T-Mobile Netherlands is offering subscribers to its new Relax range little different that what customers can find at KPN or Vodafone Netherlands. Of T-Mobile NL’s three unique selling points, per second billing, unlimited internet and unlimited telephony, only one remains completely unchanged. Unlimited telephony is still the same while unlimited internet gets diluted: customers consuming over a certain threshold will see speeds pulled down. Still, no extra charges have been added to the feature. By contrast, call rates at the renewed Relax bundles will now be billed per minute. T-Mobile NL had to do this, a spokesperon said, “in order to meet the explosive growth of mobile broadband and use sales returns to maintain the quality of the network and services."
Comparing the old Relax rates with the new, we can see that while there was shift to billing to the minute, the actual price per minute has remained the same. The cheapest bundle became more expensive and the most expensive bundle cheaper. Mobile internet is cheaper; for the bundle, the lowest price is still at EUR 9.95. For bundles at EUR 19.95 and EUR 29.50 per month, the customer pays EUR 6.95 for mobile internet. For bundles priced over EUR 35 per month, mobile internet falls to EUR 4.95 per month.
Mobile internet has become faster, from 384 Kbps (down)/64 Kbps (up) to 1 Mbps (down)/384Kbps (up), with customers now getting the speeds of the Web 'n' Walk Plus subscription (formerly at EUR 14.95 per month). Users consuming more than 1 GB per month will see speeds clipped to 64 Kbps download and upload. T-Mobile NL is also offering a high-speed internet package for an extra EUR 5 per month, with speeds then increased to 3.6 Mbps (down, up remains the same), with the threshold lifted to 2 GB before speed is brought down to 64 Kbps.
T-Mobile NL has also made the move to smartpricing. Subscriptions are now paid per minute, with rates outside the bundle raised to EUR 0.30 per minute from 0.25 pe minute. Subscription call credits still have an unlimited shelf life. In addition, subscriptions offer not only call minutes and SMS, but also bundle units. Customers can use unit credits to either call, or send SMS or MMS message. Each MB and MMS is equal to 1 unit.
That said, rates have are actually become cheaper. They are certainly more varied with the new ‘unit’ bundle. As an alternative to paying to the minute, T-Mobile customers who want a smartphone can sign up to iPlan (formerly iPhone) subscriptions, which charge by the second. The price for this type of subscription begins at EUR 29.95 (150 minutes+150 text messages+unlimited internet) per month, with a EUR 44.95 per month version (300 mins+300 texts+unlimited internet). There is not that much choice. Still, internet speeds for iPlan-subscriptions are twice as fast (2 Mbps download) and have no fair use policy (FUP). Call minutes and text messages are valid for two months. The subscriptions have a relatively high MAF because they have to compensate for the subsidies given the iPhone on the market.
For the customer, the new T-Mobile NL price plan offers none, or little, advantages. The discount given for mobile Internet at a higher MAF is of course good, but competitors usually offer a discount on associated network bundles, so that advantage is lost.
With the introduction of billing per per minute and a speed limit with its unlimited internet, T-Mobile NL has put behind any chance of distinguishing itself from its competitors. Public opinion has been quite harsh for KPN and Vodafone NL because of their switch to billing per minute from the previous per second method. T-Mobile was unfairly thrown into the mix but the company never did make diffferences clear to the public. The introduction of the renewed Relax shows us why. T-Mobile also wanted to change its billing method and increase outside the bundle rates. The company said it had little choice in the matter, and that money had to come from somewhere, with voice revenues under pressure from MTA rate reductions. Still, all this says a lot about the lack of competition on the Dutch mobile market. The three parties who call the shots show little pricing differences. Dutch consumers looking for a deal have no choice but to go to an MVNO.
