Available initially in the UK, plans offer 2,500 international or UK minutes and three month contracts, with prices ranging from £10 up to £40. All plans include up to 2,000 Lebara-to-Lebara call minutes and text messages and, in celebration of the launch, Lebara is also offering up to 10MB of mobile internet access per day free until 1 November 2010.
Available immediately, the new SIM-only plans are aimed at customers who have been on pay as you go, but whose lifestyle and usage patterns are more suited to a monthly plan.
Plans include: ‘My Country’ for customers predominantly calling internationally; ‘UK Caller’ for those who mainly make UK calls, but still want great international rates; and ‘Combo’ for those customers looking for a combination of both. The plans are supported by a new dedicated pay monthly customer services team providing support in multiple languages.
Yoganathan Ratheesan, CEO at Lebara said: “At Lebara we pride ourselves on our customer-centred approach, placing their evolving needs at the heart of all of our services. With these new plans we are offering more choice, while staying true to our brand promise of offering simple, honest value, without compromising the quality of service already appreciated by millions of customers across the world. This is a significant move forward for Lebara, enabling us to grow our customer base and further cement our position as the global leader in delivering low cost international mobile services.”
Tim Stone, director of Vodafone Wholesale said: “Vodafone and Lebara have created and developed a very successful partnership. The introduction of a pay monthly proposition in the UK shows how we continue to work together and innovate to meet the needs of Lebara’s customers.”
Dario Talmesio, senior analyst for Informa's mobile operator intelligence centre, commented: “Our recent MVNO research shows that the space is getting increasingly crowded and that MVNOs need to differentiate their offering. In that context, post pay is an obvious and safe service evolution. According to Informa Telecoms and Media data, 42.8% of UK subscriptions are postpaid; Lebara is opening up a whole new market segment with clear growth opportunities.”