FOCUS | Wednesday, 01 August 2007

GO disputes Melita’s fixed line subscriber claims

Charlot Zahra

Telecoms operator GO has put into question arch-rival telecoms operator Melita’s announcement last Friday that the Hello fixed line telephone service launched eight months ago had reached the 20,000 subscriber mark.
Asked by BusinessToday for his reaction about the fact that Hello had eaten up 20,000 subscribers since its launch last November and the reasons why, Franco Aloisio, Head Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, GO said yesterday: “The number of subscribers who have stopped their GO fixed line service is closer to 2,000 than 20,000.
“In a competitive market it is normal to have customer churn, and this does not worry us. We have some customers who have left, and we already have had some who have returned!” he said.
As Melita’s CEO Philip Micallef pointed out to Business Today, “not necessarily all 20,000 customers have removed their GO line but we know of some who have kept both services and are waiting for a couple of bills from both companies to arrive so that they can judge for themselves which company offers the best value-for-money.”
Micallef said Melita was very satisfied with the take up of Hello. “We are very pleased to offer Maltese subscribers a choice for their fixed line telephony. Take-up even in these normally quiet months is still very strong.
“The Maltese public has shown that it appreciate choice and competition and looks for value-for-money propositions. With the launch of hello Melita became the first true triple-play operator in Malta providing one customer service and one single bill,” he told Business Today yesterday.
Asked for the reasons why these subscribers have joined Melita, Micallef said: “Basically customers who have taken up Hello realized the value-for-money which this system offers.
“People are comparing the bills they receive from Melita and those from our competitors and come to their own conclusions. A calculator is also available on our website to help customers figure out their savings if they install Hello,” he said.
Micallef said Hello also provides 100 free minutes per month to the GO fixed network and all Hello to Hello calls are free any time of day and any day of week. “These free on-net calls are proving to be very popular with Maltese families and now even with businesses and commercial establishments that have offices in various parts of the island.”
He added that Hello also provided customers with the possibility of choosing a pre-paid service if their requirements were such.
Asked whether Melita expected more fixed line telephony customers to join Melita in the coming weeks, the Melita CEO said: “We are seeing a very sustained heavy take-up of Hello subscribers week after week.
“In fact our challenge is to continue providing the very best lead times for installations. Our bundles which we launched at the Trade Fair are also doing very well,” he told BusinessToday. .
On their part, GO have not remained idle and have launched their own set of tariffs in an effort to retain their present fixed line customer base, which, according to Aloisio, is still over 200,000.
“We have launched a set of very interesting tariffs which make it very cost effective for our clients to retain the GO service they are used to and trust, whilst getting good value for money depending on their requirements,” he said.
Alosio explained that for Lm3.95 per month GO are offering 200 minutes of calls to other GO numbers, and because the bulk of the population is still on GO, the effectiveness of this offer was real.
For subscribers who make a heavier use of voice they have a Lm5.50 per month package which gives subscribers unlimited phone calls during evenings and during all weekend days. “These are very good offers which bring a lot of savings to our subscribers,” he said.
Asked whether GO was expecting to lose more fixed line telephony subscribers to Melita in the coming weeks, Aloisio said: “Over the next months we will continue to bring the best quality services to the market and offering good value bundles built around subscriber requirements.
“We intend to continue to be the market leader in voice, and broadband, whilst continuing with the market growth we are experiencing in TV.
“GO can state that it is fast reaching the 20,000 mark in terms of GO Plus digital TV service subscribers. The rate of growth of our DTTV offering has been staggering, and people are hungry for choice.
In the business segment, we continue to have a very strong offering, as few businesses are ready to risk their communications with unproven technologies, GO’s Head Corporate Communications & Public Affairs told BusinessToday.
The battle-lines are now drawn…