As anticipated by sister papers MaltaToday and Illum on 22 November 2009, the Nationalist Party (PN) has been granted a licence by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA) to operate its own mobile telephony service, exactly a year after the PL launched its own mobile telephony service under the “RedTouchFone” brand.
Business Today has learnt that Media.Link Communications Company Limited, the PN’s media holding company, filed with the MCA the party’s application for the operation of a Virtual Mobile Network Operator (MVNO) on 7 December 2009, and that the application was validated a few days later.
Moreover, Business Today has also learnt that PING, as the PN’s new mobile telephony service will be branded, has been allocated the 9889- telephony prefix by the MCA.
PING is the second MVNO that will utilise the GO Mobile infrastructure, after the launch of MTV Mobile in April 2009, two months after the launch of Melita Mobile, as exclusive revealed by Business Today on 08 April 2009.
MTV Mobile was a joint venture between GO Mobile and MTV Networks Europe, operator of the music television network with the same name synonymous with the 16-24 age groups, under which GO Mobile issued “Branded by GO” MTV Mobile SIM cards to local subscribers, with special telephony rates and offers about MTV events.
The launch of PING has brought the number of mobile phone operators in Malta back to six following the closure of Bay Mobile earlier this year, So far, GO had shied away from opening its mobile infrastructure to MVNOs, viewing them as competitors, with the two MVNOs that were currently operating in Malta, but then made a strategic shift following the launch of RedTouchFone on the competing Vodafone Malta infrastructure in November last year.
In fact, GO had offered a deal to the PN to open its own MVNO thereafter, however the party had shied away from the offer.
However, the Nationalist Party had second thoughts about this decision and re-kindled the discussions with GO on its own branded mobile telephony service with a view to maximise revenue at a time of declining television audiences and readership figures.
On 27 June 2008, the MCA had licensed ONE Productions Limited, operators of One Radio and ONE Television, as an MVNO under the ONE Mobile brand, which was subsequently changed to RedTouchFone after the owner of One Telecoms Limited had successfully sued ONE Productions over alleged trademark infringement.
A second MVNO operator, Bay Mobile, had been granted a license by the MCA on the Vodafone Malta infrastructure on 27 June 2008.
Bay Mobile was operated by BayTel Limited, part of the Eden Leisure Group, which owns Bay Radio and The Eden Cinemas, among other things; however it closed down earlier this year due to poor dismal subscribe levels.
Like the MTV brand, Bay Mobile targeted the 16-25 age groups.
Redtouchfone currently has 7,000 subscribers, and is on a campaign to double its subscriber base to 14,000.
If PN had to reach the 14,000 subscriber level, it would be a dent mostly to Vodafone and Melita, since GO would still be earning some money out of those subscriber.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi formally launched the PN’s new mobile telephony operation on Sunday evening during a fund-raising marathon at the party’s headquarters in Pietà.