iPhone | FEATURE
Dermot Daly, Owner of Tapadoo.
for customers to take advantage of. We’ve made sure that the network can stand up to the demands of data hungry customers, and we’re continually innovating to ensure that our network stays ahead of the game,” she adds. “To that end, we recently launched the first 3.5G or HSPA+ service in Ireland to offer customers faster broadband. When people see that, we’ll see a lot of people coming to the network and wanting to sign up to get the iPhone because we have the best network.”
THE BUSINESS FACTOR
If Vodafone are benefiting from investment in their network, of course, they’ll also be leveraging another key selling point of the company – their reputation for good business service. Mulley sees this as opening a whole new avenue for the device. “Business users are starting to use the iPhones. A lot more business users will take it up because Vodafone has very good after-service care and sales support for business users. So, because they’re now able to offer business users the iPhone, it’s going to be a selling or retention point for Vodafone,” he notes.
While asserting that Vodafone will try to market the device to everyone, Heffernan does reveal that they’re offering a little bit extra to enterprise. “We’re appealing to business customers by making a range of plans available. Our business price plans include the same packages as consumer plans and some business-specific services. For example, if you’re a business customer and you get an iPhone, you can get unlimited calls to landlines with Vodafone Control and Vodafone Control solo. There’s significant value in that for businesses. In addition, there are some exciting data elements available for business customers,” she says.
THE COST
Aside from expanding the market, most would expect that a challenger to O2’s iPhone monopoly would help drive down the price of the device itself and the packages for using it. This is one area, Mulley says, where users have been disappointed. Vodafone’s starter package (costing €35 a month) comes with a two-gigabyte data download limit but without free texts or voice minutes. For a package offering 150 voice minutes and 150 texts, the cost is €45 a month, while O2’s ‘Advance 150’ plan offers 150 voice minutes and 100 texts for €40. “For people that were waiting for Vodafone to come out with a competitive package, there was a lot of disappointment, because they were pretty much the same packages. There doesn’t seem to be a huge deal of differentiation between the two,” says Mulley. “Some O2 customers were thinking of switching to Vodafone, but there doesn’t seem to be much point now. On the other hand, I’m sure some people didn’t want to break a Vodafone contract or move from that network for whatever reason. Now, they can get the iPhone on Vodafone,” he says.
Ultimately, that simple fact should ensure a better deal over time for anyone who wants
“we have iNvested
coNsiderable
resources aNd time
iNto eNsuriNg that
customers will
have the best iphoNe
experieNce oN vodafoNe.” – christiNe hefferNaN
the must-have gadget that has proved to be no flash-in-the-pan. Whether or not the providers compete on service or price in the coming months remains to be seen but there’s no doubt that the availability of the device on the Vodafone network removes a massive barrier to entry for their customers. If Vodafone’s new deal is a boost for the company, then it’s an even greater boon for business users and consumers.
For further information on Vodafone’s iPhone offerings visit
www.vodafone.ie.
InBusiness May 10 51
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