on Oct 29th
http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=142044

wba88

wow they only think they will get 5% in four years, cheap calls cross network though

godskitchen

Hoping for 5% of the market in 4 years, good luck to them I say, hope they have better luck than 3.................what do they have now? something like 3% of the market? Well done chaps!

chrislad

Meh, nothing special there.

UsedtobePC

So what so good about their offer? Same plan as Meteor without the same market share

Yggr of Asgard

What's different?

Clubcard points with double points for topping up at tesco

But beside that, let's see if they offer roaming and what the cost is.

voyager

the biggest difference is unlimited calls and txts to all other tesco mobile numbers, where as other networks offer free calls to one number as with meteor, and some give limited txt deals, personally i think this is a very good looking deal, it should (hopefully) shake up the market a little.

voyager :cool:

Stevek101

wba88 wrote: »

wow they only think they will get 5% in four years, cheap calls cross network though

Meteor - Landline (ROI) 20c
Meteor - other networks (ROI) 20c

chrislad

voyager wrote: »

the biggest difference is unlimited calls and txts to all other tesco mobile numbers, where as other networks offer free calls to one number as with meteor, and some give limited txt deals, personally i think this is a very good looking deal, it should (hopefully) shake up the market a little.

voyager :cool:

That's all well and good but those offers are worthless with a tiny market share.

Random

They're gonna get customers if only for the 089 prefix. I'll be one of them

1huge1

Impulse buying, thats how they'll get them, just like the sweeties at the checkout.
Probably offer a box of chocolates if you buy a phone.

Random

1huge1 wrote: »

Impulse buying, thats how they'll get them, just like the sweeties at the checkout.
Probably offer a box of chocolates if you buy a phone.

A phone is for life, not just for ... err ... oh ...

Thirdfox

voyager wrote: »

the biggest difference is unlimited calls and txts to all other tesco mobile numbers, where as other networks offer free calls to one number as with meteor, and some give limited txt deals, personally i think this is a very good looking deal, it should (hopefully) shake up the market a little.

voyager :cool:

Meteor was the first company to give you free texts for life offer... they also have the free calls to meteor phones for life now as well...

Definitely I'll look at what they're offering but for now I'm content with Meteor's service (if not their range of phones )

voyager

hi Thirdfox, i agree with you about meteor, i am a meteor customer myself as are all the 5 members of my family and most of my friends BUT each of us can only nominate ONE number to use as a free call number, where as with tesco`s offer if we all signed up to their deal ALL of us would get free calls to each other as tesco mobile customers based on the package we pick, i still think its a great offer and it should spark some reaction from other mobile companies as to giving us as consumers better offers to stay loyal to their franchise.

More (any) competition is always a healthy thing to introduce to any market.

voyager :cool:

foggy_lad

voyager wrote: »

the biggest difference is unlimited calls and txts to all other tesco mobile numbers, where as other networks offer free calls to one number as with meteor, and some give limited txt deals, personally i think this is a very good looking deal, it should (hopefully) shake up the market a little.

voyager :cool:

The prepay service will charge EUR0.20 to any network at any time with all text messages costing EUR0.09

Special bundles will also be available to offer discounts for customers. The In Touch 10 and In Touch 30 bundles will offer unlimited calls, texts and picture messages to other Tesco Mobile customers. These bundles cover periods of 10 and 30 days respectively and cost EUR4.99 and EUR11.99

not such a hot deal at these prices unless people can convince all their friends and family to switch

voyager

hi foggy_lad, agreed to some extent, in my case it would be well worth it if all the family changed over, you also have to remember that you also save on charged calls, 20c per min as compared to 25c with meteor, also charged text messages both sms and mms are only 9c.
I stand by my first impressions of this offer and say i think its very positive indeed, as with different deals offered on each network it will suit some and not others, but i think it smells very sweet indeed.

voyager :cool:

injured365

sure whatever happens meteor and vodafone will come up with some kinda deal to stop people switching just like vodafone did when meteor arrived

voyager

Hi injured365, agreed, that`s why i say its a win/ win situation whenever more competition comes into the market place, other operators will have to respond to this new network offer, no matter what market share they are aiming at, they will not want to lose customers already won over from other networks with past deals.

voyager :cool:

foggy_lad

voyager wrote: »

hi foggy_lad, agreed to some extent, in my case it would be well worth it if all the family changed over, you also have to remember that you also save on charged calls, 20c per min as compared to 25c with meteor, also charged text messages both sms and mms are only 9c.
I stand by my first impressions of this offer and say i think its very positive indeed, as with different deals offered on each network it will suit some and not others, but i think it smells very sweet indeed.

voyager :cool:

Stevek101 wrote: »

Meteor - Landline (ROI) 20c
Meteor - other networks (ROI) 20c

three offer 5cent text and mms and 18cent voice and video calls to three and landlines only charging 35cent to other mobile networks.

exiot

This is going to fail miserable, I say this as I sit here in my Tesco uniform, ha ha.

If theres staff benefits towards it, I will switch

voyager

now now, exiot, think positively and i am sure it will be alright , even with a miserable tesco uniform on

voyager :cool:

foggy_lad

well good luck to tesco mobile and hopefully they will have some decent handsets although they will most likely not have video-calling

AlmightyCushion

foggy_lad wrote: »

well good luck to tesco mobile and hopefully they will have some decent handsets although they will most likely not have video-calling

I think it's 2g only services, that would rule out video calling.

voyager

Again i agree with you foggy_lad, but most people i believe want call and txt services more that any other, and at a good price, i hope it goes well for them, hopefully there will be an option to buy a sim card for those people with existing unlocked phones, and also some good free credit deals with new phones and for migrating customers who change over.


voyager :cool:

Blackdragon

voyager wrote: »

Again i agree with you foggy_lad, but most people i believe want call and txt services more that any other, and at a good price, i hope it goes well for them, hopefully there will be an option to buy a sim card for those people with existing unlocked phones, and also some good free credit deals with new phones and for migrating customers who change over.


voyager :cool:

I didnt see any mention of Data charges - Anyone heard/seen anything?

MrJoeSoap

Blackdragon wrote: »

I didnt see any mention of Data charges - Anyone heard/seen anything?

Yep, not sure if I should divulge prices (at least until launch) but there will be two data bundles available, one for 24hrs and one for 7 days.

I'm working for the new network and have to say it does have its plus points. Any new network starting out is going to be trying to find its feet, with whatever offers they put forward, but Tesco seem to just want to make things simple and easy-to-understand. It means they'll probably get an older market share to begin with.

MrJoeSoap

dublin-texas wrote: »

But beside that, let's see if they offer roaming and what the cost is.

They will have roaming, but again I'm afraid I cant mention costs just yet.

flodis79

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Yep, not sure if I should divulge prices (at least until launch) but there will be two data bundles available, one for 24hrs and one for 7 days.

Alright.. will they be competitive towards three's 5.99 100 mb addon per month?

Pikasso

... and what handsets are they offering?

foggy_lad

voyager wrote: »

Again i agree with you foggy_lad, but most people i believe want call and txt services more that any other, and at a good price, i hope it goes well for them, hopefully there will be an option to buy a sim card for those people with existing unlocked phones, and also some good free credit deals with new phones and for migrating customers who change over.


voyager :cool:

i want options same as most other people and tesco making decisions about what customers can and cant access would be a mistake of porportions only seen with one other network in ireland!

Slice

I doubt they will win market share by offering a near identical price plan already being offered by Meteor. What's regardless of which network they piggyback on consumers are going to have a hard time trusting their local supermarket to provide their mobile phone service.

voyager

Slice, the price plan might be near identical, but free calls and txts to every other tesco number is a big bonus especially if like me you have a large family the savings would be significant, also i found this link to their UK. site, the phones are not great but on the other hand they are not crap either, dont know if the Irish site will carry the same phones though.

http://www.tesco.com/mobilenetwork/shop/?page=payg

voyager :cool:

MrJoeSoap

flodis79 wrote: »

Alright.. will they be competitive towards three's 5.99 100 mb addon per month?

Er... no. The handset range isnt huge, think its 14 to start with. Six Nokia, one Sony Ericsson, and the rest are Samsung and Motorola.

flodis79

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Er... no. The handset range isnt huge, think its 14 to start with. Six Nokia, one Sony Ericsson, and the rest are Samsung and Motorola.

Thank you for this information! Will we be able to buy sim only, or do you only sell them together with phones? Will the Dundrum store be one of the stores selling Tesco Mobile? Can we choose our own number, ie is there a chance to get an easy number now in connection with the launch? Will voicemail be free? Will the customer care be Tesco's own or will call be routed to o2's?

Stevek101

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Er... no. The handset range isnt huge, think its 14 to start with. Six Nokia, one Sony Ericsson, and the rest are Samsung and Motorola.

Nokia 2630?

Random

flodis79 wrote: »

Thank you for this information! Will we be able to buy sim only, or do you only sell them together with phones? Will the Dundrum store be one of the stores selling Tesco Mobile? Can we choose our own number, ie is there a chance to get an easy number now in connection with the launch? Will voicemail be free? Will the customer care be Tesco's own or will call be routed to o2's?

Following on from this .. is it a call centre on Mars nearby the 3 one?

1huge1

foggy_lad wrote: »

three offer 5cent text and mms and 18cent voice and video calls to three and landlines only charging 35cent to other mobile networks.

Well its good to note thats its 5c text/mms to any network


As for the call centre I'd assume the UK which im sure everybody would be fine with.

foggy_lad

dont assume uk call centres as my sister in law has told me she left tesco mobile in uk cos of poor customer care but she also said she misses the cheap rates.

MrJoeSoap

Call centre is in Clontarf lads, will address the rest of the q's later.

Random

Will the website go live on the same day as they go live in the stores? Will they have webtexts, online call history, online topups, other online services?

1huge1

Clontarf eh, all the better then. I've no interest in joining tesco as im sure they'll be geared towards the lower end of the market but competition is always good

The_Hustler

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Call centre is in Clontarf lads, will address the rest of the q's later.

Is that the call centre in Clontarf that works for loads of different companies?

MrJoeSoap

flodis79 wrote: »

Thank you for this information! Will we be able to buy sim only, or do you only sell them together with phones?

Sim only is available

Will the Dundrum store be one of the stores selling Tesco Mobile?

Not sure off the top of my head but can find out.

Can we choose our own number, ie is there a chance to get an easy number now in connection with the launch?

I doubt it, would assume you can't do it online and I'm not too sure about the shops.

Will voicemail be free?

No, but again I can't tell the price just yet.

Will the customer care be Tesco's own or will call be routed to o2's?

Very much Tesco's own.

Stevek101 wrote: »

Nokia 2630?

I know the 2626 is available but can't remember if the 2630 is.

As for the call centre I'd assume the UK which im sure everybody would be fine with.

ciaranfo wrote: »

Following on from this .. is it a call centre on Mars nearby the 3 one?

Nope, Dublin 3.

1huge1 wrote: »

Well its good to note thats its 5c text/mms to any network

It's not 5c a text, its 9c. MMS are charged at a different rate.

ciaranfo wrote: »

Will the website go live on the same day as they go live in the stores?

Thats the plan yeah.

Will they have webtexts, online call history, online topups, other online services?

Webtexts - No
Call History - Yes
Top-Ups - Not yet, though you can register a credit card and top up through the phone menu.
Other Online Services - There will be a few.

I'm sure the website will grow as time goes on.

The_Hustler wrote: »

Is that the call centre in Clontarf that works for loads of different companies?

Yes, but there is a dedicated team of Tesco CSR's, so you won't get somebody from another part of the company.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

MrJoeSoap

Yeah porting should be available from the first day, I haven't been told otherwise but I don't want to say anything conclusively in case I'm wrong. Almost positive the Sony Ericsson is the W200, but don't quote me on that. I know its the one (or one of the ones?) with the Music DJ application on it.

Bundles will be available from Day 1 and I'm not sure about how permanent they are but I'm imagining that barring the fact they are a complete "miss" they will be there for the foreseeable future.

I'm sure there are a few other things worth mentioning but I'm not sure how much detail I'm allowed to go into before the launch. Plus, I don't like bringing work home with me, least of all on a bank holiday weekend!

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

JTMan

Interesting ... the Tesco tarrifs represent huge saving and real competition for O2/Voda customers esp for those that did not want to switch to meteor network.

For meteor customers it does not seem worth the switch if they are charging to access your own voicemail, there are no free webtexts, you lose your free meteor to meteor text messages and it seems doubtful that you will get the same pre paid roaming in 130 countries.

Having said the unlimited texts and calls bundles may attract large group migrations from meteor.

Will be interesting to see how the other networks react to the Tesco bundles.

flodis79

Fungus wrote: »

For meteor customers it does not seem worth the switch if they are charging to access your own voicemail, there are no free webtexts, you lose your free meteor to meteor text messages and it seems doubtful that you will get the same pre paid roaming in 130 countries.

Roaming in 130 countries? Thought it was only a handful with auto roaming and then maybe 50 more when depositing €60 before the trip?

foggy_lad

Fungus wrote: »

Interesting ... the Tesco tarrifs represent huge saving and real competition for O2/Voda customers esp for those that did not want to switch to meteor network.

For meteor customers it does not seem worth the switch if they are charging to access your own voicemail, there are no free webtexts, you lose your free meteor to meteor text messages and it seems doubtful that you will get the same pre paid roaming in 130 countries.

Having said the unlimited texts and calls bundles may attract large group migrations from meteor.

Will be interesting to see how the other networks react to the Tesco bundles.

there is no unlimited text or calls! there is bundles of text and calls to other tesco numbers lasting either 7 or 30 days meaning that meteor are still way ahead as they do not charge 11.99 for a months calls or texts which will probably also have fair use policies!

also vodafone voicemail is free unless they have changed it recently?
and for people not wanting to switch from o2 to meteor they are obviously happier with higher call and text costs!

Slice

Slice, the price plan might be near identical, but free calls and txts to every other tesco number is a big bonus especially if like me you have a large family the savings would be significant

Free on-network texts and calls wount count for much while there's no one on the network. They'll need market share before this becomes a selling point and they're not going to get anywhere with market share by offering an otherwise identical price plan to their competitor while at the same time having to escalate every network issue to O2.

Much like Tesco's financial product offerings this isn't going to set the market on fire and is probably just intended to compliment their strength in their supermarket business. In the same way most people wouldn't trust their mechanic to babysit their kids most people wouldn't trust their supermarket to insure their car or provide their mobile phone service.

It's still a shame though that they haven't come up with anything a little more interesting in terms of their price plans in the interest of competition

JTMan

flodis79 wrote: »

Roaming in 130 countries? Thought it was only a handful with auto roaming and then maybe 50 more when depositing €60 before the trip?

You can roam in 133 countries on 237 networks with Meteor pre-paid (60 EUR top up required for all countries except all EU countries and the USA). My mate just came back from Africa and Meteor pre paid worked in every country that he was in. This would not have been the case with O2, Voda or 3 pre-paid.

also vodafone voicemail is free unless they have changed it recently?

Vodafone voice is free yes unlike O2 or apparently Tesco.

there is no unlimited text or calls!

According to the SB Post the Tesco bundles are unlimited.
http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=IRELAND-qqqm=news-qqqid=27772-qqqx=1.asp

Much like Tesco's financial product offerings this isn't going to set the market on fire

I agree that that the tariffs are unlikely to set the pre-paid market on fire and their target of 5% market share seems unlikely to be meet with the current market tariffs .... but some users will like the unlimited call package and Tesco may modify their tariff range like they have done in the UK.