The hectic price war underway in Spain took another turn following a move by MVNO Jazztel to offer its Internet customers a cash bonus to subscribe to a mobile contract.
The company, which uses Orange Spain's network, said that it plans to mimic offers typically made by energy providers by crediting customers with €200 to switch from their existing mobile service provider to the MVNO.
"It's not a normal offer, it's an offer to increase client loyalty and it's being carried out on an individual basis," an unnamed company source told Reuters. New customers to Jazztel's mobile service can use the money to pay any penalty for cancelling their contract, the company said.
Jazztel is the first mobile operator in Spain to offer this kind of deal, according to Reuters, though other service providers are said to offer incentives to switch on a more adhoc basis when subscribers call to cancel their contracts.
The company, which more than doubled its customer base from 143,000 in 2011 to 343,000 last year, said the cash-to-switch offer is being targeted at selected customers who already have a Jazztel ADSL connection and a mobile contract with another company. "There's a limit of €200 and it will depend on the client," the Jazztel source told Reuters.
Elsewhere in Spain, Vodafone says it plans to cut its headcount by 650 as part of a move to reduce operating expenses. This follows discussions with union officials who were expecting up to 1,000 jobs to disappear.
"The company made clear that the dismissal plan will go ahead with or without an agreement," unions said in a statement after a meeting with Vodafone, according to a separate Reuters article.
For more:
- see this Reuters article
- see this separate Reuters article
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